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Published by The National Herald, September 26, 2005

New Orleans Cathedral Open for Business - with the U.S. Navy’s Help

NEW ORLEANS – The oldest Greek Orthodox church in the nation almost bowed to Hurricane Katrina when 3 feet of water lapped at the top step of its altar.

But with the unlikely help of sailors from the United States Navy last Friday, September 16, the historic Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral held its first worship service since the storm three weeks ago.

Last Sunday, September 18, was the first time in the Cathedral's 140-year history that services had been suspended for more than a week, and it was a symbol of residents' determined effort toward recovery.

When the 17th Street Canal levee broke the day after Katrina hit, water gushed into the area, which is just south of the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, filling homes with as much as 8 feet of water.

The USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship, arrived in New Orleans to help with relief efforts a week after the levee broke.

The sailors weren't getting any direction from Orleans Parish (the equivalent of County) officials on what to do, the Rev. Milton Gianoulis said, so sailors began helping in their own way – at the request of specific agencies or relief groups. When they noticed that the fountain in front of River Park had been shut down, the ship's engineers got it flowing again.

The chaplain suggested that the ship's officers check out other churches, and of the ten they saw, the Cathedral in northwest New Orleans needed work more desperately than many and had a good shot at being saved.

The Cathedral, which was built there in 1995 after moving from its original location closer to downtown, will probably lose its office and community center, a building which normally sees 25,000 visitors each Memorial Day weekend for its famous Greek festival, but none of the icons were damaged, although they'll have to be cleaned before mold destroys them.

Most of the 300 families in its congregation had evacuated by the time the levee broke.

They are not allowed back in until power is restored and homes are drained of brackish floodwaters.

Mary Kontos, who was church secretary for 26 years, moved in with her daughter in College Station, Texas to wait out the hurricane and aftermath. Her home in Metairie was ruined, but she was glad to hear the church will survive.

"It just made us cry when we saw that e-mail," Mrs. Kontos said, referring to how church officials notified the congregation about the Navy's help. "It just made us all so very happy. It just felt like, you know, things are going to come back."

Father Gianoulis couldn't going to have the Divine Liturgy all by himself and thought he'd have to cancel, until the first of the faithful walked in: three sailors coming to worship in the church where 50 of them had spent eight hours cleaning up.

Two church board members were there helping with the service. A French Quarter businessman wandered in to show support for his friends on the church board.

And the last to arrive, half way through the service, was church member Nisha Sandhu and her fiance, Sid Gearhart. The evacuees showed up late after talking their way through three checkpoints and dodging a fourth to get to the church.

"I was nicely surprised we could make it in time," said Sandhu, 33. "It's wonderful to be able to thank them (the sailors), and I feel blessed that they were actually able to volunteer and do this."

The Dallas Morning News published the above on September 19. The original headline is, "Reopening is Heavenly for Church – With help from sailors, swamped cathedral holds first service since hurricane."



Volume 7 Number 39 - Tuesday, September 27th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY