New York City, October 6, 2014
On Saturday, October 4, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York (the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) consecrated the new Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist in New York (Brooklyn, Sheepshead Bay).
It can be said that for today this is one of the largest Orthodox churches in New York City and is inferior only to the St. Nicholas Cathedral on Manhattan (belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate) in respect of capacity and adornments. Most likely, only the Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia on 18th Avenue (the first of four Orthodox churches now active in this NY borough) can rival the newly consecrated church.
The new Church of St. John the Baptist now occupies the building of a former Methodist church; only a small, splendid dome and a distinctive cross above the entrance indicate that this is an Orthodox church. One can understand the joy of the church Rector Archpriest Alexander Belya, the parish council and all the parishioners, who over several years had to move from one rented premise of Brooklyn to another. Within the shortest possible space of time the church was repaired by the Kadar Elite Construction company, led by Michael Kadar. Benefactors and volunteers from among the parishioners actively helped in arranging the church. On Friday evening trowel men were still working here, and on Saturday morning the church was already receiving its parishioners and clergymen from neighboring communities, arriving to the celebration.
Clergy of the Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign”, of the Church of St. John the Baptist, the Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, the Church of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “The Inexhaustible Cup” as well as priests and deacons of other parishes of the diocese concelebrated with Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York at the Divine Liturgy and the church consecration.
After the service the constructioin company director Michael Kadar and the churchwarden of the St. John the Baptist’s Church John (Ivan) Belya were presented with the highest award of the ROCOR—the Synodal Order of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, 3rd Class. The active volunteer builders received diocesan diplomas.
