The Church Buried by the South Tower, Rebuilt 21 Years Later
What the video says
The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church stood a couple hundred feet from the World Trade Center. Greek immigrants in the 1900s bought the building, put a cross on the roof, and turned it into a church that could barely fit 80 people. Inside it held gifts from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and a box with relics of St. Nicholas, St. Catherine, and St. Sava, kept in a 600 lb fireproof safe.
When the South Tower fell on 9/11, it buried the church completely, leaving no doors or windows. Workers dug through the rubble for weeks and found damaged icons, charred Bibles, melted candles, and the church's bell. On December 6th, 2022, the feast day of St. Nicholas, the rebuilt church opened again, made of white marble that glows like a candle at night.
Key moments
- On 9/11 the South Tower of the World Trade Center fell on St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, which stood a couple hundred feet away.
- Greek immigrants in the 1900s bought the building, put a cross on the roof, and made it into a church that could barely fit 80 people.
- The church held gifts from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and a box of relics of St. Nicholas, St. Catherine, and St. Sava, kept in a 600 lb fireproof safe.
- When the South Tower came down it buried the church completely, leaving no doors or windows.
- Workers dug through the rubble for weeks and found damaged icons, charred Bibles, melted candles, and the church's bell.
- On December 6th, 2022, the feast day of St. Nicholas, the church reopened, built of white marble that glows like a candle at night.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church stood a couple hundred feet from the World Trade Center. Greek immigrants in the 1900s bought the building, put a cross on the roof, and turned it into a church that could barely fit 80 people. Inside it held gifts from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and a box with relics of St. Nicholas, St. Catherine, and St. Sava, kept in a 600-pound fireproof safe.
On September 11, 2001, the South Tower fell on the church and buried it completely, leaving no doors or windows. Workers dug through the rubble for weeks. They found damaged icons, charred Bibles, melted candles, and the church's bell, but the safe with the relics was never found. Twenty-one years later, on December 6, 2022, the feast day of St. Nicholas, the rebuilt church opened its doors again. It is built of white marble and glows like a candle at night over Ground Zero.
Main points
- Greek immigrants bought the building in the 1900s and made it into a church that could barely fit 80 people.
- The church held gifts from Tsar Nicholas II and relics of St. Nicholas, St. Catherine, and St. Sava in a 600-pound fireproof safe.
- On 9/11 the South Tower fell on the church and buried it completely.
- Workers dug for weeks and found damaged icons, charred Bibles, melted candles, and the bell, but the safe was never found.
- The rebuilt church opened on December 6, 2022, the feast day of St. Nicholas, and glows at night over Ground Zero.