The issue of the completion of the iconic St. Nicholas Cathedral at “Ground Zero” in Manhattan, at a spot where a destroyed Orthodox chapel by the same name once stood next to the Twin Towers, again surfaced this week, with the Archbishop of America, His Eminence Elpidophoros, referring to issue.
He said “… The name of St. Nicholas brings joy to people around the world as nearly a synonym for love and generosity… In connection with the National Shrine at the World Trade Center, however, the mention of St. Nicholas has come to evoke the opposite feelings. A name that should be associated with holiness, peace, and prayer is instead linked with debt, corruption, and mismanagement.”
The goal remains to dedicate the Church on Sept. 11, 2021 — 20 years to the day after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers.