Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helen

26°11′39″S 28°03′04″E / 26.194167°S 28.0511°E / -26.194167; 28.0511CountrySouth AfricaDenominationGreek OrthodoxArchitectureArchitect(s)Hermann KallenbachStyleByzantineCompleted1912 (Opened 5 January 1913)Construction cost£3,300

The Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen is a historical Greek Orthodox Church in Johannesburg, designed by architect Hermann Kallenbach and built in 1912.^[1] 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.^[1] The community took six years to raise the £3,300 for the building led by the Ladies Benevolent Association, Archimandrite Nicodemos Sarikas^[2] and Archimandrite Athanasios Nicolopoulos.^[3]

Kallenbach created a church in the Byzantine style^[3] 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.^[1] The new building opened on 5 January 1913. The cathedral is dedicated to the emperor Saint Constantine and his mother Saint Helen.^[3]

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.^[1]

References