In the suburbs of Kazan - the village of Old Arakchino - you can see a unique in essence the building. The temple of all religions, also known as the Temple of the 7 Religions in Kazan, the International Center for Spiritual Unification or the Universal Temple, is a very unusual architectural monument of our time.
History of the Temple of All Religions (Kazan)
Actually, this temple is not a religious structure as such, since there are neither worship services nor ceremonies. This is a purely architectural structure, which was built as a symbol of the unity of all world cultures and religions.
The idea of erecting such a building belongs to Ildar Khanov, a native of the village of Staroye Arakchino. This Kazan artist, architect and healer conceived the implementation of this public project in order to give people a kind of architectural symbol of the unity of their souls. He does not suggest, as many people mistakenly believe, the idea of meeting several religious churches, where Christians, Buddhists and Muslims will pray under the same roof. "People have not yet come to Monotheism," explained the author of the project, who once traveled to India and Tibet. The idea of erecting the Temple of all religions is much more complicated and deeper. Ildar Khanov was a great humanist and dreamed of bringing humanity to universal harmony, albeit gradually, in small steps. One of these steps was the construction of the temple.
It was started in 1994 and during the life of its organizer did not stop for a single day. It is noteworthy that the erection of the Temple of all religions in Kazan was carried out solely on the money of ordinary people, collected as a charitable aid. This alone makes it clear that people are able to unite to accomplish a good, charitable cause.
The temple dedicated to the spiritual unity of mankind was by no means the author's only original intention. Ildar Khanov planned to build a whole complex of buildings on the bank of the Volga near the temple - this is a rehabilitation center for children, and an ecological club, and a naval school, and much more. Unfortunately, this project remained only on paper - the death of the great architect was interrupted by his creative plans.
Today, the Temple of the Seven Religions in the city of Kazan is simultaneously a museum, an exhibition gallery and a concert hall. There are exhibitions and master classes, concerts and evenings.
You can see an unusual construction for Russia at the address: 4, Old Arakchino, Kazan, the Church of All Religions. You can get to this suburb of Kazan by bus or train.
Analogues of the Temple of the Seven Religions in Kazan
In the world and the pre-Kazan temple there were similar architectural monuments, though with a slightly different meaning.
One of them is the Taiwan Museum of World Religions (Taipei City). His exhibits tell about the main ten religions of the world. The idea is to familiarize the visitors with the peculiarities of each culture for eliminating misunderstanding and smoothing conflicts between faiths.
Another analogue of the Kazan temple is the St. Petersburg State Museum of the History of Religions. It was founded in 1930 and had as its goal mainly educational work.
And on the island of Bali there is an interesting phenomenon - the area of the Five Temples. Here, on a relatively small "patch" are five religious buildings belonging to different faiths. In contrast to the Temple of the seven religions, in every church here, according to the established procedure, services are held, and despite this, these temples coexist peacefully side by side for many years.