On October 4, 2021, the Representation of the World Russian People’s Council at the UN (WRPC) and the Russian American Cultural Heritage Center (RACSI), with the blessing of Bishop Matthew, Temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and Canada, held their traditional annual reception timed to the anniversary of the glorification among the saints of Patriarch Tikhon of All Russia (October 9, 1989). This year’s event was dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the blessing by St. Tikhon and Hieromartyr Alexander Hotovitzky of the cornerstone of St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, which is now the cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in the USA and which since 2005 has housed the Representation of the World Russian People’s Council at the UN.
The event was attended by the Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, V.A. Nebenzya; representatives of other religious confessions; American politicians who supported RACSI’s initiative to rename part of the street on which the church stands in honor of St. Tikhon; and representatives of the public, cultural organizations and business.
Before the reception, a tour of the church with a talk on its history was organized, after which participants were greeted in the parish hall by Priest Mark Rashkov and RACSI President Olga Zatsepina, who spoke about the present-day life of the cathedral and its social, educational and charitable programs, including those carried out jointly with the WRPC Representation at the UN and RACSI. The event was graced by a concert by the world-renowned pianist and composer Konstantin Soukhovetski.
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The first Orthodox service in New York was celebrated in 1865. The first Orthodox parish was founded in 1870 in a private house on Second Avenue. Over time the church could no longer hold all the parishioners, and in 1900 fundraising began for the construction of a church. Among the first donors to the construction was Emperor Nicholas II. The solemn laying of the cornerstone took place in May 1901, and the consecration in November 1902. From 1898 to 1907 the Bishop of North America, Alaska and the Aleutians was Patriarch Tikhon, who made great efforts toward the construction of St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York. In 1905 St. Tikhon moved the diocesan center from San Francisco to New York, and St. Nicholas Church became the cathedral, taking on the mission of the spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy in North America.
For five years RACSI and the WRPC Representation at the UN worked to collect the necessary documents and letters in support of adding the name of Patriarch Tikhon to 97th Street, where the church stands. RACSI completed two years of work together with the William C. Pomeroy Foundation, which resulted in a plaque to be installed on the wall of the cathedral in honor of Patriarch Tikhon. The plaque will be unveiled as soon as the pandemic situation allows a public celebration.
On October 5, 2021, an organizing committee made up of representatives of the parish, RACSI and parishioners gave a presentation to the board of Community District 11, in which the church is located, on the history of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Patriarch Tikhon and Orthodoxy in America. The name of Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin) of Moscow and All Rus’ will be the first name of a Russian person to appear on a Manhattan street, which is so important for the recognition of and respect for the Russian community of New York and the USA.
