SÃO PAULO (BDCi) – A Brazilian billionaire preacher has inaugurated a giant building designed as a replica of the original Temple of Solomon, as depicted in the Old Testament.
The church, which is double the size of Christ the Redeemer, is 11 stories high and spans an entire city block.
It seats 10,000 and cost $300 million to complete, with stone from Israel and even a helipad for founder Edir Macedo’s convenience.
Though the temple does not include every detail of Solomon’s and has been decked out with modern luxuries, it follows a similar blueprint.
Macedo hopes the temple will be a tourist attraction, but wants it to mainly serve as a place of worship, for all religions.
Macedo made it onto the FORBES billionaires ranking last year with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.