Orthodox patriarch blesses shrine near 9/11 memorial

By PETER SMITH
Associated Press

The spiritual leader of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians has given his formal blessing to a shrine that will replace a small parish church destroyed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople presided at the ceremonial door opening at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine near the World Trade Center. He said the shrine is a place to show the world “that good is mightier than evil, that there is life beyond death and that love will always triumph over hate.”