Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, at 319–337 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side in New York City, New York, is a Neo-Byzantine-style Greek Orthodox church.[2][3] It serves as the national cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and as the episcopal seat of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.[2][3]

Archdiocesan Cathedral
of the Holy Trinity
The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
Location319 East 74th Street
New York, New York 10021
CountryUnited States
DenominationGreek Orthodox Church
Membership800 families
Websitethecathedralnyc.org
History
Founded1891 (1891)
DedicationEleanor Roosevelt
DedicatedSeptember 14, 1931
ConsecratedOctober 22, 1933
Relics heldSt. Nicholas of Myra
Architecture
Architect(s)Kerr Rainsford, John A. Thompson, Gerald A. Holmes
Architectural typeByzantine Moderne
CompletedMarch 4, 1932[1]
Construction cost$577,000 ($10,800,000 in current dollar terms)
Specifications
BellsElectronic, fitted 2013
Administration
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of America
MetropolisDirect Archdiocesan District
Clergy
ArchbishopArchbishop Elpidophoros of America
DeanJohn Vlahos

Established in 1891, and at its present location since 1932, it was the second Greek Orthodox church in the Americas, the first in New York City, and the largest Orthodox Christian church in the Western Hemisphere.[2][3][4][5]

Activities

The cathedral is the home parish for 800 families, and hosts dignitaries and visitors.[2] It offers regular worship (which is broadcast on television), Sunday school, afternoon school, the Cathedral School (grades N-8), Bible study, and various ministries and fellowship organizations.[2][6]

History

In 1891 the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox parish's first home was in part of an Evangelical church on West 53rd Street for $50 per-month ($1,400 in current dollar terms).[1][3] It was the second Greek Orthodox church in the Americas and the first in New York City.[1][3]

In 1904 it was purchased and moved to a Gothic Episcopal church at 153 East 72nd Street. In 1927, the East 72nd Street church burned down, and two years later land was purchased and a new church was built for $577,000 ($10,800,000 in current dollar terms) in Byzantine style. Eleanor Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the cathedral on September 14, 1931. Holy Trinity moved to its current location on March 4, 1932. Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople, later Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, consecrated the cathedral on October 22, 1933. He called it: "The Cathedral of all of Hellenism in America".[1][3] In 1949, it established the Cathedral School. It was designated the archdiocesan cathedral in 1962.[1][3]

On September 18, 1999, Archbishop Demetrios was enthroned at the cathedral as primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.[1][7] The cathedral's dean, the Rev. Robert Stephanopoulos, had been demoted and relieved of responsibilities at the cathedral in January 1999 by Archbishop Spyridon of America, but by late 1999 had regained his position.[7][8] Stephanopoulos retired in 2007, after being dean for 25 years, and Frank Marangos was named the new dean.[9][10] Since June 2012, the dean has been Fr. Anastasios Gounaris.[11]

Opera singer Maria Callas was baptised at the church in 1926,[12] in 2001 television journalist and former political advisor George Stephanopoulos and comedian Alexandra Wentworth were married there,[13] and in 2011 Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of President Richard Nixon, and heiress Andrea Catsimatidis, daughter of Gristedes billionaire John Catsimatidis, were married there.[14]

Architecture

The exterior is Romanesque Revival red brick and limestone.[15][16] The cathedral's architects were Kerr Rainsford, John A. Thompson, and Gerald A. Holmes; they later designed Hunter College Uptown, which is now known as Lehman College.[16] The interior has Byzantine mosaics, botticino marble for the walls, columns, and altar, and imported Italian stained glass.[1] The iconography on the dome was created by Georgios Gliatas, a student of iconographer Fotis Kontoglou.[1] The church sits down the block from the Bohemian Gothic Revival Jan Hus Presbyterian Church.[16]

References
  1. "Cathedral History | Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity". Thecathedralnyc.org. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  2. "Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  3. Thomas E. FitzGerald (1998). The Orthodox Church: Student Edition. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275964382. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  4. David W. Dunlap (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. ISBN 9780231125420. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  5. David Dunlap; Joe Vecchione (2001). Glory in Gotham: Manhattan's houses of worship : a guide to their history . ISBN 9781929439010. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  6. Jack R. Finnegan (2007). Newcomer's Handbook For Moving to and Living in New York City: Including Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and Northern New Jersey. First Books. ISBN 9780912301723. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  7. Nadine Brozan (September 19, 1999). "Orthodox Archbishop Enthroned in a Majestic Ceremony". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  8. Larry Stammer (January 23, 1999). "Stephanopoulos' Father Loses Post". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  9. "Father Robert Stephanopoulos to retire after of 25 years as Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral". Worldwide Faith News. October 1, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  10. "Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos Named Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity". Worldwide Faith News. September 27, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  11. "Clergy | Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity". Thecathedralnyc.org. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  12. Anne Edwards (2001). Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography. Macmillan. ISBN 9780312269869. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  13. The Post and Courier. November 27, 2001 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZXFJAAAAIBAJ&pg=1144,4865613&dq=stephanopoulos+holy+trinity&hl=en. Retrieved January 5, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "Christopher Nixon Cox and Andrea Catsimatidis plan lavish New York wedding – 700 guests and top power and political brokers invited". The New York Post. May 23, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  15. Eric Peterson (2005). North American Churches. Publications International, Limited. ISBN 9781412710206. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  16. Norval White; Elliot Willensky; Fran Leadon (2010). AIA Guide to New York City. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199772919. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
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