The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14
CHI ron or THE tLBtNIANS.
only One OF the kInd In New York Obliged
To Move. as the Rent Was Raised.

Upon a building at the corner Of Broome
and Mott streets appeared until recently a
cross and a sign with the legend "Chiesa
Cattolica Romana Albanesr." Then a TO
LEI sign was pasted over the church sign.
The church. the only one Of the kind in
New York. was established in the store on
the ground noor If the building. The
rent was raised and the church had TO move
to another store in Stanton street.
Al the end of the. store facing the street
was a mall altar. surmounted bv a crucifx
and ornamentei with candles. In front
Of the altar there hung ron the ceiling a
border Of red cloth edged in gold. That
separated. not unlike a proscenium arch,
the altar and the two shrincs that fianked
it from the rest Of the room.
In one shrine. that to the right OF the
altar. were two large wax figures of St.
Nicholas and st. Demetrius. patron saints
Of the Greek rite. In the shrine on the
left was a statue Of the Virgin. About the
walls hung cheap prints OF the stations OF
the Cross.
The iron ceiling had been painted green
and three cheap plectroliers hung from the
ceiling to supply the little Illumination
needed.
About $50 persons belong 10 this little
congregation and most Of them crowd
everv Sunday into the Wooden chairs with
which the church is filed. Father Cyrus
Pinnola is the rector. He ia an Italian,
hailing from Calabria. but like his country
men In the little church he speaks the
modern Greek dialect.
His parish ~ under the control Of Arch
bishop Farley. The rite followed there is
in all important particulars OF doctrine
the same as that of the Roman Catholic
Church. II differs in certain rules OF dis
cipline and practice.
The mass is said. for instance, in the
Greek language. Albanian rather than
Greek would .be the proper description OF
the language used in the services. II IL
directly. descended from the old lllyrian,
although few purely Greek words survive,
In Calabria and Sicily there are still many
persons speaking this tongpe.
Father Pinnola wears a beard, but in
other respects looks like the ordinary priest
OF the Roman Catholic Church: He is
married. Marriage il encoura ged among
the clergy, although second marriages
and marriages with widows are forbidden.
Bishops are not allowed to marry and are
selected from the monastic orders.
This il the Catholic Church OF the Greek
rite" Father Pinnol told THE U re-
porter, "the oldest rite that is known in the
Christian world. ! hope with the help Of
God TO build a church for my people here in
this neighborhood. just now we are NOV
ing out because our rent il too high. Sew
enty dollars a month ia too much"
Father Pinnola, who speaks English with
difficulty. although with exactness, says
that most of the members of his congregn-
tion speak the Alba nian language, although
some Of them live in the neighborhood and
come TO his>church merely because II In the
nearest. Elizabeth street has been adopted
by the Sicilians az their own, and the new
church at 81 Stanton street will not be far
from the immigrants who boast the largest
number Of those speaking Albanian.