NEW YORK, NY - September 11, 2026

Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 forever changed the United States and the world, religious and civic leaders, first responders, families of victims, and representatives of diverse faith communities gathered at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center for a solemn service of prayer, remembrance, and renewed commitment to peace.

The observance took place on September 11, 2026, at the sacred ground where Saint Nicholas stands today as both an Orthodox house of worship and a national shrine of remembrance. The original Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, founded in 1916, was the only house of worship destroyed at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, when it was crushed by the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Rebuilt in the years following the tragedy, the Shrine now rises above Ground Zero as a luminous witness to faith, resurrection, reconciliation, and hope.

The memorial observance was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who welcomed representatives of New York’s religious, civic, law-enforcement, and first-responder communities.

The solemn gathering began with the presentation of the colors by the Port Authority Police Department Color Guard, followed by the singing of the National Anthem. In the sacred stillness of the Shrine, Archbishop Elpidophoros then presided over the Orthodox Memorial Service, during which those Orthodox Christians who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks were prayerfully commemorated by name.

The chanting of the memorial petitions and the repeated prayer of the Church - “Memory Eternal!” - transformed a national anniversary into something deeply personal: a remembrance not merely of numbers or history, but of human beings whose lives, families, dreams, and futures were taken from them.

Following the Orthodox Memorial Service, the gathering continued with an interfaith observance.

The Rev. Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne Andreas Vithoulkas, Archiepiscopal Vicar of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, offered words of welcome and reflected upon the unique vocation of Saint Nicholas as a place where people of different faiths may encounter one another in remembrance, prayer, and peace.

First-responder chaplains representing the religious traditions of New York offered the words of Psalm 34, followed by a solemn moment of silence and reflection.

His Excellency Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, proclaimed the beloved words of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want… Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”

In a place where so many walked through the valley of death twenty-five years earlier, the ancient words of the Psalm carried particular spiritual power.

Personal testimonies were then offered, including reflections by Anthoula Katsimatides, whose brother John was killed in the World Trade Center, and Rev. Protopresbyter Panteleimon Papadopoulos. Their words reminded those gathered that September 11 is not simply an event preserved in history books. For thousands of families, survivors, first responders, police officers, firefighters, chaplains, and rescue workers, September 11 remains a living memory.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also addressed the solemn anniversary.

In his public reflections surrounding the 25th anniversary, Mayor Mamdani emphasized the extraordinary solidarity revealed in the darkest hours following the attacks, recalling the courage of first responders, strangers who opened their doors to displaced New Yorkers, and volunteers who labored together amid the devastation.

“There is no burden too heavy when carried together,” the Mayor has said in reflecting upon the anniversary and the spirit demonstrated by New Yorkers after September 11.

His remarks underscored a central theme of the day: terrorism sought to divide, frighten, and destroy, yet the response of countless ordinary people was sacrifice, compassion, courage, and service.

In his concluding remarks, Archbishop Elpidophoros reflected upon the spiritual responsibility carried by a generation now twenty-five years removed from the attacks.

“Today, we stand together in prayer and in remembrance,” His Eminence said, calling those gathered to reject hatred, intolerance, and every effort to exploit human differences in order to divide society.

The Archbishop reminded those present that an entire generation has now been born since September 11, making the responsibility to transmit the memory of that day even more urgent.

“Our collective responsibility of being a living memory will only grow as the years go on,” Archbishop Elpidophoros stated.

Saint Nicholas itself, he explained, embodies that living memory. The Shrine was not rebuilt merely to replace a building that had been destroyed. It arose from Ground Zero as a sacred testimony to the dignity of every person who perished and to humanity’s capacity to choose reconciliation rather than hatred.

In the Orthodox Christian tradition, Archbishop Elpidophoros explained, the prayer “Memory Eternal” means much more than preserving the past. It entrusts those who have fallen asleep to the eternal remembrance of God.

Thus Saint Nicholas has become, in the words and witness of the Archbishop, a living expression of that prayer - a sacred place where remembrance is transformed into prayer and grief is met with the hope of God.

Representing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA at this historic observance was His Eminence Archbishop Daniel, who attended on behalf of Metropolitan Antony, Prime Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, who was unable to participate because of ongoing medical treatment.

Archbishop Daniel was accompanied by Very Rev. Fr. Vasyl Pasakas, pastor of Saint Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, New Jersey.

Their presence expressed the prayerful solidarity of the bishops, clergy, and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA with the families of those who perished, the survivors of the attacks, the first responders, and the entire American nation on this solemn anniversary.

Also participating were hierarchs and representatives of Orthodox Christian jurisdictions and other Christian traditions, together with representatives of the wider interfaith community.

During the gathering, Archbishop Daniel had the opportunity to exchange words of remembrance and fellowship with Archbishop Elpidophoros, Archbishop Ronald Hicks, Orthodox clergy, first-responder chaplains, and members of New York’s religious and civic community.

For the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, participation in this observance carried particular meaning.

For more than a century, Ukrainian Americans have contributed to the religious, civic, military, and cultural life of the United States. Ukrainian-American veterans have served - and in many cases sacrificed their lives - in defense of this nation. Ukrainian-American police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, military personnel, chaplains, and ordinary citizens likewise answered the call of service in the aftermath of September 11 and throughout the years that followed.

On this 25th anniversary, their service and sacrifice were remembered with profound gratitude alongside all who have served the United States.

The anniversary also carries a painful contemporary resonance for Ukrainians. The Ukrainian people know intimately the wounds inflicted upon civilian communities by violence, destruction, displacement, and war. The sacred obligation to remember September 11 therefore speaks directly to the Church’s continuing prayer for all innocent victims of terrorism and violence throughout the world and for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

At the conclusion of the service, the words “Memory Eternal” seemed to express everything that had brought the assembled community together.

Twenty-five years have passed.

Children born after September 11 are now adults. A generation is coming of age that possesses no personal memory of the Twin Towers standing above Manhattan or of the terrible morning when they fell.

And yet the responsibility to remember remains.

Saint Nicholas National Shrine stands precisely where such memory must remain alive. The original little church disappeared beneath the devastation of the South Tower. Today, from that same sacred ground rises a house of prayer filled with light.

Its very existence proclaims a profoundly Christian truth: destruction does not have the final word. Hatred does not have the final word. Terror does not have the final word. Death itself does not have the final word.

As Archbishop Daniel departed Saint Nicholas and walked once again upon the sacred ground of the World Trade Center, the names surrounding the memorial pools bore silent witness to thousands of individual lives whose absence continues to be felt twenty-five years later.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA joins the nation in remembering every innocent person who perished on September 11, 2001; the firefighters, police officers, Port Authority officers, emergency personnel and first responders who ran toward danger while others fled; those who later died from illnesses related to their service at Ground Zero; the members of the Armed Forces who subsequently gave their lives in service to the nation; and all families who continue to carry the wounds of that September morning.

We remember as Americans. We remember as Ukrainian Americans.

Above all, we remember as Christians who believe that every human life is sacred and that no grave, no act of violence, and no darkness of human hatred can extinguish the light of Christ.

Twenty-five years later, beneath the illuminated dome of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero, the prayer of the Church continues to rise:

May the souls of all those whose lives were taken on September 11, 2001 dwell with the righteous.

May the Lord grant consolation to their families and strength to all who continue to bear the wounds of that day.

May God protect the United States of America, grant peace to suffering Ukraine, and deliver all peoples from terrorism, hatred, violence, and war.

May their memory be eternal.  Вічна їм пам’ять!