Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah

St. Philip the Apostle Russian Orthodox Church is a Russian Orthodox Church located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The church is the biggest church in the country, with an area of 1800 sqm capacity of 20,000 worshippers. The church opened on Saturday August 13, 2011.

Background
Discussions about building the church began in 2005. The church was given approval to start construction in May 2007. The church is the largest in the United Arab Emirates. It was designed by St. Petersburg based architect, Yury Kirs. The church had received its blessings from the head of the parish, Hegumen Alexander Zarkesher of Moscow. It is one of the rarest Russian orthodox churches in design as it has a gold cross on each of the five domes, all made in Russia.