NEW YORK – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America declared in a news releasef that significant steps have been taken towards the completion of the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero, where construction stopped a year ago due to lack of funds.
The National Herald has learned that that government agencies, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, have sent letters to Archbishop Demetrios inquiring about the status of St. Nicholas. Demetrios in his reply attempted to pacify them by saying that everything will be fine.
TNH here publishes the news release in its entirety, followed by statements by Michael Psaros, past Treasurer of the Archdiocesan Council. The entire release follows:
“The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has taken additional significant steps towards the resumption of construction and completion of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.
A new Board of Trustees for St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine has been named, and on December 6, 2018, the feast-day of St. Nicholas, a ceremony of Affirmation of Office will take place at the headquarters of the Archdiocese, followed by a meeting to set a course forward and discuss issues of immediate concern. The St. Nicholas Board of Trustees will have the responsibility and care for the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas and the management of the related funds.
The new Board of Trustees will be comprised as follows: seven members will be of the original St. Nicholas parish, seven members are appointed by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and six ex-officio members will be the heads of six major organizations i.e.: The President of the National Ladies Philoptochos Society, the President of the Archdiocesan Presbyters Council, the National Commander of the Order of St. Andrew-Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Chairman of Leadership 100, the President of Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, and the President of AHEPA.
Additionally, a new entity, the “Friends of St. Nicholas, Inc.,” has been created and a Certificate of Incorporation has been filed with the State of New York. It is a not-for-profit corporation, which has been created according to the recommendations of the Phase II Report produced by the Special Investigative Committee and PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC (“PwC”) regarding the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.
The Corporation has been formed in order to raise, invest, gift and disburse funds for the construction and improvement of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine. The initial directors of the corporation (who shall also be known as “trustees”) are Elaine T. Allen, Olga Pavlakos and Michael Psaros. The number of trustees will be increased up to 15 people and is expected to include individuals from all Metropolises of the Archdiocese. The articles of incorporation provide that the Corporation shall dissolve one year following the consecration of St. Nicholas and all the assets and property of the Corporation shall be distributed to or for the benefit of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.”
Michael Psaros Statements
In exclusive statements to The National Herald Michael Psaros said, “We have to build St. Nicholas. As you know, I have spoken about the need to complete the Church in speeches, interviews and even placed a full page ad in the National Herald on 9/11 (2018) to honor those martyred and to remind our Omogenia of the need to complete the Church. In connection thereto, as I have discussed with The National Herald and with other Hellenic and Orthodox News organizations, Elaine Allen (my successor as Treasurer) worked with a team of very talented lawyers, working pro-bono, to create “THE FRIENDS OF ST. NICHOLAS (“Friends”). Friends will be the vehicle for raising and dispersing funds related to the construction of St. Nicholas.”
(Photo: TNH/Theodore Kalmoukos)
Psaros emphasized that “I agreed to be one of the incorporators on the assumption that we would work in support of Father Alexander Karloutsos’ efforts to raise funds to complete St. Nicholas. Father Alex is the only person capable of raising the funds required to complete the construction of the Church. We all understand that a completely independent entity needed to be created, separate from the Archdiocese, in order for our community to have the trust and confidence to contribute the funds required for the construction of St. Nicholas. My personal precondition to committing to this most critical and worthy effort was the independence of Friends, which will be completely transparent and accountable to donors and to our community. All fundraising will be disclosed in real time, along with accompanying expenditures.”
Psaros also said that “To be clear, Friends is not the Board of Directors/Trustees of St. Nicholas. It is the vehicle to raise and dispense capital in an accountable, responsible and transparent manner. Our community must re-commit itself to the completion of St. Nicholas. It will be the most visited Church of any Christian denomination in the U.S. and a beacon of Orthodoxy to the world. I commend The National Herald for continuing to focus on the Church and its efforts to rally our community towards its completion.”
In the meantime, exclusive information has been obtained by The National Herald from informed sources and large donors who say that Michael Psaros had agreed to serve and work for the completion of Nicholas on the assumption that there would be a new Archbishop by now, that Father Alexander Karloutsos would lead the effort, and that the organization The Friends of St. Nicholas is totally independent from the Archdiocese at 79th Street in Manhattan.
The same sources emphasized about the St. Nicholas project that we are “dead in the water” until we have a new Archbishop.”
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