The first Russian church has been constructed in the United Arab Emirates to become the one and the only Orthodox shrine on the Arabian Peninsula.
Located in the city of Sharjah, the church was built by order of Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the current ruler of the Sharjah emirate.
Apart from a five-dome church, the group of buildings also includes a three-storey cultural and educational center. In 2007, the foundations of the Russian spiritual complex in Sharjah were consecrated by Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill, now the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.
On Thursday 2 June 2011, the feast of the Ascension of Christ, the crosses on the dome of the Church of the Holy Apostle Philip were placed in Saria. This church was established with permission from the Patriarchate of Antioch. It is under the Antiochian jurisdiction. Currently a Russian priest is the parish priest.
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