New York City, August 1, 2014
The Northern Cross Historical Society of Russian Compatriots in the USA has proposed naming a street in New York City after Holy Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin) of Moscow and All Russia (1865-1925), reports ITAR-TASS.
This initiative is supported by Russians and Orthodox Americans living in New York, hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Patriarchal parishes in the USA.
“The petition concerning this will be submitted to the mayor’s office in the next few days, in September it will go through the City Council, and we feel certain that in the coming months we will have a Patriarch Tikhon Street in the city,” said the president of the Northern Cross Society, Yuri Sandulov. It is supposed to extend along East 97th Street from Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue.
According to present New York City municipal laws, at least 20,000 New York citizens must support the renaming of a street.
“There are more than 300,000 Russian-speaking citizens in the city who consider themselves to be children of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia, which is a part of the former. Most of them are enthusiastic about the idea of perpetuating the memory of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, who became the first patriarch after the restoration of the Patriarchate in Russia” in 1918, noted Sandulov.
Patriarch Tikhon’s ministry was closely connected with America: between 1898 and 1907 he was Bishop of North America, Alaska and the Aleutians. Through St. Tikhon’s efforts many Orthodox books were translated into English, and St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York was built (the cathedral is situated on the very part of 97th Street that will probably be named after the patriarch). He also undertook an enormous amount of missionary work—dozens of new churches were open during his time as bishop there.
“Orthodox Christians of America remember that Holy Patriarch Tikhon succeeded in preserving the Church in the circumstances of the most cruel persecutions against the faithful that followed the October revolution in Russia. He was our great compatriot who greatly contributed to the rapprochement between Russia and the USA. It is particularly necessary to remember his spiritual and secular exploits now, when the tension between our countries has increased,” believes the president of the Northern Cross Society.
