9/11 25th Anniversary Memorial

 

Friday, September 11, 2026, marks the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

This Sunday, September 13, we will commemorate this fateful day with a 25th Anniversary Memorial of 9/11. As a 125th Commemorative Event, I ask you all to join us for this memorial as well as our Youth Ministries Kick-off and PTO Luncheon!

9/11 by the Numbers.

Twenty-five years ago, 2,977 people lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on our nation. They came from more than 90 countries. Among them were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers and other first responders who ran toward danger while others were running away. And here in Pennsylvania, we remember the 40 passengers and crew members of Flight 93 who lost their lives in Shanksville.

St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Shrine at Ground Zero.

There is also a very personal connection for us as Orthodox Christians.

In Lower Manhattan stood the small Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas, just a few hundred feet from the World Trade Center. On that morning, Saint Nicholas was completely destroyed when the South Tower collapsed. It was the only house of worship destroyed on September 11th.Thankfully, no one was inside the church at the time.

Archons of Ecumenical Patriarchate

In the years that followed, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate played an important role in keeping the Orthodox presence at Ground Zero alive. They worked and advocated for the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas, not simply so that a church building could be replaced, but so that the Orthodox Church would continue to have a place of prayer, remembrance, healing, and hope at Ground Zero.

And today, Saint Nicholas stands there once again.

Orthodox Christians Who Perished on That Day

We also know that among those who perished that day were at least 21 Orthodox Christians. Their names have been gathered and preserved by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. You will hear their names.

25 years later, we remember. Behind every number was a human being: a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a husband, a wife, a relative, and a friend.

25 Year Memorial

And as Orthodox Christians, we do what the Church has always taught us to do: we remember them before God.

We pray for those who died, for their families, for the first responders who gave their lives, and for all those who continue to carry the wounds of that day.

And perhaps most important, we pray that God will grant us the wisdom to remember without hatred, to mourn without despair, and to answer evil not with more evil, but with the love, mercy, and peace of Christ.

May the memory of all those who perished on September 11, 2001, be eternal.

Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη.