Teaneck Church Plans Move to Paramus

Posted by Noah Cohen
Growth in North Jersey Middle Eastern Christian population, Syrian conflict leads church to find larger space.
St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Cathedral in Teaneck plans to move from its Elm Avenue location to an expanded center in Paramus, a decision prompted by the region’s growing Middle Eastern Christian population, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.

The church will relocate to a 5.27-acre property on West Midland Avenue in Paramus. Work is expected to be completed within four years and includes a community center and cathedral. A first phase in the $14 million project is already underway.

Church officials plan to sell the Teaneck cathedral to help fund the new location in Paramus, according to the report.

St. Marks, which is part of the Syriac Orthodox archdiocese, has seen its approximately 350-family membership grow amid the bloody civil war in Syria.

“We expect more to come as Christians are being driven out of the Middle East,” Syriac Orthodox Church Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim said in the report. “We have to prepare for that.”
http://teaneck.patch.com/groups/giving/p/teaneck-church-plans-move-to-paramus