The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the only church in New York City’s World Trade Center Plaza, has been given new life two decades after being destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. Originally erected in 1916 and later surrounded by the World Trade Center buildings, the church is reopening not just as a place of religious worship, but also as a national memorial for visitors to remember and reflect on the tragic events of September 11th.

Calatrava and his eponymous firm also designed and rebuilt the WTC’s “Oculus” transportation hub, which opened in 2016. The station’s arched wings “symbolize a dove released from a child’s hand,” or a phoenix rising from the ashes.
The Saint Nicholas church design is similarly intended to evoke the ideas of strength, resilience, and light, according to Calatrava. “Architecture can have an intrinsic symbolic value, which is not written or expressed in a specific way but in an abstract and synthetic manner, sending a message and thus leaving a lasting legacy,” he notes.
The church leaders are grateful to have their physical structure restored, but they’re even more excited for what its return symbolizes. “This Shrine will be a place for everyone who comes to the Sacred Ground at the World Trade Center, a place for them to imagine and envision a world where mercy is inevitable, reconciliation is desirable, and forgiveness is possible,” said His Eminence Archbish...