Archbishop Ronald Hicks Attends Annual 9/11 Interfaith Memorial Service
By: Armando Machado
Faith leaders gathered at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the only house of worship destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, to honor victims and speak of resilience and unity
Archbishop Ronald Hicks was among several religious leaders who attended the annual Interfaith Memorial Service in honor of all who perished in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The service was held in the midafternoon on Friday, Sept. 11, at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Shrine, 130 Liberty St., near the Freedom Tower, Ground Zero. Speakers noted that the church was the only house of worship that was destroyed in the tragic attack, but that it was rebuilt through strong faith and resilience, reopening in 2022.
Archbishop Hicks read from Psalm 23 (22), “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul … Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord to the end of my days.”
Impromptu remarks
Later after the service, on Liberty Street, about a block from the church, the archbishop granted a few reporters a brief, impromptu press conference, saying in part that the Interfaith Service and other 9/11 gatherings this week were about people being “united in a common bond to love, to love each other as brother and sister.”
“I’ve seen so many instances of that, not only in the Roman Catholic tradition, but with our brothers and sisters in the ecumenical (community) and the different faith traditions that we have,” Archbishop Hicks continued. “It’s been a very powerful time to come together in a sense of real unity, as we continue to pray for peace.” He noted that he was in his native Chicago when 9/11 happened 25 years ago, adding, “And I was numb and in denial and watched every moment of it. And at the same time, I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for New Yorkers to have lived that … My heart is united with all of them.”
In the Interfaith Memorial Service, words on the importance of resilience, faith, and love were offered by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and Rev. Protopresbyter Andreas Vithoulkas, presiding priest of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.
“Our shared history as New Yorkers binds us together, together in solidarity with those who suffered such tragic loss,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said of the families who lost loved ones in the attacks. “And we join (them) with hearts and hands.” And he asserted about the tragedy, “Never again.”
Kindness summoned from within
Mayor Mamdani said, “We remember the horrific terror attacks, we remember all those killed, we remember the enormous devastation of that day … But that’s not all we remember; we remember the generosity that strangers showed to strangers, those who never made it home so that others could, the kindness so many summoned from deep within. We remember how many people helped … No other church was destroyed on Sept. 11. And yet this (church) community, like this city, is resilient. You found the strength to rebuild; you found the strength to renew. You found the strength to recover.”
Testimonials were offered by Anthoula Katsimatides and Rev. Protopresbyter Panteleimon Papadopoulos. Katsimatides spoke of the emotional pain of learning that her brother died in the attack while working in Tower One, and of her faith journey at St. Nicholas, “learning how to carry our love forward.” Rev. Papadopoulos spoke of being in Boston with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios when they learned of the Sept. 11 attacks, and how they made their way back to New York, first by private car to Connecticut, then via a dispatched police vehicle escort.
Facts Only
* Archbishop Ronald Hicks attended an annual Interfaith Memorial Service on Friday, Sept. 11.
* The service occurred at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Shrine, 130 Liberty St., New York City.
* Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was the only house of worship destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks.
* The church reopened in 2022.
* Archbishop Hicks read from Psalm 23.
* Archbishop Hicks stated he was in Chicago during the Sept. 11 attacks.
* Mayor Zohran Mamdani provided remarks during the service.
* Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America provided remarks.
* Rev. Protopresbyter Andreas Vithoulkas served as the presiding priest.
* Anthoula Katsimatides provided a testimonial regarding her brother's death in Tower One.
* Rev. Protopresbyter Panteleimon Papadopoulos provided a testimonial regarding his travel from Boston to New York on Sept. 11.
Executive Summary
Faith leaders and city officials gathered on September 11 at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Shrine in New York City for an annual interfaith memorial service. The event honored the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks and highlighted the resilience of the church community, as Saint Nicholas was the only house of worship destroyed during the attacks before being rebuilt and reopened in 2022.
The service featured readings from Psalm 23 by Archbishop Ronald Hicks and remarks from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Archbishop Elpidophoros. Speakers emphasized themes of unity, solidarity, and the kindness shown by strangers during the tragedy. Personal testimonials were provided by individuals who lost family members or witnessed the immediate aftermath of the attacks. While the event focused on spiritual healing and collective memory, the perspectives shared were centered on the shared identity of New Yorkers and the ecumenical bond between different faith traditions.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative is one of spiritual and civic recovery, emphasizing that shared trauma can be converted into a unifying force across disparate religious and political lines. It presents the rebuilding of a physical structure—the church—as a metaphor for the emotional rebuilding of a city.
The narrative relies on a cohesive framing of resilience and unity. By centering the event at the only destroyed house of worship, the narrative creates a powerful symbol of survival. However, there are no load-bearing manipulation patterns present; the emotive language is inherent to the subject matter of a memorial service and is not engineered to bypass reasoning for a specific policy or commercial goal.
Patterns detected: none
The driving paradigm is one of "Healing through Remembrance," assuming that the act of public, interfaith gathering serves as a necessary mechanism for social cohesion. It echoes the historical pattern of using sacred spaces to anchor national or civic identity following a catastrophe. This approach prioritizes the collective emotional state over a political or systemic analysis of the events.
For human agency, this narrative reinforces the idea that individual kindness and faith are the primary tools for overcoming tragedy. The benefit is a sense of belonging and psychological closure for survivors and families. The potential second-order consequence is the sublimation of complex political grief into a generalized "bond of love," which may simplify the nuanced trauma of the event.
Bridge Questions:
1. How does the focus on religious resilience complement or conflict with the secular mourning processes of the city?
2. In what ways does the physical reconstruction of a landmark influence the perceived psychological recovery of a community?
Counterstrike Scan:
A coordinated influence campaign would use this narrative to erase specific political grievances or push a specific geopolitical agenda by weaponizing the "unity" theme to silence dissent. The actual content does not match this pattern; it remains a straightforward account of a commemorative religious event.