Why Fitzroy? That’s a question some might have asked when St George Macedonian Orthodox Church was founded here. Today we will explore the story of this church.
St George Macedonian Orthodox Church holds a special place in Australian Macedonian history. It was the first independent Macedonian Orthodox church in Australia. It was also the first outside North Macedonia.
In the early days of Macedonian immigration people lacked their own churches. They attended various Orthodox churches or other Christian denominations. In Melbourne a Macedonian church named Saints Cyril and Methodius formed in 1950. It was placed under a Bulgarian bishop which caused concern for some members. They worried about interference from Greek consular officials. Some Macedonian activists wanted an independent church.
From 1955 Macedonian immigrants from the Florina area sought to establish St George. They wanted it to be the first independent Macedonian Orthodox Church in Australia. Key figures included Atanas and Done Filipov, Dane Trpkov, and others. A Church Committee was formed in May 1956. Vasil Mojanov became its first president. Over two years they raised funds and bought land on Young Street in Fitzroy. This area had many southern European immigrants.
Vasil Mojanov had good relationships with Anglican Church leaders and politicians. This helped with establishing St George Church. Initially the church was intended to be under the Anglican Church. In 1959 the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Yugoslavia became autonomous. The Melbourne Church Committee asked Macedonian church leaders to join. They were later accepted as its first parish abroad.
The Fitzroy Municipal Council initially withdrew the permit to build. They claimed no Macedonian Orthodox Church organization existed. The St George Church Committee took the matter to court. They won the right to build their church. The church was registered in 1959.
On August 2 1959 Fitzroy mayor J. B. Blackman laid the church foundation stone. Father George Haydar from the Syrian Orthodox Church blessed it. On August 2 1960 the church officially opened. Bishop Naum of Zletovo-Strumica consecrated it. Many Macedonians attended. They expressed joy in freely stating their Macedonian identity. Father Gjorgji Angelovski was the first priest.
Establishing St George was a crucial moment. It started the unified religious and social life of the Macedonian Australian community. It asserted their existence in the country. Being the first Macedonian church in Australia it faced opposition. Bulgarian Serbian and Greek churches campaigned against the Macedonians. They questioned Macedonian existence in newspapers. They used terms like pseudo-bishops and pseudo-Macedonians.
News of the church reached Macedonian communities in America Canada and Yugoslavia. Two years later the Macedonian American community built their own church. This became the second Macedonian church outside Macedonia. St George prompted other Macedonian communities in Australia to build churches.
A democratically elected Church Committee governed St George. It had the authority to appoint and dismiss priests without a bishop’s approval. Disputes arose over control of St George with the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Yugoslavia. St George Church didn’t follow the diocesan constitution. This constitution stipulated the Metropolitan’s influence and ownership of church properties.
In the mid 1990s someone attempted to set fire to the church. The church was later sold which many in the Macedonian community opposed. The site was redeveloped into urban residences. Today the bell tower remains as a feature of the former church.
St George Macedonian Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church represents resilience. It also stands for a community’s determination to preserve its identity. Though the original building is gone its legacy lives on. It continues in the hearts of those it served.