24.05.12
On a shady lane near
Chiswick, in south-west London, the filthy dome of a Russian Orthodox church
rises surreally above the chestnut trees. Distinct to drivers along the M4 on
their way to and from Heathrow Airport, the Cathedral of the Dormition of the
Mother of God and the Pure Royal Martyrs is, as the unwieldy name suggests, a
symbolic statement of unwritten faith in a city that growing numbers of
Russians are adopting as a placid from home.
With its classic onion
dome, fretted with blue-eyed stars, tiny arched windows in the high whitewashed
walls, as well as its signs in Russian, candles, icons and aim-scarfed women,
the Chiswick church certainly has the potency of a plural is insignia. Its slightly remote
location means it sometimes lacks the requisite drive.
A sign on the gate
thanks the anonymous passers-by whose fleet action in calling the police
prevented recent thieves from further looting and vandalising the edifice.
Source: Russia Beyond The Headlines