St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church

History and architecture

This lively and picturesque brick and terra cotta church complex was constructed in 1882-83 as the Memorial Chapel of St. Mark’s Parish, and was donated to the church by Rutherford Stuyvesant in memory of his deceased wife, Mary Rutherford Pierrepont. It replaced a small mission building on Avenue A, previously established by St. Mark’s. This church and its attached school building were designed by James Renwick, Jr. (1818-1895), one of the most prominent architects in nineteenth century New York.

Since 1925, this building has been occupied by the St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church. This Carpatho-Russian Church was organized in New York in 1925 by a group of immigrants who had come from the Carpathian Mountain region of Czechoslovakia. Naming their church after St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, they rented the building from the Episcopal Diocese of New York until 1937 when they purchased it.

During his long and varied career, architect James Renwick designed many of New York’s most well-known churches, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Grace Church, and St. Stephen’s Church. He worked in many different styles, but is especially known for his Gothic Revival style churches. St. Nicholas of Myra Church displays a simplified Gothic Revival style that is enriched with a highly varied roofline and areas of intricate, terra-cotta trim, executed in a Renaissance Revival style.

It is large and complexly massed, with each section clearly defined. The library and school are located at the corner of 10th Street and Avenue A and are distinguished by a tall, square bell tower topped by a steep pyramidal roof. The front of this section is embellished by a terra-cotta bas relief of a lion, the symbol of St. Mark the Evangelist. The dramatic entranceway, with an intricate stained-glass transom, is set within a recessed Gothic arch and is asymmetrically located between the school and the chapel.

The street-facing, gable end of the chapel is marked by three tall, gothic-arched windows united by an applied pointed-arch lintel. The peak of this gable is ornamented by an arcade and an section of terra-cotta ornament. The chapel, the entrance porch and the tower are all crowned by Orthodox-style copper crosses.

This building has been an important part of this densely-populated neighborhood for more than 100 years and through the work of various church organizations has served as a cornerstone for many immigrants in their adaptation to their new country.