St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Brisbane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral |
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St Nicholas Cathedral in 2015
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| 27°29′02″S 153°02′04″E / 27.484°S 153.0345°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Russian Orthodox |
| History | |
| Status | |
| Dedication | Nicholas II |
| Consecrated |
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| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) |
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| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Russian religious |
| Years built | 1935–1950s |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Rendered masonry; rendered fibro; corrugated galvanised iron |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Australia and New Zealand (since December 1946) |
The St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral is a special Russian Orthodox church located at 330–334B Vulture Street in Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Gregory Mechonoshin and Cavanagh and Cavanagh. The building was constructed between 1935 and the 1950s by B. Robinson.
This cathedral was once the main church for the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Australia. This was from 1948, when the first bishop, Theodore Rafalsky, arrived, until 1950. After that, the bishop moved to Sydney. The cathedral was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992, recognizing its historical importance.
Contents
A Look Back: The Cathedral's Story
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas was built in 1935–1936. It was the very first church in Australia made specifically for Russian Orthodox worship. Its construction happened after many Russians had moved away from their home country following big changes there in 1917.
Early Russian Settlers in Queensland
A small number of Russian people started moving to Queensland in the 1800s. Their numbers grew a lot from the 1880s. The Queensland government liked these immigrants because they quickly became part of the community. Most worked in farming, while those in Brisbane found jobs in railways, meat factories, and other industries. By 1911, Russians were the fourth largest group of people from other countries in Brisbane. Many lived in the South Brisbane and Woolloongabba areas.
New Arrivals and Community Growth
The biggest group of Russian immigrants came to Queensland between 1911 and 1914. Many were people seeking safety from unfair rules in Russia during its final years. A large number were also Jewish people escaping attacks. They traveled from Russia through Siberia and Northern China, often stopping in Harbin, Manchuria. From there, they sailed from the port of Dalian to Townsville or Brisbane, which were the first Australian ports they reached.
Because these early immigrants were spread out and some did not connect Russian Orthodoxy with the old Russian government they were escaping, no official Russian Orthodox church was set up in Queensland at that time.
Changes in Immigration Rules
Queensland stopped encouraging Russian immigration in 1918. During the First World War (1914–1918), Australia was allied with Russia. Even after the Russian Empire fell in March 1917, Australia supported the temporary government to keep Russia in the war. However, after a group called the Bolsheviks took over in October 1917 and Russia left the war, countries like Australia became unfriendly towards the new Russian government. From mid-1918 to 1922, during a time of civil war in Russia, almost all Russian immigration to Queensland was stopped.
Building a Community Church
Many Russians who did not support the new government in Russia, known as "White émigrés," started leaving their country. They wanted to move to Australia. Because of this, the Queensland Government had to allow more Russian immigrants to come. With these new arrivals in Brisbane in the early 1920s, the city's first Russian Orthodox community was formed.
Father Alexander Shabasheff, who had left Russia through China, arrived in Brisbane in 1923. With help from Canon David John Garland of the Church of England, he was able to use St Thomas' Church of England in South Brisbane. This allowed Russian Orthodox immigrants to worship. From this start in 1923, a Russian Orthodox community was officially created in South Brisbane in 1925. In 1925–1926, a small house at 330 Vulture Street, Woolloongabba (where the cathedral is now), was bought by the community and turned into a church. In 1926, Father Shabasheff was officially appointed to lead the community by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. By 1930, the community was officially registered as St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church.
A New Church for the Community
Most of the White Russian émigrés who came to Brisbane in the 1920s first moved to country areas to find work. By the mid-1930s, even during the Great Depression, many had saved enough money to return to Brisbane. Here, they felt more connected and could keep their Russian culture alive within the community. Building a new church specifically designed for Russian Orthodox worship became very important for Brisbane's Russian community.
When Father Valentine Antonieff was appointed to the St Nicholas community in 1933, fundraising for a new church began. It was planned to be built on the same spot as the old church. This new church would also be a memorial to the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II.
Gregory Mechonoshin, an engineer and a member of the church community, drew up a basic plan for the new church. The church council approved this plan. Then, they asked architects Cavanagh and Cavanagh from Brisbane and Perth to create the official building plans. Builders were asked to submit bids in mid-1935, and the contract was given to B Robinson. Another engineer and church member, Mr Golovznin, helped with the technical parts of building the cupola (the dome-like roof).
Construction started in 1935 and was likely finished in early 1936. The local priest held a smaller ceremony to make the building holy. On October 4, 1936, the church was fully made holy by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Timotheos. At that time, there was no Russian Orthodox bishop in Australia.
Inside the Cathedral
The iconostasis (a wooden screen that separates the altar area from the main part of the church) and the royal gates were built and decorated by local Russian immigrants. The movable icons (religious paintings) and the chandelier (a fancy hanging light) came from Russia or China. They were given as gifts by the widow of Father Tourchinsky. Inside the church, there was also a special shrine dedicated to Tsar Nicholas II. The Maltese Cross on the front tower of the building was included because it was part of the Queensland state emblem, not for religious reasons.
The front fence, which was there by May 1939, was built a few years after the new church. It replaced an older picket fence. A man named Alexander Bardin, who owned a cattle farm near Roma, paid for the fence as a memorial to his wife and parents. It was built by Michael Zakrjevsky, another member of the church community.
Becoming a Cathedral
The Diocese of Australia was created in December 1946. Bishop Theodore (Rafalsky) was chosen to lead it. At that time, there were only two Russian Orthodox communities in Australia: St Nicholas in Brisbane (started in 1925) and St Vladimir's in Sydney (started in 1938). Since St Vladimir's Church was just a converted house, and St Nicholas Church was built specifically as a church, Bishop Theodore was meant to be based in Brisbane.
After some delays with immigration, the bishop finally arrived in Brisbane in late 1948. On November 5, 1948, he made St Nicholas Church in Woolloongabba Australia's first Russian Orthodox Cathedral. The main center for Russian Orthodoxy in Australia stayed in Brisbane for only a short time. In 1950, Bishop Theodore became the Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand and moved to Sydney. Sydney was a better central location for the diocese and had more Russian immigrants after the Second World War. Several other bishops were in charge of the Brisbane area between 1950 and 1976, but the position has been empty since then.
Some time after 1950, the building was made larger with extensions on each side.
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas is still very important for keeping Russian culture and religion alive in Brisbane. Even though two other Russian Orthodox communities have been started more recently (St Seraphim's in Woolloongabba in the 1950s and a church in Rocklea in the 1960s), St Nicholas Cathedral remains a key part of the Russian community's identity in Brisbane. Services are held in Church Slavonic, the traditional language, but an English service is also held every two months. For many years, the church has also had an important library of Russian books.
What the Cathedral Looks Like
St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral faces Vulture Street and is surrounded by tall, old trees.
The church building is the main and most impressive structure on the site, which gently slopes up from Vulture Street. On each side and behind it are tall, single-story wooden buildings that look like houses. With its white walls that look like stone, its balanced front, and its unique towers, the church stands quite tall. It adds a lot to the look of Vulture Street.
The church has a simple rectangular shape. It has a square tower attached over the front entrance and a rectangular aisle (a side section) attached to each long side.
At the front, facing Vulture Street, there are three equally spaced entry porches. Their roofs and decorative boards are shaped like a cupola and topped with ball and cross finials (decorative ornaments). A three-sided apse (a rounded or polygonal end of a building) is in the center at the back.
The square tower has a space for the choir directly above the main entrance. Above that is a belfry (where bells are kept), which can be reached by simple wooden ladders.
Above the altar (the table where religious ceremonies are performed) and in the center of the main roof is a smaller six-sided tower and cupola.
The building sits on a base made of rendered masonry (stone covered with a smooth finish). The main structure is timber-framed with a roughcast rendered fibro exterior (a type of fiber cement board with a textured finish). However, the western aisle was built later than 1950 using rendered masonry. The main roof is covered with corrugated galvanised iron (wavy metal sheets). The cupolas and the sloped roof of the square tower are made from flat and curved pieces of galvanized sheeting.
Steps made of rendered masonry lead to each of the three front entry doors. These doors have two parts and are set in a round-headed opening.
A path goes from the central entrance to a metal gate. This gate is in the middle of a rendered masonry fence along the street. This fence has pillars with carved crosses and ball finials, with masonry panels and steel tube and wire panels in between.
Inside, the church has a wooden floor. The ceiling follows the shape of the roof beams and is covered with fibro and VJ boards (a type of timber lining).
The simple shapes of this building, topped with cupolas and featuring tall, round-headed windows, show the traditional style of Russian religious architecture. This style comes from Byzantium (an ancient empire) and has been built here using local materials and adapted to the time and place.
Why It's a Heritage Site
St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 because it meets several important requirements.
It shows how Queensland's history developed. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas in Woolloongabba, built in 1935–36, was the first church in Australia made specifically for Russian Orthodox worship. In 1948, it became the first Russian Orthodox cathedral in Australia. From late 1948 to early 1950, the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand was managed from St Nicholas Cathedral.
The creation of St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Brisbane fits into the larger story of Russian people moving away from their homeland after the Bolshevik takeover in 1917. It also shows the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. The cathedral remains an important connection between Queensland and one of the most significant political changes of the 20th century.
It shows the main features of this type of cultural place. Its simple geometric shapes, topped with cupolas, and its tall, round-headed windows are typical of Russian religious architecture that dates back to Byzantium. The way the inside is arranged, with elements like the iconostasis and royal gates, also follows these traditions. It shows how this style was built here using local materials and adapted to the time and place.
It is beautiful and important for its looks. With its unique towers, the church adds a lot to the appearance of Vulture Street.
It has a strong connection with a particular community or group. St Nicholas Cathedral has been closely linked to keeping Russian culture and traditions alive in both Brisbane and Queensland. It is important for showing the variety of cultures in Queensland and Brisbane society in the 20th century.
