Orthodox want church at site of Beslan tragedy

BESLAN, Russia (RNS) Russian Orthodox Church officials are proposing that a church be built in the ruins of Beslan's School No. 1, where 331 people, more than half children, were killed a year ago in the worst terrorist attack in modern Russian history.

Bishop Feofan of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz met with President Taimuraz Mamsurov of North Ossetia, where Beslan is located, to discuss the proposal. The plan would see a church built around the school's shattered gymnasium, where nearly 1,200 people were held captive after armed militants seized the school on Sept. 1, 2004.

After a 53-hour siege, Russian forces stormed the school amid gunfire and explosions.

Debate has been raging over what to do with the ruins of the school, which remain largely untouched from a year ago.