World > United Kingdom
> England > Greater London > City of
Westminster > Bayswater
> St Sophia's Cathedral
Google Street View of St
Sophia's Cathedral
You can drag the map with your mouse, and double-click to zoom.
 |
| Saint Sophia Cathedral |
Location: Bayswater, London, England
Coordinates: 51°30′44.9″N 0°11′29.3″W
St Sophia's Cathedral:
Saint Sophia Cathedral is a Greek Orthodox church on Moscow Road in the Bayswater area of London.
It was consecrated as the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Sophia) of God (St Sophia in the vernacular) on 5 February 1882 by Antonios, Archbishop of Corfu, as a focus for the prosperous Greek community that had settled in London, particularly around Paddington, Bayswater and Notting Hill.
Today, in addition to its regular Saturday and Sunday services, it hosts a Greek polyphonic choir, Byzantine music and dancing lessons, and an associated school in which pupils discover history and language of Greece.
History of St Sophia's Cathedral:
This was the third church to bear this name, the previous two (at Finsbury Square and at 82 London Wall) having been outgrown by the population of the Orthodox community, which had been swelled by settlers from the Greek diaspora and visitors who came through the busy shipping routes that converged on London.
St Sophia was commissioned by a committee presided over by Emmanuel Mavrocordato (1830-1909), assisted by Constantinos A lonidis, Sophoclis Constantinidis, Petros P. Rodocanachi, Paraskevas Sechiaris and Demetrios S. Schilizzi (1839-1893) and the lawyer and traveller, Edwin Freshfield. The cost of £50,000 was raised in three years by the Greek community, including prosperous and influential London merchants and financiers. The first Liturgy was celebrated on 1 June 1879, 18 months after Eustratios Ralli laid the first stone. It recently opened a small museum to display some of the treasures donated to the cathedral by its 19th-century patrons and its links to London's Greek community.
In 1922 the Greek Ecumenical Patriarchate chose St Sophia as a Cathedral of the Metropolis of Thyateira and Great Britain, encompassing all Orthodox Christians in the British Isles and Malta.
During World War II London became the seat of the Greek government in exile, St Sophia therefore became the cathedral of the Greek Nation. It was bombed during the Blitz, but was subsequently repaired........Wikipedia >>
