Greek Church Rebuilt After 9/11 Terror Attacks To Hold First Service In 20 Years - Vicar

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2021) The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in New York City, which was demolished during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, will hold service for the first time in 20 years, Vicar General of Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Alex Karloutsos told Sputnik.

"On September 10, the vespers will begin with the memorial service by the Archbishop. That is our contribution to the September 11 story," Karloutsos said.

The following day, Saturday, the church will be lit in blue along with other buildings in the area to commemorate victims of the terrorist attacks, he added.

On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda (banned in Russia) terrorists crashed two hijacked commercial planes in the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, while another one hit the Pentagon near Washington, DC. The fourth hijacked plane fell down in the state of Pennsylvania.

The St. Nicholas church was completely buried after the World Trade Center's south tower collapsed following the attack. The rebuilding process took 20 years and is not quite yet completed.

Soon after the attacks, the New York authorities committed to restoring the church, but the entire efforts met with significant delays because many matters of a political nature needed to be worked through, Vice Chairman of the Friends of St. Nicholas Michael Psaros said.

"It is important to understand that this is the National Shrine, not just the Greek Orthodox Church," Psaros said.

More than 20 architects presented their project prior to the selection of the renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Karloutsos said fundraising and re-building started in the 2009-10 period. However, Psaros pointed out that the Greek Diocese in charge of construction approved a large number of expensive change orders so the process was stopped for about two years.

"I think it is important to know that PriceWaterHouse [PricewaterhouseCoopers] along with BakerHostetler did an extensive, forensic two-year audit of every single Dollar we raised from September 11, 2001, and every single dollar we spent from that time. You can find these audits online, they were published by the Archdiocese," Psaros said.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese handed the project over to the Friends of St.

Nicholas, an entity responsible for fundraising, building and finishing of the church, which has now became a National Shrine. The new cathedral is three times bigger than the previous one and has a special center for people of all faiths and denominations to pray and commemorate their loved ones and those fallen in terrorist attacks.

Psaros said he expects the St. Nicholas church to be the most visited Orthodox cathedral in the United States and probably in the world.

"Millions and millions of people go to Ground Zero every year, and our doors will be opened at St. Nicholas. This will be the most visited Orthodox church in the world by non-Orthodox and even people who are not Christians," he said.

The Friends of St. Nicholas was able to raise some $60 million between January 2020 and August 2021, Psaros also said.

"Over $100 million have been raised for the National Shrine since the inception," he added.

Karloutsos noted that the first steel beam they received for the construction was from the state of Pennsylvania and had a Russian Cross on it.

"I found all this very moving," he said.

Because the re-construction is not finished, church services will not resume on a daily basis in the coming months. The exterior of the structure is expected to be completed by November 2, when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will officiate the opening up of the church doors.

Psaros said work will then continue on the interior of the church until April 2022 with the hope of having it completed by Holy Week and Easter.

"The church will be consecrated on July 4, 2022, which will coincide with 100th anniversary of the establishment of the [Greek] Archdiocese of America," he said.

Karloutsos said the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese plans to invite all Orthodox Christian denominations in the United States to co-serve with Patriarch Bartholomew I at St. Nicholas on November 2.

"We are inviting all of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. The Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are members of the Assembly, and they will be invited as well," he added.