OUR PHOTOS are all from today’s hellenicdailynewsny.com post by Evageline Plakas – link here
ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
It wasn’t enough that the supposed “Orthodox” nature of the “Temple” (sorry, I meant “Shrine”) has been recently blurred with co-celebrations with Catholics and the presence of Muslims (Mayor Mamdani), we now deal with a new tranformation of it – this time into an “Art Gallery” and a “Conference Room” (Link here to the Agni Zotis FB page)... Or should we better call it “A marketplace” (John 2:16). How far fetched is to assume that some of these paintings were sold and made money? Did they make money only for the artist, or for St. Nicholas as well? We are waiting for an answer. This slippery slope is what allowed”Halloween” rituals performed in one of NYC’s most historic Christian churches, St. John the Divine…
By Nick Stamatakis
For what exactly was St. Nicholas Shrine at Ground Zero built? That is no longer a rhetorical question.
After countless millions of dollars were spent to erect this structure on property that reportedly does not even belong to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese itself, but is leased from the Port Authority…
After an endless procession of fashionable “interfaith” spectacles and public-relations pageantry…
After the astonishing spectacle of Patriarch Bartholomew allowing himself to be depicted in iconographic form as “offering” the Shrine itself to St. Nicholas — an act many Orthodox faithful viewed not as piety, but as breathtaking hybris and theological confusion… Hybris that matches his continuous acts of faithlessness (pro-LGBTQ stance) and desecralization (e.g. “Green Patriarch”)…
After the solemn televised consecration of the altar at St. Nicholas, with all the sacred rites and irreversible spiritual meaning that consecration entails…
We are now informed that this “National Shrine” has once again been casually repurposed for yet another secular elite event — this time connected to discussions of the “digital economy.”
One is forced to ask: Is this truly what an Orthodox shrine at Ground Zero was meant to become?
Because in the Orthodox Christian understanding, a consecrated temple is not a symbolic backdrop for networking sessions, branding exercises, intellectual salons, corporate futurism, or fashionable social gatherings. A consecrated Orthodox church is not an “event space.” It is not a cultural pavilion. It is not a stage set for elite conferences wrapped in spiritual aesthetics.
An Orthodox ναός is set apart for God. The Church’s sacred canons and liturgical tradition are not ambiguous on this point. The altar is consecrated. The temple is sanctified. The space is dedicated to divine worship, prayer, repentance, sacramental life, and the glorification of God.
Yet increasingly throughout the Orthodox diaspora — especially in the West — many churches appear to drift toward precisely the opposite understanding: the desacralization of holy space into multipurpose religious-cultural facilities whose boundaries are endlessly negotiable.
This did not begin yesterday. Orthodox parish halls have long blurred lines between sacred and secular life. But what is especially disturbing in this case is the symbolism.
This is Ground Zero. This shrine was presented to the faithful as a sacred national memorial born from the ashes of September 11th. The emotional, spiritual, and financial investment demanded from the Orthodox faithful was immense. The rhetoric surrounding its reconstruction was immense. The symbolism was immense.
And yet now, after all the rhetoric about sanctity and sacred witness, the faithful are apparently expected to accept the routine transformation of this consecrated shrine into a platform for secular programming.
Even the Roman Catholic Church — hardly known today for its rigid traditionalism — formally distinguishes between the sacred and secular uses of consecrated churches. They do it as a matter of principle. BUT let’s not forget that in NYC, “Halloween” is allowed to take place within the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine – an atrocious, blasphemous act.
PHOTO: The artist Agni Zotis
Orthodoxy historically maintained a very strict understanding. And so a very simple question deserves a very public answer:
Who exactly within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese authorized and blessed this event inside St. Nicholas Shrine? Fr. Vithoulkas, do you have something to explain? How about the Parish Council President, Christina Halatsi? Did any of you bother to inform the Chancellor (Bp Nektarios Papzafiropoulos), Fr. Villis, or the Archbishop himself?
The Orthodox faithful deserve transparency regarding who continues to redefine — piece by piece, event by event, compromise by compromise — the meaning of sacred space in contemporary Orthodoxy.
The “bucket” (of responsibility) stops at the desk of the “Great Heretic”, Pat. Bartholomew… On top of everything else, Bartholomew adopted the title “Green Patriarch,” and he foolishly believes that he gains relevance by desacralizing the faith. And by preaching about “the planet” separating it from God… As if “the Planet” is a faith object by itself and not because it is God’s creation…
In the end, the question must finally be asked openly: Was St. Nicholas Shrine built as a holy Orthodox temple dedicated to God, or as a religiously themed ceremonial venue for the spiritual aesthetics of the global elite?
May 13, 2026, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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Anything to make a buck! The OCU and company are dancing and singing in UOC churches that they stole so it is not surprising that churches that are under the turkish patriarch are treated with so much disrespect! Shame on all of them responsible for this!
I hear Fr. Villis, the airhead Orthodox priest who kissed the rabbi’s hand is very leftist &
probably blessed this nonsense.
As for Fr. Vithoulkos he couldn’t care less, he’s just waiting for his pension to check out. And that’s not my opinion, it’s what he’s been known to say!
Nobody I know wants to visit the bizarro shrine.
Nick, I appreciate your writings, but, please know that Saint John the Divine in NYC is the cathedral of the Episcopalian church, and not a Roman Catholic Church.
Thanks for the correction – I have to note here that by some coincidence I happened to have witnessed such a Halloween 30-35 years ago… the secularization process however has started in all denominations
Ridiculous!
Agni Zotis is undoubtedly a very talented artist, but having her work displayed like this in a consecrated church is in very poor taste, and it doesn’t make her art look any better by juxtaposing it among the icons of the Church. If anything, it makes her art look like a miserable desecration. I guess she was somehow allowed to do this (or was it requested of her?) because she is on the parish council.
What bothers me the most, is the arrogance of the Saint Nicholas Church’s leadership, allowing an artist not only to exhibit her so called art pieces (artistic garbage in my humble and expert opinion as a seasoned art collector), but also to express her philosophical believes, which are totally irrelevant to our Greek Orthodox faith. I regret contributing a lot of money for the extremely expensive construction of the Saint Nicholas Church (only God knows where a big part of the money went) and also to see every connected idiot with its management team to impose on all of us his or her unjustifiable will. Father Vithoulkas, I left a message for you to call me back yesterday but you didn’t bother to follow up. Probably because you remember my other chastising phone call to you, when another artist exhibited in the past at the Saint Nicholas Church, her so called art pieces (in reality artistic garbage). If I recall correctly, at that time you apologized to me for that unfortunate art exhibition. Am I wrong? In closing and metaphorically writing, you all of the Saint Nicholas Church management team need a beating with Jesus Christ’s stick (the same stick that He went after the merchants at the grounds of the Nao). Shame on all of you.
Achilles good for you! That’s exactly what’s happening to this shrine, just pathetic.
Michael Psaros are you listening? You spent millions on this shameless mess? Allowing Andrew Cuomo to dictate it not look like a church?
And Fr. Alex are you listening? You chose a non Orthodox architect like Calatrava to design this ugly bunker? And it cost GOA $100 million?
Anathema!
Greek church funding is increasingly complicated. Whereas some
denominations depend two third on tithing, Greek and Italian churches
depend on festivals for a third of their funding. Increasingly
government programs, such as elder care, child care, addiction and
bereavement provide a tenth of funding but also bring political
correctness monitoring. Greek churches used to depend on public
transportation, borrowing parking from local businesses, but today
they can offer their weekday parking to the same busineses. Some
denominations hold receptions after weddings, baptisms and funerals in
their church halls instead of catering halls. Church facilities such
as halls, classrooms, and gyms can be lent out to social and
political organisations when not in use. Even the kitchen can become
a church festival commissary to provide Greek delicacies to local
eateries. Elderly and children can also come together to care for each
other while making crafts which can then be sold to local stores.
“Greek church funding is increasingly complicated. ”
Only because the Church insists on keeping their shenanigans secret from the Laity. Light is a powerful disinfectant.
All the ideas you mention (and more) have been done in the past by parishioners who have left disgusted.
And never forget WHO built these churches; not any hierarchs.
Looking at her youtube videos, she is a BIG proponent of using Yoga to “empower” kids and educators. Not really an idology the Church wants to get mixed up with….Lord have mercy
Why all the fuss??
When you build the most expensive public restroom ever, you’ll need to resort to all means necessary to stop the financial hemorrhage…. Maybe they should tap Philoptochos funds again.
Way past time to “flush the stables”. The longer we delay that, the worse it will get.
Everyone! Everyone is constantly speaking of transparency etc…
How about demanding FINANCIAL AUDITS of every single GOAA account. The known and let’s discover the unknown, yet, accounts that exist and are covert. Known only to those who control them, ( Elpidoktonos and his friends).So they think… And speaking of audits, how about auditing this so called “Archbishop”. How about auditing every single one of his accounts, those in his name, his mothers name, his brothers name, and any other name which hides under his vestments). They exist my friends. Let’s find them. Especially those who are under his vestments and his control. Stop whining, let’s do something get rid of him and his clowns and save our Church. Enough is enough…
The Saint Nicholas shrine is a registered national burial site. It is not a flea market to peddle your Hunter Biden inspired finger paintings! Just when I think these clowns can’t set the bar any lower, they just keep surprising us all!
Her “art” is as bland as she is.
Is this the same one with the pink Greek flag?