History
In response to Fr. Beshawate’s request, the Bishop of Brooklyn asked Cardinal Gotti, Prefect of the Propaganda, and the Melkite Patriarch to send a new Melkite priest to serve the new congregation in Brooklyn. Fr. Paul Sanky, who was born in Damascus, Syria, on June 9, 1877 and ordained in Jerusalem on July 20, 1905, was sent to Brooklyn to serve and lead the congregation there. Since the congregation did not have their own church, Fr. Sanky presided Liturgies in the lower Church of St. Paul on Court Street. He was assisted by Fr. Nicholas Araktingi. The congregation that gathered here was in essence the first parish of the Church of the Virgin Mary.
In 1922, two adjacent houses on the corner of Amity and Clinton Streets that were purchased under Fr. Beshawate’s administration, were allocated to build a basement church. This church served as the new home for the parish of the Virgin Mary for the next 29 years. During this time, many of the parishioners moved to Park Slope and Bay Ridge, and as a result, the project of expanding the church by adding an upper level was abandoned.
At the death of Archimandrite Sanky in 1939, Rev. Nicholas Araktingi became administrator of the Parish. In 1947, at the request of Fr. Araktingi, the Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Elias Skaff, then Rector of the St. Julien le Pauvre Melkite Church in Paris, France, was appointed to the Brooklyn church.
In 1950, after much indecision by the trustees of the Parish to build a church in Bay Ridge, Fr. Araktingi, with the approval of Bishop Thomas Molloy, purchased the Park Slope Congregational Church Eighth Avenue and Second Street for $55,000.00. A drive for funds was immediately begun under Archimandrite Elias Skaff. With the help of the trustees of the Church, Elias Sayour and Benjamin Mazloom, and along with a committee headed by John Matouk, funds to remodel the Church were raised. On September 10, 1951. After 15 months of remodeling and decorating, the new Church of the Virgin Mary was regally dedicated on December 21, 1952 by Bishop Thomas Molloy.
After the Church dedication in 1952, Fr. Araktingi, though the pastor of the new church, preferred to stay in his rented apartment in Amity Street and continued to celebrate the Liturgy in the downtown Church. In 1960, Fr. Araktingi retired because of illness and decided to spend his remaining years of life in Lebanon, at Jesus the King’s residence for priests. There he died on July 9, 1973.
When Fr. Araktingi retired, Archimandrite Skaff, who for more than ten years was still legally considered by the Latin Church authorities to be a visiting priest, was officially
appointed Pastor of the Virgin Mary Church, He was assisted by Fr. Allen Maloof, Fr. Maximos Mardelli, Fr. Paul Frechette, Fr. Basil Parent, and Fr. Romanos Russo.
Since its dedication, the Church of the Virgin Mary continues to be a radiant liturgical center from which our spiritual heritage grows and transpires unto each new generation of parishioners.
The Church grew by purchasing the Tracey House on 216 Eighth Avenue for a price of $44,000.00 which became the Rectory. On April 1972, the basement church on Amity and Clinton Streets was sold and in its place a new property was bought on 220 77th. Street, and ‘in 1974 a vacant lot on Eighth Avenue and Fifth Street was purchased for 25,000 to serve as a parking lot. In 1990, another property on 232 77th Street was purchased. In order to create a warm and comfortable gathering hall that would serve the many religious and social functions of the Church, a major renovation and remodeling project was performed on the church’s basement in 1984. The end result being the St. Elias Church Hall.
Exarch Elias Skaff retired on September 1, 1994. Bishop John Elya, with the agreement of the Superior General of the Basilian Salvatorian Order, appointed Fr. John Faraj to succeed Exarch Elias Skaff after 45 years of services. He arrived on May 17, 1994 to acquaint himself with the Parish. On September 1, 1994, he took the torch, as Pastor, to serve the Church of the Virgin Mary. This service is a great challenge for him. Since his arrival, he had to deal with the many renovations concerning & Church, Rectory, and properties of the Church, as well as, the challenges at the spiritual level.
This short survey of our history demonstrates the determination of our priests and Church Committees to conserve the heritage so that their Parish may progress and grow. The many difficulties and hard times that they confronted did not reduce their enthusiasm, but with faith and hope they built, day by day, this beautiful Community that we are proud of All these generous, devoted priests and parishioners will forever be remembered as we enjoy the fruits of their labor. “The just shall be remembered for ever.”
Church of the Virgin Mary
Rev. Fr. Antoine Rizk