Almost outside the city, a huge temple complex, Rio de Kavkaz, has recently been built.
A large picturesque area, landscaped alleys, the majestic Peter and Paul Cathedral, beautiful chapels - this is what Rio de Kavkaz is. It is often called the "apotheosis of eclecticism", but for thousands of pilgrims it is a place of power, where the earthly meets the heavenly.
On both sides of the entrance alley there are busts of great thinkers and philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles and others, whose quotes are interpreted as predictions of the coming of Christ.
Rarely do you see something like this, where philosophers are revered in very religious places. Although true philosophers are always mystics and reflect on the transcendental, immanent, what can be called the heavenly spheres. And the great saints in Christianity and of course in Orthodoxy were also mystics and reflected on the eternal and divine. So great philosophers are quite appropriate in any religious temple.
The temple complex "Rio de Kavkaz" (official name - Petropavlovsky temple complex) is located in Yessentuki at the address Borgustanskoe shosse, 30.
This large-scale spiritual and cultural site was created in 1998 on the initiative of the local Greek community and the Aleksov family with the blessing of Metropolitan Gideon.
It received its popular name after the installation in 2013 of a 22-meter statue of Jesus Christ - the tallest in Russia, reminiscent of the famous monument in Rio de Janeiro. The statue is made of white marble chips using a unique technology and is installed on a stone pedestal symbolizing the Earth; the Savior's hand is turned towards the Caucasus Mountains.
At the foot of the monument is the Chapel of the Resurrection of Christ, repeating the Jerusalem Kuvukliya (the tomb of Christ), where the stones consecrated at Golgotha and at the Holy Sepulcher are kept.
The complex includes several churches: the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul (founded in 1999), the Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2011, stylized as a Byzantine temple), as well as the chapels of Elijah the Prophet, the Life-Giving Trinity, the Ascension of the Lord and the Wedding Gates for newlyweds.
A Sunday school with a refectory is open to visitors. Services are held daily: liturgy at 8:00, evening service at 17:00; admission to the territory is free, working hours are from 8:00 to 22:00.
Development plans include the construction of the theme park "Holy City of Jerusalem" and a...
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