The Annual Charitable Ball of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York

THE ANNUAL CHARITABLE BALL OF THE SAINT NICHOLAS CATHEDRAL IN NEW YORK

The third annual Saint Nicholas Cathedral Ball took place on Friday November 10, 2000. The Ball benefits the Cathedral and the Representation of His Holiness Alesky II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. Almost five hundred people attended the Ball, which was held this year in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in the largest ballroom in New York City.

These evenings are designed to strengthen ties between Russians and Americans, as well as to raise funds to restore the Cathedral in time for its upcoming centennial celebrations. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Aleksy II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia greeted the assembled guests with a videotaped message: you have answered our call to participate in the restoration of this Orthodox monument in North America. Let us join in resurrecting the original beauty and glory of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral. For the faithful, it is a place of salvation, for many of our compatriots, who are in a foreign land, it is a reminder of Russia, while for the residents and guests of New York, it is a unique architectural landmark.

His Eminence, Most Reverend Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kalliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations was present at the Ball. His Eminence greeted the honorees and guests and stressed the immense religious and political significance of this evening in the life of the entire Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Metropolitan Kirill also underlined the political importance of such gatherings and outlined the future development of these ties.

Three people were awarded The Blessing this year: Victor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin, a deputy of the Council of the Federation of the Russian Duma, Yuli Mikhailovich Vorontsov, the Russian Ambassador in the United States, and Rick Shannon, the president of AmeRussia Shipping, Inc. The Blessing commemorates the contribution of the honorees to the rebirth of the Russian Orthodox Church and the development of Russian-American relations.

His Excellency, Most Reverend Bishop Mercurius of Zaraisk congratulated the honorees warmly in the name of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral and the Ball Committee and presented The Blessing, which had been designed by the sculptor Ernst Neizvestny. Bishop Mercurius then thanked everyone who had contributed to the restoration of the Cathedral and the Patriarchal Representation in America. Specifically, Bishop Mercurius said: Once again, I would like to thank everyone who helped make this evening possible, everyone who has joined us tonight and everyone who has contributed to the restoration of the Cathedral. I would prefer to name everyone individually, but there are thousands of you. The Lord sees everything and knows your names. Therefore, I will simply end with a prayer from the liturgy of Saint Basil reward them with Thy rich and heavenly gifts; for their temporal and corruptible gifts, do Thou grant them Thy heavenly ones, eternal and incorruptible and grant them many years.