The Congress of Russian Americans (CRA) is a national non-profit organization, founded in the United States in 1973, with thousands of members, American citizens of Russian ancestry and heritage, and is the recognized voice of Russian Americans. Many of our members have made exceptional contributions to US society, economy and national security. The Hall of Fame of the CRA includes a Nobel Prize laureate, as well as other Russian American innovators, artists and leaders in humanities, arts and sciences, of whom many had been CRA members for many years.

CRA supports the recent proposal and petition to co-name 97th Street in New York City, after Patriarch Tikhon, the great civic and spiritual leader, who lived and worked on 97th Street in the early 20th century. Patriarch Tikhon was the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States from 1898 to 1907, and from 1917 to the time of his death in 1925, as the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.

On May 22, 1901 Patriarch Tikhon blessed the cornerstone of the future St. Nicholas Cathedral on the 97th Street. The ceremony was attended by many New Yorkers, politicians and mayor of Brooklyn and New York City. Patriarch Tiknon lead the fund-raising efforts in the U.S. and Russia for building of the St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Czar Nicholas II himself donated 5,000 rubles (equivalent to about $5,000 US now) for building of this cathedral. In 1902 the process of building was finished; the cathedral was officially consecrated and became the residence of Patriarch Tikhon. In 1905 St. Nicholas Cathedral became the official center of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States. In those days the Orthodox Christian communities of many cultures were in the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, including Aleutians, some Native Americans, and Americans of Greek, Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Arabic, Ukrainian, and Russian descent.

One of the most important periods of Patriarch Tikhon’s life, in the first decade of the 20th century, was dedicated to the United States, where his official residence and headquarters were in the St. Nicholas Cathedral on 97th Street in New York. Thus, we respectfully ask for your support in co-naming the 97th Street after Patriarch Tikhon, one of the most prominent residents in the history of the 97th Street.

Please register and vote here: Change.org – Patriarch Tikhon NYC