Message from Father Andreas Vithoulkas
Proïstamenos and Archiepiscopal Vicar of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine
Remarks from the Opening of the Church for Worship on the Feast of Saint Nicholas
***
Dear Friends of Saint Nicholas,
A long awaited moment has finally come to fruition. As it says in the Psalm Verses for the Great Vespers:
For the sake of Your name have I patiently waited, O Lord; my soul has waited patiently for Your word, my soul has hoped in the Lord. (Psalm 129:4, LXX)
The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church – the precious community whose edifice was destroyed on 9/11 – we return to the World Trade Center. We have been patient. We have waited two decades. We have labored and struggled.
And now, we are crowned with fulfillment in accordance with the promise of the Lord who says:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
This Feast of the Holy Wonderworker of Myra – the great Saint Nicholas – is as historic as it is joyous. We return to this place where death and hatred made so many suffer, so that we might bring life and love to Ground Zero. So that through this National Shrine, the place of faith and true religion may find their place in the public square.
We commence the ministry of Saint Nicholas again at the World Trade Center. We are so very grateful to God, to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, to the Friends of Saint Nicholas, to those now serving on the Parish Council.
The visual and spiritual harvest of the iconography that has come from the vision and generosity of our Archbishop and his fellow members of the Friends of Saint Nicholas is a vision laid out by the exceptional research of Bishop Joachim of Amissos and captured by the inspired hand of Father Loukas of the Sacred Xenophontos Monastery on Mount Athos. With this iconography in a Church building such as this, a true national witness to Orthodoxy has appeared. Our Saint Nicholas National Shrine is forever the Light on the Hill, the American Parthenon of Orthodoxy, and the witness of faith and pure religion for generations to come.
A Blessed Feast of Christmas and a Happy and healthy New Year!
Faithfully in Christ,
Father Andreas Vithoulkas