Vespers will be performed at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in New York, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, for the first time in 20 years, as the General Hierarchical Vicar of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Fr. Alexandros Karloutsos, stated to the Sputnik news agency.
“On September 10, the Vespers will be officiated by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. This is our contribution to the anniversary of 9/11,” said Father Karloutsos.
The next day, Saturday, the church will be set aglow, along with other buildings in the area in blue to honor the memory of the victims of the attack.
On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorists shot down two hijacked passenger planes at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, while another plane struck the Pentagon near Washington.
A fourth hijacked plane crashed in the state of Pennsylvania without ever hitting its target.
The attacks killed about 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000.
The temple was completely buried after the collapse of the south tower of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attack.
Shortly after the attacks, New York authorities pledged to rebuild the church, but their efforts met with significant delays as many political issues had to be resolved, said Michael Psarros, vice president of the “The Friends of St. Nicholas”, a not-for-profit organization which was founded with the aim of raising money for the completion of the temple.
“It is important to know that this is not only the Greek Orthodox Church but also the National Shrine,” said Michael Psarros.
More than 20 architects submitted their plans before that of the distinguished Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese authorized “The Friends of St. Nicholas” to undertake the collection of money, the reconstruction, and the completion of the church.
The new building is three times larger than the previous one and has a special center where believers of other religions and dogmas will be able to pray and honor the memory of their loved ones who were lost in the terrorist attacks.
In fact, Michael Psarros expects that the church of St. Nicholas will be the orthodox church in the USA that will gather the most visitors.
“Millions and millions of people visit Ground Zero every year (the site of the International Trade Center or Twin Towers) and the doors of the church of St. Nicholas will be open. This will be the orthodox church with the most visitors in the world from non-orthodox, even from non-Christian people,” he stressed.
As the completion of the temple has not been achieved yet, it will not be possible to hold daily services in the coming months. The completion of the exterior of the church is expected to be completed by November 2, when the Doors will be opened in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
According to Psarros, then the work for the completion of the interior of the church will continue until April 2022, with the hope that it will be finalized by Holy Week and Easter of the same year.
“The church will be inaugurated on July 4, 2022, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,” said Michael Psarros.
Source: ANA-MPA