The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection and Chapel of St. Innocent of Irkutsk, an impressive stone structure at 59 East 2nd Street in the East Village just across the street from the Marble Cemetery, is planning to add 8 residential stories to its current 60 foot height.
The expansion of the existing 1867 church will make the building 141 feet high.
The Department of Buildings processed the plans September 16, 2008 and the plans submitted by Gianni Intili of R.I.P. Construction Consultants call for 34 residential condominium apartments.
According to the church's website, "The church is a Cathedral of the diocese of Washington and New York, and directly under the Primate and First Hierarch of the Orthodox Church in America. The Orthodox Church in America belongs to the worldwide communion of Orthodox Churches. We profess the same faith as the Apostles of Jesus Christ which was articulated in the Letters of the Apostle Paul and defined by the earliest Councils of the original, undivided Church held from the 4th - 9th centuries. These same Councils formulated the Holy Bible with the Old and New Testaments, and provide the earliest and most authentic teaching of Christ held in common from the time of the Apostles by the early Christians. These teachings were not subjected to the changes brought about in the Roman Catholic church and, later the many branches of Protestantism which were derived from early Roman Catholic variations and additions."
"Whilst the major Orthodox Churches are found in the Middle East and Eastern Europe," the website continued, "today Orthodox Christians are spread throughout the world and there are few countries without an Orthodox presence. In the United States, the Orthodox collectively form the third largest Christian community, having some 4 million members. Most of the local Orthodox Churches are represented, principally the Greek Orthodox Church, but also the Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Russian, Bulgarian, and Albanian Orthodox Churches....The missionary monk, Herman from the Russian monastery of Valaam, who settled in the Aleutian chain of Alaska, first brought the Orthodox faith to this continent in the 18th century. A bishop, Innocent (Veniaminov) was assigned to this newly established diocese in the 19th century. Later, toward the beginning of the 20th century, the center of the diocese was transferred to the 'lower 48,' first to San Francisco, and then, in 1904 with the growth of immigration, to New York City."
"The parish," the website continued, "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 (Bellavin) 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."
This building was designed by Josiah Cady.
The expansion of the existing 1867 church will make the building 141 feet high.
The Department of Buildings processed the plans September 16, 2008 and the plans submitted by Gianni Intili of R.I.P. Construction Consultants call for 34 residential condominium apartments.
According to the church's website, "The church is a Cathedral of the diocese of Washington and New York, and directly under the Primate and First Hierarch of the Orthodox Church in America. The Orthodox Church in America belongs to the worldwide communion of Orthodox Churches. We profess the same faith as the Apostles of Jesus Christ which was articulated in the Letters of the Apostle Paul and defined by the earliest Councils of the original, undivided Church held from the 4th - 9th centuries. These same Councils formulated the Holy Bible with the Old and New Testaments, and provide the earliest and most authentic teaching of Christ held in common from the time of the Apostles by the early Christians. These teachings were not subjected to the changes brought about in the Roman Catholic church and, later the many branches of Protestantism which were derived from early Roman Catholic variations and additions."
"Whilst the major Orthodox Churches are found in the Middle East and Eastern Europe," the website continued, "today Orthodox Christians are spread throughout the world and there are few countries without an Orthodox presence. In the United States, the Orthodox collectively form the third largest Christian community, having some 4 million members. Most of the local Orthodox Churches are represented, principally the Greek Orthodox Church, but also the Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Russian, Bulgarian, and Albanian Orthodox Churches....The missionary monk, Herman from the Russian monastery of Valaam, who settled in the Aleutian chain of Alaska, first brought the Orthodox faith to this continent in the 18th century. A bishop, Innocent (Veniaminov) was assigned to this newly established diocese in the 19th century. Later, toward the beginning of the 20th century, the center of the diocese was transferred to the 'lower 48,' first to San Francisco, and then, in 1904 with the growth of immigration, to New York City."
"The parish," the website continued, "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 (Bellavin) 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."
This building was designed by Josiah Cady.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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