Night of Temples open house event proposed for Moscow

Religious buildings in the Russian capital may soon open their doors for the first Night of Temples.

Proposed by the head of the cultural commission of the Moscow City Duma, Yevgeny Gerasimov, the event would work similarly to Moscow Museum Night, in which many of Moscow’s museums, galleries, exhibition and art centres stay open until the early hours of the morning.

The goal of the event is to bring together people of different religions, including Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Islam and Judaism to learn about their culture and history. A wide variety of religious denominations and organisations have already voiced support for the initiative. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have however criticised the event as “inappropriate”.

The format of the evening has yet to be confirmed, but Mr Gerasimov has stated that he expects it will, first and foremost, consist of tours around the religious buildings.

Source: Afisha (in Russian)