Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
337 East 74th Street | also 319 East 74th Street | Lenox Hill | built 1931
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1927
Fire destroys the parish's East 72nd Street church, and the stock market crash opens the way to this site
A fire on the night of January 18, 1927 destroyed the parish's church on East 72nd Street, and worship moved elsewhere. Two years later, in October 1929, the stock market collapse left foreclosed land and buildings available at very low prices. The parish used the moment to buy the East 74th Street property and build a new church there.
Source: thecathedralnyc.org
- 1931
Eleanor Roosevelt lays the cornerstone of the new Byzantine church
Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband Franklin was then governor of New York, set the cornerstone of the Byzantine-style church on September 14, 1931. Construction moved fast: the congregation entered the finished building on March 4, 1932, less than six months after the ceremony. The project cost $577,000, and the church later became the seat of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Source: thecathedralnyc.org
- 1932
Holy Trinity moves into its new Byzantine church five months after the cornerstone
The cathedral's own history says the building was completed within five months of the cornerstone ceremony. The parish moved in on March 4, 1932, at a total cost of $577,000.
Source: Internet Archive
- 1933
Archbishop Athenagoras consecrates the cathedral as a church for all of Hellenism in America
On October 22, 1933, Archbishop Athenagoras consecrated the church, a year and a half after the congregation moved in. His name for it was the cathedral of all Hellenism in America. Athenagoras later served as Ecumenical Patriarch from 1947 to 1972.
Source: thecathedralnyc.org
- 1949
The Holy Trinity parish founds the Cathedral School
In 1949 the parish founded the Cathedral School itself. The cathedral's history describes the parish's commitment to education as evident from the beginning, noting that in 1911 it joined several other parishes in a cooperative effort to establish the Greek American Institute in the Bronx. A mosaic of an angel with a child hangs over one of the narthex doors leading to the school.
Source: Internet Archive
- 1959
Archbishop Iakovos is enthroned and serves 37 years, until 1996
Archbishop Iakovos was enthroned on April 1, 1959, and the cathedral's history says an important new era began there. He served 37 years and retired in 1996, and he eventually took direct supervision of the cathedral's overall administration. In 1960 he said it should stand for America's Greek Orthodox Church and community and reflect the whole Hellenic Omogenia.
Source: Internet Archive
- 1962
Archbishop Iakovos names Holy Trinity the Archdiocesan Cathedral
Archbishop Iakovos was enthroned on April 1, 1959, and served 37 years, until 1996. In 1962 he designated Holy Trinity the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. He later took direct supervision of its administration.
Source: thecathedralnyc.org
- 1970
A decorating campaign fills the cathedral with Byzantine mosaics and a painted dome
Extensive renovation and decoration began in 1970. Sirio Tonelli made the interior's Byzantine mosaics, and the walls, columns and altar area are of Botticino marble, with imported Italian stained glass. Georgios Gliatas, a pupil of the iconographer Fotis Kontoglou, painted the iconography of the dome and pendentives.
Source: thecathedralnyc.org
- 1999
Archbishop Spyridon relieves the Rev. Robert Stephanopoulos of his duties at the cathedral
In a January 15, 1999 letter, Archbishop Spyridon moved the administrative and liturgical responsibilities of the Very Rev. Robert Stephanopoulos, whose son George had been a White House aide, to the cathedral vicar, Father Gabriel Karambis. Critics said it was retaliation for signing a letter against the archbishop that more than 100 priests had signed. The archbishop's spokesman denied that, and said Stephanopoulos kept his other priestly duties.
Source: latimes.com
- 1999
Archbishop Demetrios is enthroned at the cathedral before more than 300 clergy and 1,200 guests
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America enthroned Archbishop Demetrios, 71, at the cathedral on September 18, 1999. The crowd included more than 300 clergy and about 1,200 guests, among them leaders of other Christian churches, dignitaries and worshipers; Hillary Rodham Clinton was there too. Former Archbishop Iakovos, 88, addressed him in Greek and handed over the staff of office. The Times called the rite a turning point for a church racked by controversy under Archbishop Spyridon, who had resigned the month before.
Source: Internet Archive
- 2001
George Stephanopoulos and Alexandra Wentworth marry at the cathedral
In 2001 the television journalist and former political adviser George Stephanopoulos married the comedian Alexandra Wentworth at the cathedral. Its dean at the time was the Rev. Robert Stephanopoulos, who retired in 2007 after 25 years in the post. In 1999 an archbishop had demoted him, but he regained his position by late 1999.
“In 2001 television journalist and former political advisor George Stephanopoulos and comedian Alexandra Wentworth were married there.”
Source: Wikipedia
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