St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Cathedral

221 East 27th Street | Kips Bay | built 1920

Open on the map5 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1842

   August 15

   The Rose Hill Methodist congregation lays the cornerstone for a new church

   The Rose Hill Methodist Episcopal congregation, meeting in temporary quarters since organizing in 1824, lays the cornerstone for its first permanent church on East 27th Street. The $7,000 building is completed within the year, and Rev. Dr. Stephen Olin, president of Wesleyan University, dedicates it.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1848

   November 18

   Fire destroys the Rose Hill church and nearby livery stables

   A fire sweeps the block, destroying the young Rose Hill Methodist Episcopal church along with nearby livery stables and 115 horses. The congregation rebuilds within a year, completing a new Greek Revival structure on the same site by 1849. That replacement building still stands at 221 East 27th Street.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1897

   Bella Cooke marks 50 years of bedridden charity work at the church

   Congregant Bella Cooke, confined to bed for decades, marks 50 years of distributing charity to the poor from her sickroom. The church holds a jubilee celebration in her honor, and she remains one of the congregation's best-known members until her death in 1908.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1920

   October

   St. Illuminator's Armenian congregation formally buys the former Methodist church

   St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Church, organized in 1910, has held services in the former Rose Hill Methodist church since 1916 under lease. In October 1920 the Armenian congregation formally purchases the building outright, giving New York's Armenian community its first permanent church home.

   Source: Wikipedia

5. 1921

   April 17

   Archbishop Der Hovhannesian consecrates the Armenian cathedral

   Archbishop Der Hovhannesian officially consecrates the former Methodist church as St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Cathedral. The 1849 Greek Revival building becomes the seat of New York's Armenian community and the cathedral of the church's Eastern Prelacy, and remains the city's oldest Armenian church building.

   Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

• St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic CathedralWikipedia
• The Rose Hill M. E. Church (St. Illuminator's) - 221 East 27th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan

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All 16 buildings with stories in Kips Bay