UAE Constructs Large Greek Orthodox Church

700 Abu Dhabi Orthodox families are registered, while it is believed that there are about 300 to 400 more unregistered families. Father Stephanos Neaimeh stated, "The Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church isn't very big...It fits about 300 worshippers, sitting and standing. Sunday and Friday masses are usually full and we have 700 families, so we don't have much space. We sometimes use the salon upstairs with a screen and we place chairs outside too. During Easter and Christmas we never have space," as reported by The National.

Father Neaimeh added, "There are also Romanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Serbians and Georgians...If they need to pray, we give them the church with their own priest. Otherwise, they can pray with us using their books. We use the Greek and Arabic languages and we're thinking in the future to prepare a book using English and French because some people don't understand Greek and Arabic."

The church that is currently being built will be able to accommodate approximately 1,250 seated parishioners. The religious structure's creation began in May and is predicted to be complete within 18 months from its start. The UAE is currently home to three Orthodox churches.