Construction of the first Bulgarian church in London under way

published on 1/8/24 10:20 AM

Photo: bulgarianembassy-london.org

The construction of the first Bulgarian Orthodox church in London named after Saint Ivan Rilski is progressing. To date, only the Bulgarian Orthodox community does not have its own church in the United Kingdom.

The church is being built in the heart of London, within the property of the Bulgarian embassy, about 100 meters from the Royal Albert Hall and a few hundred meters from Kensington Palace.

In a record short period of 4 months, the project was defended before the municipality in Westminster with the efforts of Bulgarian Ambassador Marin Raykov who gave the idea for the church and received a construction permit.

At the end of 2023, the Bulgarian government allocated money for the construction of the church. Funds were also collected from Bulgarians in Great Britain.

The project is by the Italian architect Carlo Bughi.

"In order for the project to be approved, it had to not disturb the architectural appearance of the building. In reality, the facade will not be radically changed. We will build a medium-sized church with a dome and we will make it so that the Bulgarian community and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church actually have a definitely representative and beautiful temple," said Ambassador Raykov.

The new church will have a capacity for between 130 and 150 people and will be completed in a year and a half.

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Construction of the first Bulgarian church in London under way

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