First wooden church since the Great Fire is built in London

The first all-wooden church since the Great Fire of 1666 has been consecrated in London.

The church of the Holy Hierarch Cyril, Bishop of Turaŭ and All the Patron Saints of the Belarusian People was consecrated in December on the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

It is dedicated to the victims and survivors of that tragedy. The explosion at Chernobyl forced thousands of Belarusians to leave the area; many settled in other countries including Britain.

The church, which is also the only purpose-built Belarusian Catholic church outside Belarus, is in the grounds of Marian House, a cultural community for the Belarusian community in Belsize Park, north London. The cornerstone of the church, brought from the Holy Trinity Church in Druya, Belarus, was laid last February.