New York Times News Service
The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, constructed in 1912, once sat near World Trade Center's twin towers. Posted on 10/05/2001 6:43:00 AM PDT by No Truce With Kings
Greek church lost in attacks was symbol of stubborn faith
Congregation eager to rebuild St. Nicholas as a memorial for all faiths
10/05/2001
By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News
New York Times News Service The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, constructed in 1912, once sat near World Trade Center's twin towers. |
NEW YORK – St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church withstood time and financial might, but on Sept. 11, the tiny testament to faith and freedom didn't have a prayer.
Only 56 feet long and 20 feet wide and surrounded on three sides by parking lots, the oasis in the shadows of skyscrapers was in the epicenter of the falling twin towers.
It was the only church destroyed in the attacks. Its congregation of 80, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and visitors from across the nation and the Italian city of Bari, where St. Nicholas is buried, have pledged to rebuild it as a memorial and a place open to all people of faith.
"It was indescribable. Sometimes you get someplace, and you just love the place, and you want to go over and over again. This was such a place," said Bill Tarazonas, a parishioner and caretaker of the church for nine years.
Mr. Tarazonas was in the church that Tuesday when he heard the explosion of the first plane slamming into the World Trade Center. He ran outside and saw a plague of human bodies falling from the sky.
The smoke grew thick, and "paper, like it was a parade of confetti for the Yankees or something," cascaded all around. He stood like a statue until police officers finally yelled for him to evacuate. He escaped only a few minutes before the first tower tumbled down.
"It's been destroyed by people who don't have feelings for anything," Mr. Tarazonas said.
More than ever, he would like just one more moment of comfort in his church.
"You'd open the door up and walk into that little place, and it was more than I needed," he said.
Built in 1912 by Greek immigrants, the stubborn church stayed as the financial district grew up around it. It fought the formidable push of developers.
A simple white-washed building, it posted a sign in the parking lot: "Please no graffiti. This is a church."
It held services on Sundays, and was open to the public on Wednesdays as a respite for stockbrokers and executives. And why not: St. Nicholas is the patron saint for bakers and bankers.
Speechwriter Lenny Glynn of Boston visited it in late July, after spying it as he walked out of his high-rise hotel on his way to the World Trade Center.
"I saw this very big parking lot, which is usually the future footprint of a skyscraper. Then in the middle, there was like this white tooth, this little building," he said.
He knew it had stood against the temptations of tremendous wealth on its valuable little property. He said to him it symbolized liberty and the strength of faith.
"I thought it was great. Powerful people couldn't knock them off or brush them aside. That's a testimony to our country," Mr. Glynn said.
In a full-page ad in The New York Times, Archbishop Demetrios, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, recalled that the church and its white altar candles "shone brightly to welcome all who come for peace."
"The sweet scent of incense was blown away by the acrid smell of senseless destruction. ... Our hearts were crushed. But our spirits will never be," the archbishop stated.
Nikki Stephanopoulos, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said the archbishop wants St. Nicholas rebuilt as a memorial church to serve everyone.
The city of Bari has pledged $500,000. Other donations for rebuilding are being accepted, and information is available at www.stnicholasnyc.com.
But there are other more immediate priorities right now, especially helping victims with their grief and providing counseling, she said.
Still, the archdiocese is comforted by calls its received from around the country.
"It was the only church that was demolished," Ms. Stephanopoulos said. "It had been there as a symbol of freedom and democracy because they couldn't be moved."
Peter Drakoulias' grandfather attended the church, as did his father, and he's attended since moving back to the city a decade ago.
Now its congregants move together as a flock to different churches. They have bonded closer together, Mr. Drakoulias said.
He said when the church is rebuilt, he hopes it will become a haven of comfort to all who memorialize the tragedy.
Archbishop Demetrios of America blessed one of the rescue workers at ground zero last month. Many holy relics are buried in the rubble of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. 2) The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, constructed in 1912, once sat near World Trade Center's twin towers. -->
The congregation was apparently able to retrieve the relics located in the church from the ruins.
3 Candles mark the rubble of St. Nicholas Church
What's left of the site
Jpurnalists are all lazy, cliché-ridden ignoramuses. The "epicenter" would be the point between the two towers, and about 1,500 ft. above the ground.
OCA member here. I recently heard about a renewed push for a North American Patriarchate; what do you think the chances are for that?
Probably nil, from the standpoint of all Orthodox belonging to one Patriarchate. There are too many differences, and frankly, Orthodox love theological fights almost as much as they love Orthodoxy.
I can live with the differences. I'll let God sort it out, and have enough on my plate worrying about my own soul. Many others cannot live and let live however. They prefer worrying about others' souls before their own. Some of the fights on the various Orthodox listservers are truly vicious, and over minor docternal issues.
I am not saying that the differences are trivial. I feel uncomfortable going to an Orthodox church that minimizes fasting. I like attending an Old Calendar church, because having Christmas on a different day than the Western Church makes me see how much the Western Christmas has devolved into a bacchanalia, independent of its religious roots.
I also understand that others feel uncomfortable about fasting, or using the Old Calendar. I am grateful that those individuals attend some form of Orthodox worship, rather than abandoning it completely.
I just wish that other Orthodox would be more willing to tolerate the differences between churches, and be willing to at least listen, if not work together.
My older brother is a ROCOR priest. A ROCOR parish is the closest one to where I live (120 miles away), and my family goes to it. Before then, when I was in Houston, working for JSC contractors, I helped establish a Greek Orthodox parish in Webster, TX.
Agreed, in some cases at least. I also like being old calendar though.
Save, O Lord, Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance.
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