A home away from home for some 10,000
Russian-speakers living in South Africa, the church is the only one
south of the equator in Africa.
The Russian Orthodox Parish of Saint Sergius of Radonezh held its
first church service in March 2003 after being built for a "couple
of million of dollars" to meet the needs of Russian-speakers in
South Africa.
Architectural "masters" from Russia had to be flown in to oversee
the construction of the brilliantly white building with its
traditional five golden domes symbolizing Jesus Christ and the four
evangelists.
The shape of the building is traditional, classical for a Moscow
style in the 17th or maybe 16th century. The project was done by an
architect from St Petersburg in Russia.
The five domes symbolize the universe, and each has a cross on its
top -- "as the symbol of salvation to the universe" -- with the
largest cross bearing a bright golden medallion in the middle.
Here, at least a hundred Russian-speakers gather every week to
practice their religion and celebrate religious holidays.
Believing in the so-called "Old Calendar", their Christmas falls on
January 7, two weeks after the widely celebrated Christmas of
December 25.
The cache is a magnetized nano, too small to
hold a pencil, so please bring your own. Please replace as secure
as found and watch out for the Muggles driving past.