Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection, New York, United States

Historical Details

Build - Founding Year:

1870

History:

The parish originated in 1870 as the Russo-Greek Chapel of Holy Trinity to serve the needs of the Russian and Greek Embassies. In 1895 it was re-organized as the Church of St Nicholas and the community began to flourish under the pastorate of Archpriest Alexander Hotovitsky, who began a vigorous campaign to raise funds to build a permanent church. In 1898 Bishop Tikhon (Belavin) arrived in New York, and in 1904, after the completion of construction of a new church on East 97th Street, he transferred the center of the Diocese from San Francisco to New York City, raising St Nicholas to the status of Cathedral. Church life in America was thrown into turmoil during and after the 1917 Communist revolution in Russia, and in the process, the government of the Soviet Union sued for ownership of all properties built with Tsarist funds abroad. It would only be in New York City that they would prevail and win control over the cathedral building in 1926. The dispossessed community, now re-organized as the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection, would wait another 17 years before enough funds were raised to purchase the Olivet Memorial church on East 2nd Street, our present home. The building, constructed in 1867 and designed by renowned architect Josiah Cady, was easily adapted to Orthodox worship. The icons were painted at various times and are of both traditional Byzantine style as well as the westernized style popular in Russia in the 19th century. In recent years we have made a conscious effort to adhere to the traditional Byzantine style that better communicates the other-worldly theology of the Orthodox Church.