St Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, Surry Hills

St Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, officially the St Sophia and Her Three Daughters Greek Orthodox Church, is a heritage-listed Greek Orthodox church at 411a Bourke Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of Surry Hills in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia.^[1] Formerly a Congregational church, the building is also known as the former Bourke Street Congregational Church and School. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[2]

The present building was designed by William Boles and opened in 1880.^[3] The church had existed since 1855, named the Bourke Street Wesleyan Church,^[4] operating out of a portable iron structure made from parts transported from England, built and designed by John Goold; when the new church was built, the old structure was moved to Stewart St, Paddington.^[5]

By 1933, the church was struggling both in congregation size and finances as the area had ceased to be seen as fashionable, and was no longer able to afford a regular minister, with ministers instead provided by the Home Mission Board. The collection plate takings had diminished to "only a few shillings".^[5] During the 1930s, free meals were provided to unemployed men in the school hall, with 20,000 meals having been served between 1932 and 1935.^[6]

The church closed in the late 1930s. It was later leased by the Greek Orthodox Church from 1974, who then purchased it from the Congregational Church in the 1980s.^[7] It continues in operation today as the St Sophia Greek Orthodox Church.^[8] The original church pipe organ (1888) was transferred to the Galston Uniting Church in the 1980s, as it was no longer required under the new owners.^[7] The Galston Congregational Church Pipe Organ is separately listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.^[9]

Some clerics known to have served this parish since its founding in 1974 include;^[10]

• Archimandrite Father Nektarios Zorbalas
• Father Ioannis Evangelinidis
• Father Panagiotis Baskoutas (–2017)
• Father Agathangelo Masteas (2017–2023)
• Archimandrite Father Irenaeus Triantis (2023–present)

Bourke Street Congregational Church and School was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[2]

1. ^ "St Sophia, Taylor Square, NSW – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia". Retrieved 27 October 2021.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Bourke Street Congregational Church & School (Former)". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00382. Retrieved 13 October 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
3. ^ "Bourke-street Congregational Church". Evening News. No. 3998. New South Wales, Australia. 14 February 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
4. ^ "Bourke Street Wesleyan Church". Empire. No. 3, 642. New South Wales, Australia. 16 June 1863. p. 8. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Fight For Church That Has Made History". The Sun. No. 1574. New South Wales, Australia. 28 May 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
6. ^ "CUT HIS OWN STIPEND". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. 5, no. 25. New South Wales, Australia. 16 March 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
7. ^ ^{a b} "Galston Uniting Church". Organ Music Society of Sydney. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
8. ^ "St Sophia, Taylor Square, NSW". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
9. ^ "Pipe Organ from Bourke Street Congregational Church (former)". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00382. Retrieved 1 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
10. ^ Kapandritis, Fr. Alexiou S (2019). "The Orthodox Church in Australia as Metropolis (1924-1959) & Holy Archdiocese (1959-Today)". Aristotle's University Thessaloniki: 61–62 – via Aristotle's University Thessaloniki School of Theology.