By REUVEN FENTON
Posted: 4:09 am
October 13, 2008
A pair of graphic designers say they thought it would be funny to misidentify a Russian Orthodox church as "The Mosque" on a tote bag that displays a map of Williamsburg landmarks.
But the church isn't amused.
Derick Holt, 30, and Milton Carter, 33, both of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, said they considered it "ironic hipster" humor to deliberately mislabel the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration on North 12th Street.
"That's just what everyone calls it, as in 'Let's meet at "The Mosque" side of the park,' " said Carter, who, along with Holt, runs a business called Brooklyn Novelty.
"If you were new to the neighborhood, you wouldn't know what [the church] was, but you'd know the domes."
Carter said he and Holt had no intention of offending anyone.
But "what can be a joke for you can be offensive for others," said Igor Ksynyuk, 35, the church's deacon. "If someone didn't know it was a joke, he might think our church wants to offend Muslims somehow."
"The Mosque" gag has the Russian Orthodox community fuming.
"We celebrated our 100th anniversary three weeks ago. This is one of the oldest landmarks of Williamsburg," said the church's angry pastor, the Rev. Wiaczeslaw Krawczuk.
"In my opinion, they shouldn't be selling this. They should put it in the garbage."
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