The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated a prominent new church on Sunday near the Eiffel Tower.
Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of President Putin, led the elaborate sanctifying ceremony in the Saint Trinity Church on the banks of the Seine River, the gold-domed centerpiece of a €100 million complex owned by the Russian government that will include a cultural centre and a school.
The ceremony included the consecration of the altar, a procession around the grounds and the placing of relics, accompanied by an all-male choir and the rich smells of incense.
