Following the opening of 2021 and inauguration last summer, on the American national holiday of July 4th, the symbolic temple of Greek Orthodoxy in America, Agios Nikolaos at Manhattan’s “zero point” at the World Trade Center, hosted its first liturgy yesterday in preparation to welcome visitors of all religions , as was the original desire after the reconstruction of the temple, which was completely destroyed in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 – the only remnant of the old temple was a bunch of candles…

“Today is a day of joy for America and New York,” said Michalis Psaros, president of Friends of Agios Nikolaos, which organized the fundraiser. “We invite all of America to visit the cenotaph designed and built in memory of the 3,000 people tortured and killed on 9/11.”

“This is the Resurrection of St. Nicholas Church,” said Olga Pavlakova, vice president of the parish council and third-generation member of the St. Nicholas congregation.

Emigrant Maria Giatrachi said she had tears in her eyes as she entered the new church. “To see the temple come back, to see it so close to the Statue of Liberty, which represents all the immigrants who helped build this church, is very touching for all of us,” he said.

History of reconstruction

The completion of the project, one of the last sections of the newly built World Trade Center complex, has weathered many storms. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the World Trade Center, have entered into a legal battle over where the new church will be built. Ultimately, it was up to Liberty Park.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2014, but construction was halted in 2017 when the Archdiocese had to put in a lot of patient effort to raise the necessary funds, which was not always easy.

Work resumed in 2020 with the aim of reopening Agios Nikolaos for the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2021 attacks. This goal has not been fully achieved, although the church was lit last year to commemorate the anniversary.

The new church was designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, modeled on Byzantine churches, including the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, with a central dome. The temple is covered with Pentelian marble, the same as in the Parthenon, and at night its dome shines like a lighthouse through translucent marble panels.

Calatrava, who also designed the mall’s railway junction known as the Oculus, said he frequented Agios Nikolaos as it neared completion, though he did not attend Tuesday’s ceremony. “I am very sorry that I could not be there,” said the architect from his office in Zurich. “I think it’s a very beautiful project. I’m very proud.”

Calatrava mentioned that when he visited Agios Nikolaos with friends, he was told that “this is a gem. And I think it is. It’s something small but very important in this part of New York.”

Iconography of the temple

The iconography inside was created by the monk of the Xenophon Monastery on Mount Athos, father Lukas. Father Alexandros Karloutsos, a former vicar general of the archdiocese and a key player in the rebuilding of the church, said that Father Lukas was called not only to create traditional images, but also to “show the reality of 9/11”.

In the artwork depicting the day of the attack, boats are sailing to rescue people fleeing the disaster when the Twin Towers are on fire. In another, Christ welcomes the rescuers at the scene, including police and firefighters, to the Resurrection.

“This is the first image that you will see in the entire Orthodox tradition, including modern scenes of the Resurrection,” said Father Alexandros Karloutsos. “We have never done this before in any Orthodox church in the world.”

According to Father Alexandros Karloutsos, the cost of rebuilding Agios Nikolaos after years of budget overruns has reached $95 million.