NEW YORK – As the concrete was about to begin pouring in Manhattan, the Greek-American community of Denver, CO was caught up in the spirit of the rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine at Ground Zero.
The Cathedral of the Assumption and the Church of St. Catherine’s, including their Philoptochos chapters, AHEPA Chapter 145, and other groups through various fundraisers, including a rare joint liturgy, and AHEPA’s annual golf tournament, raised more than $75,000 by the end of last year.
History sometimes sees silver linings materialize after tragedies and the destruction of the beloved little church in lower Manhattan has engendered unity across the nation as Greek Orthodox individuals, parishes and organizations joined the rebuilding effort.
The Archdiocese’s Executive Director of Administration Jerry Dimitriou told TNH “many parishes around the country are holding fundraising events for St. Nicholas and there is a great support and enthusiasm. They’re dedicating their festivals, having dinners, social events and other special events for St. Nicholas.”
Cathedral Dean Fr. Chris Margaritis told TNH the endeavor was St. Catherine’s pastor Fr. Louis Christopoulos’ idea. “We weren’t sure what to expect, but people wanted to do it and it worked out well.”
Some questioned sending money for a project across the country, but the enthusiasm grew as people learned about it. Fr. Margaritis said that “throughout Greek history, be it the Parthenon or Hagia Sophia, there was in the Greek heart an artistic impulse to give back to God by building something beautiful and when we got up and said that, it stirred people to want to be part of that kind of history.”
Fr. Christopulos said his parish wanted to get together with the Cathedral and received permission to close, so everyone could go to the Cathedral. He concelebrated the Liturgy with Fr. Margaritis and Fr. Dimitrios Kyritsis and the day’s proceeds – including candle proceeds and collections – were given to St. Nicholas.
“Fr. Chris presented a sermonette for the children and I gave the adult sermon…the message focused on the fact that St. Nicholas was the only church destroyed on 9/11 and we have an incredible opportunity not only to rebuild the Church but to establish a national shrine and the only religious institution at Ground Zero,” Fr. Christopulos said, adding “we made the appeal and passed the tray right in church and from our perspective it was a resounding success.”
Activities that came after the liturgy also generated money, St. Catherine’s Philoptochos President Elaine Cladis told TNH. “It was truly a glorious weekend.”
The day after the Liturgy, AHEPA 145’s golf tournament generated $10,000 for the cause.
James Peros, representing the Golf Committee, informed the Archdiocese the Chapter will make an additional donation. “We hope and pray that our small donation will help to make,” the Shrine, “a place of worship that our entire nation will celebrate with pride.”
The Denver community is more than 100 years old and St. Catherine was formed by a portion of its members 32 years ago.
Fr. Christopulos, who is originally from Cheyenne, WY and has roots near Kalamata, has been St. Catherine’s pastor for 18 years. He noted after the separation the parishes did a lot of things together, especially the Philoptochos chapters, “but this was by far most substantial” elevating the relationship to a new level.
A NATIONAL EFFORT
His Grace Bishop Andonios and Fr. Alex Karloutsos, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, are leading the fundraising efforts with the Parishes and coordinating with the Metropolises.
The latter was very impressed by the people of Denver, telling TNH “they worked together as two church communities and it shows that people understand the vision for this church.”
He noted that “since 1776, we are the only ethnic and religious group that built on public land, because we were there before the land became public,” and he sees it as “an opportunity for our community to give a major gift to this great country that reflects the values of our faith and the legacy of our heritage.
“We are near the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. When they came off Ellis Island they came right to St. Nicholas and lit candles and now we are lighting a candle for the entire world to see,” he said, adding “Its will be the Parthenon of Orthodoxy in America because the Church’s outer shell will be of Pentelic marble.”
Fr. Karloutsos is pleased with the flow of contributions, which now totals about $18.6 million and pledges, which amount to $37.5 million. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation has pledged $5million, an anonymous donor the same amount, Philoptochos has pledged $2million and AHEPA and the Archons $1 million each.
There are other major donors and Karloutsos estimates that parishes, without the major donors belonging to them, have raised about $1.4 million, and he expects the parish campaign to ultimately rise between $3-5 million.
St. Nicholas’ progress can be followed live at www.stnicholaswtc.org/webcam. After the recent massive blizzard delayed the pouring of the concrete for the floor, on Feb. 1 metal rebars began to be placed, sealing the HVAC and electrical systems installed last fall.
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