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On Friday, a spokesman for the municipal authorities in Mezhdurechensk in Kemerovo Oblast announced the opening of a chapel in memory of the victims of the May 2010 accident at the Raspadskaya Mine that killed about a hundred miners. The construction of the chapel dedicated to St Barbara, the patron saint of workers in hazardous occupations (including miners), began in August 2011 near the city park at the intersection of 50th Anniversary of the Komsomol Prospekt and Kosmanavtov Street. The relatives of the victims chose the location of the chapel. The brick building has a height of 20 metres (66 feet) and a floor area of 665 square metres (7,158 square feet), in a cruciform shape. On the main façade, there’s a mosaic icon of St Barbara, made in the style of ancient New Roman (Byzantine) images. Inside the building, there’s a carved oak iconostas with 11 icons and a memorial marble plaque with the names of those killed in the Raspadskaya Mine disaster. On the night of 9 May 2010, two explosions ripped through the Raspadskaya Mine, killing 90 miners, including 20 rescuers. The bodies of 11 miners are still entombed in the mine.
17 August 2012
Interfax-Religion
