THIS! I am completely overcome.

[Mme. Defarge]

This church was destroyed on 9/11. Now it’s reopening as a shrine to victims

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/this-church-was-destroyed-on-9-11-now-its-reopening-as-a-shrine-to-victims



St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church stood out amid the hustle and bustle of lower Manhattan.

The church started out in 1916 in a small row house that used to be a tavern. Over the years, the neighborhood around the church changed, from surrounding row houses to high rises. Developers attempted to acquire the property, but the church stayed put at 155 Cedar St., and became a familiar place for people who worked in the area. Eventually, the church, nowhere near as tall as the buildings nearby, stood alone, surrounded only by a parking lot.

“It was a little church on a lonely parking lot, and it was always open,” said the Rev. Alex Karloutsos, the vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. “People found it like an oasis.”

Because of lower Manhattan’s growth, the church was overshadowed for more than a quarter-century of its existence by two towering neighbors — the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which were built in the 1960s. That location also gave St. Nicholas an unwelcome place in history; when hijackers crashed planes into the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, the collapse of the buildings also destroyed the church. It was the only place of worship leveled by the attacks. Now, two decades later, the church is embarking on a resurrection of sorts. It will reopen not only as a functioning church for Orthodox Christians, but also as a shrine to those who died in the attacks. Most of the exterior of the new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center will be finished for the anniversary on Saturday.

[MagickMuffin]

1. I like the design: FIAT LUX

Darkness is the absence of Light. Let there be LIGHT!

[Haggard Celine]

2. That's beautiful! I'm glad they decided to rebuild.

[Roc2020]

3. Beauiful!

[Stinky The Clown]

4. As if carved from a block of alabaster

[Hekate]

5. This brings tears to my eyes

Fiat Lux, indeed

[Mme. Defarge]

9. I could not ask for a finer

birthday present! 🎈🎈🎈

[yonder]

6. It is a beautiful, awe-inspiring building and appropriate for the site, IMO.

It's reconstruction however, was not without serious problems with respect to cost overruns, redesign issues and alledged missing funds.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nicholas_Greek_Orthodox_Church

I'm glad it is able to open in time for the anniversary.

[Mme. Defarge]

8. I know,

and I am so grateful they have been resolved.

[JHB]

7. I remember the old one. Just passing by, not going in, but...

...was always struck by the contrast by this little immigrant-neighborhood survivor and the modern behemoth that moved in next door.