It cost $85 million to build, which was raised through donations.
Yesterday, December 6, the first service of Saint Nicholas was held at the “ground zero” of New York where the newly built Holy Church now dominates.
The small Greek Orthodox church, which was destroyed by the fall of the south tower of the “World Trade Center” on September 11, 2001, was replaced by a much larger one in the park created above the memorial square.
“Today is a day of joy for America and New York,” said Michael Psaros, president of the Friends of Agios Nikolaos, the organization that took charge of raising money for the church.
“We invite all of America to come for a visit, to come to the cenotaph that was created and built in memory of the 3,000 people who were martyred and murdered on 9/11.”
The imposing and glittering monumental symbol, which reproduces the vocabulary of Orthodoxy, bears the signature of the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The architecture of the temple gives a special basis to the white marble, which allows the light to emerge from within and thus illuminate the church from its interior.
Santiago Calatrava, for the creation of this religious sanctuary, studied many churches both in Greece and abroad. Having as its main model Hagia Sophia and with influences from the Rotunda (Agios Georgios) of Thessaloniki, but also from Agios Sotiras in Chora, today’s Karige Mosque in Turkey, ended up in the design of Agios Nikolaos.
The rebuilding of the Temple had to overcome major financial and bureaucratic obstacles, which led to delays of many years. It cost $85 million to build, which was raised through donations.
However, what perhaps not many people know is that even the canonization of the Church of Agios Nikolaos – by decision of the Archbishop of America Elpidophoros – was done by two monks of Mount Athos. The Holy Fathers Loukas and Pachomios from the Holy Monastery of Xenophon undertook the great and arduous task of canonizing the national pilgrimage to the Miden Point.
The monk Loukas Xenofontinos is a special case of a hagiographer, one of the most important contemporary hagiographers, whose work is inspired by theological reflections and concerns that shape his artistic identity at the same time.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
