Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava: Restoring Hope, History and Future

Photographs by Milan Milatović

For Easter 2016, by sheer coincidence, a number of Orthodox churches in different geographic locations were destroyed by fires. In Australia, a Macedonian Orthodox church burnt to the ground, and a Greek Orthodox church caught fire; Valaam Monastery in the north of Russia caught fire; and a fire destroyed the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava in Manhattan, New York.

In November 2018 in Manhattan, a fundraiser banquet was held to collect funds to rebuild the Cathedral of Saint Sava in New York with the slogan “Restoring Hope, History and Future.” Over 300 people attended this event, in the hopes of contributing to the reconstruction of this holy site for Serbs in New York and the surrounding area.

I had the honour of attending this unique event for the Serbian community of North America, along with other representatives of SAN. The bishop of the Diocese of Eastern America, Irinej Dobrijević, as the main patron of this manifestation, gave a particularly inspirational speech, which was met with thunderous applause: “This cathedral is alive, but wounded, burnt, charred, and it is waiting to fly out of the ashes like a phoenix, and it will fly! Our church will not be destroyed. It will stand tall as before. It will be the light of all Orthodoxy!”

The head of the church of Saint Sava in New York, Protopresbyter Živojin Jakovljević, gave a speech in which he reminded us of the sadness and pain we felt when the church burnt down, but also of the desire and determination of all of us to continue preserving Serbian spiritual and cultural heritage for future generations with the reconstruction of this building.

The slogan of this manifestation rang out throughout the whole evening, which was attended by young and old; by those who have been in the diaspora for just a few years, as well as those who are several generations American. Some have maybe even forgotten Serbian and do not speak it, some have maybe never even visited Serbia, but everyone felt the strong feeling of belonging to a unique and beautiful people. I believe that every audience member’s heart danced with joy during the performances of the choir Carica Milica, folklore group Opančići, and baritone Dimitrije Lazić, who performed old Serbian folk songs, and also after the main part of the program, when everyone danced kolo late into the night.

I believe that everyone in the audience felt the joy and pride that we Serbs—a small people subjected to so many historical challenges and scattered across the whole world—have managed to preserve our national identity, religion, culture, and traditions throughout the centuries.

SAN had the honour of speaking with Protopresbyter Dr. Živojin Jakovljević regarding the renovation of Saint Sava Cathedral in New York.

SAN: Most venerable father, one more banquet was held this autumn to raise funds for the renovation of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava in Manhattan, which was destroyed in a fire in 2016. Are you happy with the organization of the event and with the turnout, and have you reached the target goal?

PROTOPRESBYTER ŽIVOJIN JAKOVLJEVIĆ: Considering that our goal is to renovate not only the physical structure of the cathedral, but more importantly, a living church, this banquet was phenomenal. The presence of guests from New York and other cities confirms that we are determined to renovate and maintain our sanctuary in Manhattan. Besides renovating stones and bricks, it is extremely important for us to establish a spiritual, educational, cultural, and financial infrastructure that will maintain this holy site for our generation and those to come.

SAN: These kinds of events are a great spiritual and financial support, but I assume that they are also the main means of financing the renovation of the cathedral. What other sources are providing funds for the renovation?

PROTOPRESBYTER ŽIVOJIN JAKOVLJEVIĆ: Seeing as our cathedral is situated in a very important location, its renovation is very complex and requires a lot of funds. The main source of funds has been the money paid out by the insurance company. With these funds, which are not enough to renovate the church, we will be able to protect the building from ruin. Another source is our parishioners in New York and other American cities. We are grateful not only for the material help, but also for the moral support and solidarity shown to us by our Serbian parishioners, as well as people who are not Serbian. All this time, The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the New York City Planning Commission have shown great understanding and readiness to help the church and the community recover.

SAN: Since 1968, the building has been under the protection of the US National Register of Historic Places. What effect has that had on the process of renovation, and the look of both the interior and exterior of the restored church?

PROTOPRESBYTER ŽIVOJIN JAKOVLJEVIĆ: As you know, the cathedral was built in the Neo-Gothic style, and it was unique in that it had the largest wooden ceiling in New York. The decorative limestone, brought in from France and which decorated the interior parts of the church, were considered a masterpiece of well known architect Richard Upjohn, and added an incredible value to the church. Since the church was named a historical monument, we are required to work with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to bring the exterior back to its original state. The interior will be modeled on early Byzantine style. The venerable Bishop Irinej and I proposed to the architect the model of the Orthodox church in Mystras (Peloponnese, southern Greece), which has beautiful columns and stretches along two levels beneath tall windows, and which will suit our church very well.

• Bishop Irinej

SAN: The Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Sava in New York was registered under this name in 1940, and established itself in the building of Trinity Chapel Complex in 1943. In 1962, the church was enriched with a Byzantine iconostasis brought from the church of St. Naum in Ohrid. Was any part of the iconostasis or any relics salvaged after the fire?

PROTOPRESBYTER ŽIVOJIN JAKOVLJEVIĆ: Unfortunately, our entire inventory was completely destroyed by the terrible fire. It was so intense that it destroyed not only the inventory, but also the interior decorative third layer of the wall that was made of limestone and was not fire resistant. A New York City fire marshal said on one occasion that the two most difficult parts of his job are first, when he looses a human life in a fire, and second, when he has to order his firefighters to retreat. That was the case with our cathedral. Because of the sheer force of the fire, the firefighters had to pull back, since nothing could be done to save the cathedral. However, it is remarkable that relics that were contained in a wax wrapper and placed in a stone tile in the holy table remained intact. Even though this tile was destroyed, the part of the stone that contained the relics was preserved.

• Protopresbyter Živojin Jakovljević

SAN: How is the construction coming alone, and do we currently know when the church should be finished?

PROTOPRESBYTER ŽIVOJIN JAKOVLJEVIĆ: Thank God the supporting walls of the church remained intact. This allowed us to concentrate on protecting the existing structure from ruin. After cleaning up the debris, we started removing the decorative limestone. For safety reasons, in order to not endanger the stability of the walls, this was all done by hand. We recently finished fixing the tops of the walls, and we prepared the base for the roof construction. This construction consists of steel beams, made in Canada, and which should be installed any day now. We are currently working on securing the area around the church for cranes, which are essential for installing this construction. As soon as we get approval for using this area, we will work on covering the church, and that process will take four weeks. The permanent roof structure will be temporarily covered with a membrane that will serve until we order authentic stone tiles from Vermont. In terms of further work, we will continue step by step in accordance to our financial means. In a subsequent phase, we will continue by installing a floor, temporary windows, and doors.

It is important that the church not be exposed to further ruin, and that we strive to get in as soon as possible, at least for important holidays. It is very difficult to estimate when the church will be finished. However, just as we served in churches without any inventory for centuries and survived, I think it is important to place equal emphasis on construction and spiritual content, good interpersonal relations, love, trust, and mutual support, so that this magnificent cathedral has meaning and purpose.

SAN: Thanks to our brothers, the Greeks, services are held in the Greek church of Saint Eleftherios in Manhattan. Do our parishioners regularly attend? Are other activities such as Serbian school, weddings, and christenings held there?

PROTOPRESBYTER ŽIVOJIN JAKOVLJEVIĆ: We are very grateful to the Greek and Russian churches for their selfless love and support. Thanks to the Greeks and their selfless hospitality, we have continued holding services and we regularly gather together. For Christmas, the Russians invited us to serve with them. I must mention that the mutual support from our two Orthodox brother nations has been around for centuries. Both have shown us great love during the many wars and exiles. The Serbs did the same for them: in the same way, the parents of many Russian parishioners from the Russian church in New York found shelter in Serbia after the Revolution. This church also contains the miraculous icon of Mother of God from Kursk, which also resided for a while with the Russian émigré community in Serbia. Russian Bishop Nikolai beautifully expressed that just as Serbia took in this icon at a time of exile, so too has this icon now taken them in.