Russian man builds church of snow for village without chapel

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Sosnovka, Russia • A village in Siberia that did not have a church until this winter is getting a lesson in faith and life's ephemeral nature.

Sosnovka resident Alexander Batyokhtin spent nearly two months building a village church entirely out of snow. The structure will vanish with the season.

Batyokhtin worked on the chapel every day, even when temperatures plunged below minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit.) He used 12 cubic meters (424 cubic feet) of snow to make it.

Batyokhtin says the work wasn't difficult. His biggest challenges were fashioning the altar and a cross for the roof.

"The main thing is to say a prayer and keep a fast for some time, then just go and do it," he says.

Sosnovka administrator Yuriy Kirsh says the church "means a lot to our hearts and souls" despite being temporary.