Country South Africa Architectural style Byzantine architecture Architect Hermann Kallenbach | Denomination Greek Orthodox Construction cost 3,300 GBP | |
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Completed 1912 (Opened 5 January 1913) | ||
The Greek Orthodox church in Joubert Park, Johannesburg, is a historical Greek Orthodox Church designed by architect Hermann Kallenbach, and built in 1912. The building is also known as the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen. It is a SAHRA protected site.
Description
The white walled church was designed by Hermann Kallenbach who was a close friend and admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. (Kallenbach lived in the same house and donated a farm to Gandhi). The church was required by the growing population of Greeks who had moved to Yeoville and Berea in the 19th century. The community took six years to raise the £3,300 for the building led by the Ladies Benevolent Association, Archimandrite Nicodemos Sarikas and Archimandrite Athanasios Nicolopoulos.
Kallenbach created a church in the Byzantine style in 1912 for the Greek community with a number of different roof levels which were not designed to be at the same angle. These complement the large three storey high dome which is painted blue on the inside. The new building opened on 5 January 1913. The cathedral is dedicated to the emperor Saint Constantine and his wife Saint Helen.
Today the Greek congregation is reducing and the congregation are now drawn from a much wider area with this being one of three Greek Orthodox churches in the city. The church is a South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) protected site.