Tokyo, September 10, 2019
sankei.com
In the great capital of Japan, in the Chiyoda ward, not far from the Imperial Palace, there is a magnificent treasure of Byzantine Revival architecture, built by St. Nicholas of Japan—Holy Resurrection Cathedral, though the locals call it in his honor Nikolai-do.
Recently, the Japanese capital has been battered with very serious storms as a result of Typhoon Faxai, with bursts of over 134 mi/h winds that have cut power to nearly one million households.
Now it was reported on the Facebook page of Japan’s first Orthodox monastery, that overnight, the typhoon tore the roof from the office of the Cathedral of Nikolai-do, which is the main cathedral of the Japanese Orthodox Church, an autonomous part of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Japanese Orthodox Church is a wonderful example of the Orthodox tradition of embracing the local culture, as exemplified by, for example, the hierodeacon from a Samurai family.
The Cathedral itself is reported to be safe, and is receiving pilgrims and faithful, and no one was injured in this storm, which caused shocking damage to the cathedral grounds. The cathedral is no stranger to natural disasters however, as the original 19th-century building was severely damaged in the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, and subsequently restored to its original glory.
Bells destroyed during the earthquake were finally replaced last year.
May God, through the prayers of Saint Nicholas protect the pious people of Japan, their capital Tokyo, and all Orthodox Christians.
Matfey Shaheen
