Heroes of Saint Nicholas
The story of the Costalas family is a classic American, and Greek-American tale. Since their parents came through Ellis Island, they opened nineteen restaurants in New York City. They worked long hours, from before the sun rose until late into the night, but at the Essex World Cafe, they became part of the history of the World Trade Center, for they witnessed its creation and its destruction. Read More
St. Nicholas January 2021 Monthly Update
As you will see from the pictures in this issue, the walls of Saint Nicholas are beginning to glow! We have arrived at the beginning of the installation of the curtain wall and the first marble siding (lower right) that has come all the way from Greece and the same vein of Pentelic marble that was used to construct the Parthenon 2500 years ago. You will note the brightness of the building, which is the full complement of the lighting that will illuminate this marble from within and create the signature glow of our National Shrine. Read More
St. Nicholas December 2020 Monthly Update
The Feast of Saint Nicholas is just behind us, and our Saint Nicholas National Shrine is moving quickly along on its journey to completion. The Friends of St. Nicholas have shown exceptional skill in their leadership of the project, and their cooperation with the Port Authority. The “Donor Wall” that you will read about in this issue demonstrates how this synergy further enhances the purpose of Saint Nicholas at the rebuilt World Trade Center site. Read More
New Website for Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine
We are pleased to share with you our redesigned website, which can be found at www.stnicholaswtc.org Read More
St. Nicholas November 2020 Monthly Update
We are excited to announce the unveiling before Thanksgiving of the new website of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine. There have been many updates and a refreshed look and feel. We are hoping to attract many more visitors to this new site, and increase not only support for the Shrine, but begin to expand in earnest the awareness of the public about the Shrine and its truly global importance. Read More
St. Nicholas October 2020 Monthly Update
Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of St. Nicholas, and the cooperative work of our Archdiocese’s leading expert in Byzantine Iconography, Bishop Joachim of Amissos, and the renown iconographer, Father Loukas of the Holy Mountain (Xenophontos Monastery), we now are approaching – for the first time – an integrated and holistic iconographic program for the Saint Nicholas Shrine at Ground Zero. Read More
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America led a Memorial Service at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine with surviving families of those Orthodox Christians who perished on 9/11 along with members of the Friends of St. Nicholas. The Memorial included prayers for all who were lost that day in the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, DC, and those who perished in Shanksville, PA. Read More
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with the leadership of the Friends of St. Nicholas and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, today visited the World Trade Center to witness the resumption of construction of the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, the only house of worship destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Read More
St. Nicholas National Shrine July Update
Iwrite to you in these heavy days, when our precious Hagia Sophia has been seized for re-conversion to a mosque. I want to remind all of you that the inspiration for the design of Saint Nicholas came from Hagia Sophia, as you can see by the wonderful series of watercolor sketches made by the architect, Santiago Calatrava. Read More
Saint Nicholas Shrine to be featured on Ancient Faith Radio - July 1, 2020
Every adult remembers where they were on 9-11-01. The day when over 3,000 souls tragically lost their lives, and well over 6,000 were grievously injured. In that very dark day, the light was also extinguished in one of Christ’s churches as St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed and buried in rubble. As we approach next year’s 20th anniversary of this devastation and darkness, the phoenix is on the verge of rising from the ashes. And the hopeful and loving light of Orthodox Christianity will again shrine brightly at Ground Zero for the whole world to see and experience. Read More
