On the last weekend of September 2016, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and His Eminence, Archbishop Michael concelebrated the Divine Liturgy marking the 100th Anniversary of the blessing of the cornerstone at the Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, Brooklyn, NY.
Among the concelebrants were Archpriest Wiaczeslaw Krawczuk, Rector; Priest Igor Yakunin; Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak; Protodeacon Paul Sokol; and Deacon Gregory Hatrak.
The weekend opened with the celebration of Great Vespers and a Panikhida for all departed cathedral faithful on Saturday evening. Prior to the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, Archbishop Michael tonsured Konrad Petelski to the order of Reader. Gramoti were presented to Father Wiaczeslaw—who has faithfully served the parish since 1992—and the parish, as well as to members of the parish council, in recognition of their years of service to the cathedral community. A festive dinner followed.
It was on April 5, 1908 that the first service was celebrated by Saint Alexander Hotovitzky, then Dean of New York’s Saint Nicholas Cathedral, marking the establishment of the parish—initially dedicated to Saint Vladimir. Earlier, the parish’s founders had purchased a former Methodist Church dating back to 1859 which they adapted to Orthodox worship. As the parish grew under the leadership of its first Rector, Archpriest Theophan Buketoff, the need for a larger church was acknowledged. A site was located and purchased halfway between Brooklyn’s Williamsburg and Greenpoint sections, consisting of five building lots on the corner of North 12th Street and Driggs Avenue. The architect, Louis Allmendiger, based his design for the new church on the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin with five domes supported by four large columns. The Schneider Company was contracted to build it for $117,000.00. Work began in 1916 after His Eminence, the late Archbishop Evdokim blessed the cornerstone and renamed the parish in honor of the Great Feast of the Transfiguration. Historic accounts indicate that the 1916 blessing was a major one for the general public, with Brooklyn Borough President Lewis Pounds and other civic leaders in attendance. Also present was Priest Nathaniel Irvine, an early convert to Orthodox Christianity, who spoke that day about the indestructible truth of the Orthodox Faith and the need to share it with one and all.
In 1969, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the cathedral a city landmark. In recognition of its historical and architectural significance, it also was listed on the National Register of Historical Places by the US Department of the Interior on April 16, 1980. Since the late 1990s, the cathedral has undergone a comprehensive renovation as its faithful continue their 108-year legacy of faithfulness to the Gospel.
