New York, NY - The Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity has announced plans for renovation of the Cathedral interior and expansion of the Cathedral Center facility. Established in 1892, Holy Trinity was designated the official Cathedral of the Archdiocese in 1960 by His Eminence Former Archbishop Iakovos, who said at that time:
The Cathedral is not meant to be solely a religious center or simply a place of worship or a home of Christian benevolence. It must be made to symbolize Americas Greek Orthodox Church and community, and in general to reflect the entire Hellenic Omogenia. It shall be our primary commitment to elevate and expand it in all religious aspects so that we shall be ever proud of this Jewel of Orthodoxy.
To this end, and with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, Cathedral Dean Father Robert G. Stephanopoulos and the Cathedral Board of Trustees have announced plans to begin renovations in January 2000. Planned improvements include repairing the interior ceiling and walls, painting the entire church interior, upgrading the air conditioning system, refurbishing the existing mosaics and the interior metalwork, chandeliers and church artifacts, repairing the art glass windows and enhancing all interior lighting and sound systems, making the Cathedral television and radio broadcast compatible.
An exciting new project will be the transformation of the mezzanine of the Cathedral Center into a full service library, reading center and book store which will be open to the public daily. It is expected that all renovations will be completed by March 2000.
According to Cathedral Board President Elias Kulukundis, the estimated cost of the renovations is $1,000,000, and he invites Greek Orthodox faithful from throughout the Archdiocese to contribute to the Holy Trinity Cathedral Renovation Fund, 319 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021. For information please call Peter Chrisanthopoulos at (212) 237-7777.