Christmas 1965. First Divine Liturgy
The history of the St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Parish has its beginnings in the year 1961 when the first influx of Greek immigrants began settling in the Marrickville region.
The Marrickville region had a great need for a Church in the 1950s with thousands of migrant Greeks residing in the area. The Church these days has grown to serve and support the spiritual needs of approximately 15,000 parishioners.
Between 1961 and 1966, the original house on the land acquired was converted into a Church to be able to serve the Greek community of Marrickville and its surrounding regions with liturgies and sacraments. The church today is now performing sacraments to the 2nd and 3rd generation Greeks in the region.
The laying of the foundations of the church
The foundation Stone was laid on June 6th, 1965 by His Eminence Archbishop Ezekiel of Australia and New Zealand, with the Official Opening taking place on the 3rd October 1966 by His Grace Bishop Dionysios of Nazianzos.
9 October 1965. The opening of the church. 13 years passed since the first Greeks in the area thought of building a church
The consecration of the Parish was performed by His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia on the 15th June 1975 where thousands of parishioners were present for this historic moment.
Today Saint Nicholas church stands as an amazing and breath taking architectural landmark in Marrickville. Its amazing structural design with the arching bell towers gives it a byzantine character. There is a reception hall on the grounds of the church, for the Parish needs and an afternoon Greek school, teaching our young children the Greek language.
Old photo of church
Over the past three decades, the community continued its sacred mission. The Sunday School and Greek School programs along with a special emphasis on the religious services of the Church brought the community to a deeper realisation of its purpose and character. 0
Afternoon Greek School
The Afternoon Greek School at St Nicholas Church Marrickville has demonstrated a commitment and tradition of service toward the wider community by providing high quality education of the Modern Greek language and culture.
One of the primary objectives of the Afternoon Greek School at St Nicholas Parish is to provide a high standard of language education, in a safe and caring environment, which is complimentary to all members of the community.
Over the years, there has been a constant effort to improve the quality of the education program by developing teaching materials relevant to students’ learning needs and staff’s teaching methodology in order to attain a high standard of professional performance and student achievement.
The School’s dedicated teacher Mrs. Jenny Rennie is responsible for the 70 children who attend the school throughout the year. She is ably supported by a member of the Education Department from the Consulate General of Greece.
The school operates on a six day basis. The primary school students attend classes twice a week starting on Monday and concluding on Friday. The classes run from 4–6pm. The high school students attend classes on Saturday morning through to the afternoon.
A component of the students’ education is their involvement in a number of important extra-curricular activities during the year. These include participation in community events such as the annual Panigiri, as well as religious and national commemorative celebrations of Greek Independence Day (25th March) and Greek National Day (28th October).
To ensure that education is provided at a minimal cost to every student, financial support is obtained from the Department of Education and Training as well as government funding.
Efforts to strengthen the teaching material have resulted in the recent acquisition of publications, colourful readers, charts, cards, CDs, Radio-Cassette/CD players, laptops and DVD’s. This has been successful with the help of fund-raising and the generous efforts of parents and benefactors of the community.
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 