URGENCH, Uzbekistan (UCAN) -- A Russian Orthodox priest hopes for the quick completion of a church in Urgench so his parishioners will not have to huddle in a private apartment for Mass much longer.

About 25 laypeople, mostly elderly women, squeezed into the apartment's living room on Jan. 7 to celebrate the Nativity of Christ.

The Russian Orthodox Christmas follows the Julian calendar, a reformed version of the Roman calendar instituted by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C. Catholic and Protestant Churches use the Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582.

Father Nektary Blinov told UCA News that four years ago, Anastasia Olshevskaya, a parishioner and doctor, offered him the use of her apartment, where she lives with her elderly mother and teenage daughter.

The 20-square-meter living room is used as a chapel, while another room functions as the priest's room.

However, Father Blinov brings Communion by train from Tashkent, 720 kilometers to the east. "I cannot consecrate Communion in the apartment, only in a church," he explained.

The 28-year-old Orthodox parish priest in Urgench celebrates Mass at the apartment on Sundays. On weekdays, he splits his time between visiting people in the town and supervising construction of the Church of Righteous Job, the Long Suffering.

Construction was officially inaugurated on Nov. 24, when Father Blinov and another priest from Tashkent and the Central Asian Eparchy of the Moscow Patriarchate installed a wooden cross and foundation board where the altar will be placed. So far the church foundation and ground-floor walls have been built. The church is designed as a cross-shaped, two-story building with a capacity of 100-150 people and an altar on each floor.

There are only 30-40 regular parishioners now, but "scarcity of space doesn't currently allow us to attract more people," Father Blinov said.

The priest reported that in 2008, he baptized 80 people, ranging from children to elderly, so he expects more parishioners to attend Mass as soon as the church is completed. This depends on funding, he admitted, but added that he hopes it will be ready by next Christmas.

Parishioner Tamila echoed his view of the local prospects. "I am happy about the parish," she told UCA News, acknowledging the difficulty her Russian Orthodox community has faced without a proper church building. Previously, she recalled, a priest from another parish, in Kogan, 400 kilometers southeast of Urgench, had pastoral responsibility for the community but would visit only four times a year.

"We were like the blind," commented another woman, an elderly pensioner, who said the people previously had no chance for regular confession and Communion, or to have their children baptized.

Parishioner Luba thinks that if a proper church had been functioning when more Russians were around, more people might have stayed.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many people of Russian and European descent left Uzbekistan, especially those who lived outside Tashkent. Today the exodus continues as a result of the weak economy.

Father Blinov says further shrinkage does not worry him much, since he thinks the majority of those who wanted to leave have already gone.

Instead, he views the ethnic mix of his parishioners with optimism. Most of them are from mixed marriages that guarantee that there will be ethnic Uzbeks and others in the parish who are not traditionally Christians, he said.

The small Catholic community of about 30-40 people in Urgench also is of varied ethnicity. Their Blessed Mary, Mother of Mercy Church is a converted two-story former fashion shop. The community was registered in 2001.

Muslims comprise 88 percent of Uzbekistan's 27 million people. Members of the Russian Orthodox Church comprise about 9 percent. Practicing Catholics number about 500, served by five parishes and two mission stations.

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