GO AHEAD AND GOOGLE
Google “275 Valencia Street, San Francisco” and you will first be directed to www.socketsite.com and comments by readers entitled “The New Dome-icile Proposed To Rise At 275 Valencia.” 275 refers to the address of the old Bausch and Lomb, which is the Planning Department’s address for the new building. We wrote Socketsite.com and received their permission to reprint the comments. Some are favorable to the Cathedral’s rebuilding plan; some are opposed. The thing we consider to be important is that the conversation is taking place at all, as the conversation is centered on the relevance of Byzantine architecture and, by extension, the relevance of religion in general and Christianity in particular. We think this is consonant with current issues so, even though three plus years have gone by, and we are now in the midst of construction (our building permit was issued on October 17, 2013—24 years, to the day of Loma Prieta), we commend them to you for your perusal and engagement.
For us, as Greek Orthodox Christians, the overriding issue is how to live our life in faith, in our Lord God and Savior who taught us: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). How do we make our personal, communal and societal relationships better? How do we make this a better neighborhood? The question is, how do we make this a better world?
While we receive Socketsite’s permission to reprint the comments, they would take up some eight pages in all. Rather than edit them, we decided not to reprint them at all but, instead, to refer you to the site. To read through the comments, please log on to: http:// www.socketsite.com/archives/2011/09/the_new_domeicile_as_ proposed_at_275_valencia_street.html. The comments are not all favorable. However, in a free society, everyone has the right to self- expression. In our Orthodox theology, this is foundational. For, after the gift of life, the most important gift God bestows is that of freedom to choose. (See the Book of Genesis 1:27, 2:16-17.) So, go ahead, and read.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, San Francisco.