Memorial Service for September 11 victims organized at St. Nicholas WTC

In an emotionally charged atmosphere, a memorial service was held at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in Lower Manhattan for the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11 on the occasion of the 22nd dark anniversary of the horrific events of 2001.

It was a ceremony of historical proportions, given that it was the first to take place in the new St. Nicholas Church on the day of the sad anniversary, acquiring a special symbolism.

Present, among others, was the president of the organization Friends of St. Nicholas Michael Psaros, Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of America, the St. Nicholas parish’s pastor, Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas, and Fr. John Lardas.

In the first row were seated the family members of John Katsimatides and Danielle Kousoulis, two of the Greek-American September 11 victims, although the prayers were for all those thousands of people who tragically lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey, who presided over the memorial service, described the victims of September 11 as “martyrs of the Church” and “holy people.”

“Thousands of innocent people were killed. It cannot be forgotten,” the Metropolitan said, continuing, “you can’t forget these people. From my point of view, these people, who died on 11 September 2001, are saints. We honor the memory of these holy people. I remember being in Greece and seeing these pictures on TV, we couldn’t believe it… I was in Greece, and I was supposed to travel to America in October. It was something we couldn’t believe. We thought it was a movie. My mother then said to me, ‘Where are you going to America now, can’t you see what’s happening?’ But I couldn’t come. For me, these people are witnesses of the Church.”