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Why can Muslims build a mosque in New York, but Christians can’t build a church? The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 9-0 on Aug. 3 against granting historic protection to the building near Ground Zero that will now become “a Muslim center and a mosque,” according to the New York Times. Yet the city’s Port Authority has refused to permit St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church to re-build its house of worship. The 96-year-old church was the only house of worship destroyed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The parish and Greek Orthodox Archdiocese said in an Aug. 23 press release, “In 2004, the authorities proposed that the new edifice be built at 130 Liberty Street, a parcel on the same block as the original site, and an agreement was reached between the Archdiocese and the Port Authority.” Nevertheless, the press release concluded, “The latest Port Authority administration in 2009 unexpectedly and arbitrarily reneged on this agreement and as a result, [we] are suddenly offered no viable option. The Port Authority has refused to meet with us. In the meantime [they have] excavated the original site without our consent, rendering it unusable in flagrant violation of our legal rights.”
The Rev. Mark Arey, an archdiocesan spokesman, said on Aug. 26, “St. Nicholas has nothing to do with this mosque controversy. We believe in religious freedom …. But it’s a rising tide that lifts all boats. People say the mosque has been green-lighted, but why not this church?” As an Orthodox Christian, I am appalled by the double standard that New York authorities have applied to the mosque and the church.
David E. Sumner, Ph.D.
Anderson
