Damaged cathedral may reopen by Christmas - Nation - Cathedral of St. John the Divine - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 28, 2001 by Gill Donovan

The cause of a fire that damaged the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Dec. 18 remains under investigation, but as NCR went to press, church officials were still hoping the famed Episcopal cathedral would be able to hold its annual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

However, a final determination could not be made until New York City Fire Department officials gave their approval and decided whether it was structurally safe to use the cathedral, said Neva Rae Fox, a spokeswoman for the Episcopal diocese of New York.

A scheduled Dec. 20 evening Christmas concert and Dec. 21 night performance of Handel's "Messiah" were to be performed in an auditorium elsewhere on the cathedral grounds, Fox said. Normally the cathedral has some 30 worship services a week.

New York Bishop Mark Sisk said he wanted the traditional holiday services to be held in the cathedral's main sanctuary, which was spared from the five-alarm blaze that destroyed the cathedral's gift shop, located in the building's north transept.

The fire apparently began there and officials are investigating the possibility that something in a gift shop wastebasket had smoldered, causing the early morning fire.

In the course of fighting the fire, the floor of the cathedral's nave was covered with about three inches of water, but Fox said that had now been cleaned up. The cathedral's high altar, she said, had not sustained any damage.

Briefs, gathered from news services, correspondents and staff, are compiled and edited by Gill Donovan.