Serbia: Patriarch Irinej honours Gazprom reps as Russian-made church mosaic goes up in Belgrade

Serbian Patriarch Irinej blessed the first stones of a Russian-made mosaic being assembled at Belgrade's Church of Saint Sava, Monday. The portraits of Peter the Apostle and Saint Peter are being added to the dome of the iconic church after being sent all the way from Moscow in a project sponsored by Russia’s Gazprom Neft, and signed off on by President Vladimir Putin.
Gazprom Neft representatives Alexander Djukov and Kirill Kravchenko were both awarded the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Order of St. Sava level II, as a gratitude for the Russian oil company’s contribution to the project. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic was also among the attendees.
The portraits depicting Peter the Apostle and Saint Peter are the first two parts of a bigger mosaic mural that will be presented to the public and eventually be constructed on the dome of the church.
Designed and crafted by Russian iconographer Nikolai Muhin, the final work will be 30 metres (98 ft) in diameter, covering more than 1,230 square metres (4035 sq ft).
An additional 15,000 square metres (161,458 square feet) of mosaics and works are due to be completed by January 2019, on time for the Serbian Orthodox Church's 800th independence anniversary celebrations.