The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, at 319–337
East 74th Street
74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...
on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
in New York City, New York, is a
Neo-Byzantine
Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...
-style
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
church.
It serves as the national cathedral of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
Archbishop
On May 11, 2019, the church's Hol ...
, and as the episcopal seat of
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America ( el, Ελπιδοφόρος, ; born Ioannis Lambriniadis ( el, Ιωάννης Λαμπρυνιάδης); 28 November 1967) is a bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. On 22 June 2019 he becam ...
.
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
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
church in the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...
.
Activities
The
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
is the home
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
for 800 families, and hosts dignitaries and visitors.
It offers regular worship (which is broadcast on television),
Sunday school
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West.
Su ...
, afternoon school, the Cathedral School (grades N-8), Bible study, and various ministries and fellowship organizations.
History
In 1891 the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox parish's first home was in part of an
Evangelical church
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
on
West 53rd Street for $50 per-month ($ in current dollar terms).
It was the second Greek Orthodox church in the Americas and the first in New York City.
In 1904 it was purchased and moved to a
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
church at 153
East 72nd Street
72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in New York City's borough of Manhattan. The street primarily runs through the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods. It is one of the few streets to go through Cen ...
. In 1927, the East 72nd Street church burned down, and two years later land was purchased and a new church was built for $577,000 ($ in current dollar terms) in
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
style.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
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
Athenagoras I ( el, Αθηναγόρας Αʹ), born Aristocles Matthaiou ("son of Matthew", a patronymic) Spyrou ( el, Αριστοκλής Ματθαίου Σπύρου, links=no; – July 7, 1972), initially the Greek archbishop in North Amer ...
, later
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
,
consecrate
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
d the cathedral on October 22, 1933. He called it: "The Cathedral of all of Hellenism in America".
In 1949, it established the Cathedral School. It was designated the archdiocesan cathedral in 1962.
On September 18, 1999,
Archbishop Demetrios
Archbishop Demetrios (born Demetrios Trakatellis; el, Δημήτριος Τρακατέλλης) is a former elder archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He resigned from this posit ...
was enthroned at the cathedral as
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.
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
Archbishop Spyridon of America (born George Papageorge, el, Γεώργιος Παπαγεωργίου) is a retired Greek Orthodox bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who was the archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America from July ...
, but by late 1999 had regained his position.
Stephanopoulos retired in 2007, after being dean for 25 years, and Frank Marangos was named the new dean. Since June 2012, the dean has been Fr. Anastasios Gounaris.
Opera singer
Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...
was baptised at the church in 1926, in 2001 television journalist and former political advisor
George Stephanopoulos
George Robert Stephanopoulos ( el, Γεώργιος Στεφανόπουλος ; born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a coanchor with Robin Robe ...
and comedian
Alexandra Wentworth
Alexandra "Ali" Wentworth (born January 12, 1965) is an American actress, comedian, author, and producer.
Early life
Wentworth's mother, Muffie Cabot (née Mabel Bryant Hobart), was Nancy Reagan's White House Social Secretary, White House soci ...
were married there, and in 2011
Christopher Nixon Cox
Christopher Nixon Cox (born March 14, 1979) is an American lawyer based in New York. He is the son of Tricia Nixon Cox and Edward F. Cox, and grandson of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon. Cox is the CEO of Lightswitch Capital, ...
, grandson of President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, and heiress Andrea Catsimatidis, daughter of
Gristedes
Gristedes is a New York City-based chain of supermarkets. It serves a mostly urban customer base.
History Gristede Brothers: 1891-1987
Charles Gristede and his brother Diedrich came to the United States from Germany in 1888, found work in groc ...
billionaire
John Catsimatidis
John A. Catsimatidis (born September 7, 1948) is an American billionaire businessman and radio talk show host. He is the owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes Foods, a grocery chain in Manhattan, and the Red Apple Group, a real estat ...
, were married there.
Architecture
The exterior is
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
red brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
and
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
.
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
Lehman College is a public college in the Bronx borough of New York City. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehma ...
.
The interior has
Byzantine mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s,
botticino
Botticino (Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' (commune or municipality) in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. The ''comune'' was created in 1928 by the union of the former ''comuni'' of Botticino Mattina and Botticino Sera which today, ...
marble for the walls, columns, and altar, and imported Italian
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
.
The
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
on the dome was created by Georgios Gliatas, a student of iconographer
Fotis Kontoglou
Photis Kontoglou (, the pen name of Φώτης Αποστολέλης (Photis Apostolelis); Aivali, 8 November 1895 – Athens, 13 July 1965) was a Greek writer, painter and icon painter.
Life
He was raised by his mother, Despoina Kontoglou, an ...
.
The church sits down the block from the Bohemian Gothic Revival
Jan Hus Presbyterian Church
Jan Hus Presbyterian Church is a Christian congregation associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. It is the oldest Czech Presbyterian congregation in the US, having been founded in 1877, and the church building was opened in 1888.
The church i ...
.
References
External links
Cathedral websitegoarch.org
{{Authority control
Churches in Manhattan
Upper East Side
Cathedrals in New York City
Greek Orthodox churches in New York City
Greek Orthodox cathedrals in the United States
Churches completed in 1932
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Religious organizations established in 1891
1891 establishments in New York (state)
Church buildings with domes