Australia.
Australia is home to one of the largest Eastern Orthodox communities in the English-speaking world, with around 535,000 faithful organised across Greek, Antiochian, Russian, Serbian, Romanian and other canonical jurisdictions, mostly rooted in 20th-century migration.
Orthodoxy in
Australia.
A living tradition — its history, its faithful, its sacred places.
Eastern Orthodoxy in Australia
Eastern Orthodox Christianity arrived in Australia with 19th-century migrants from the Greek islands, Mount Lebanon and the Russian Empire. The first Greek Orthodox place of worship in Australia, the Church of the Holy Trinity (Ayia Trias) on Bourke Street in Surry Hills, Sydney, had its foundation stones laid on 29 May 1898 and was consecrated in April 1899. In its earliest years it served both the Greek and the Syrian (Antiochian) Orthodox faithful of Sydney under Fr Seraphim Phocas, who was fluent in both Greek and Arabic.
Canonical jurisdictions
Because Australia lies in what Orthodox canon law terms the "diaspora", multiple canonical autocephalous churches maintain parallel ethnic-based jurisdictions, all in full communion with one another:
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia — a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, by far the largest Orthodox body in the country. A Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand was erected in March 1924 and elevated to an Archdiocese in 1959. Since May 2019 it has been led by Archbishop Makarios (Griniezakis).
Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines — under the Patriarchate of Antioch. The first Antiochian priest, Fr Nicholas Shehadie, was appointed Patriarchal Exarch to Sydney in 1913, and the archdiocese took its present form in 1969–1970.
Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand — a metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Serbia, headquartered in Sydney.
Russian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR) — founded in 1946 with its episcopal see first in Brisbane and since 1950 at Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral, Strathfield (Sydney). It belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, reunited with the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007.
Romanian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Georgian Orthodox parishes also serve their respective communities under their mother churches.
Institutional life
Orthodox Christians are the third-largest Christian grouping in Australia after Roman Catholics and Anglicans. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese alone reports over 130 parishes and eight monasteries spread across six archdiocesan districts. In 1982 the Archdiocese established St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College in Redfern, Sydney, a full member of the Sydney College of Divinity that trains clergy and lay theologians. Monastic life has grown significantly in recent decades, with men's and women's monasteries in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia under the Greek, ROCOR and Serbian jurisdictions.
Current state
According to the 2021 Australian Census, 535,470 residents identified as Eastern Orthodox, a modest numerical increase from 2016 against the backdrop of a broader decline in Australian Christian self-identification. Orthodoxy in Australia is thus both a living immigrant heritage — Greek, Arab, Slavic, Romanian — and, increasingly, a Church that worships, preaches and catechises in English for a growing body of Australian-born and convert faithful.
Famous Orthodox churches and monasteries in Australia
The sacred architecture of Orthodox Australia — cathedrals, parishes, and the mountain monasteries that keep the lamps burning.
- Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady, Redfern (Sydney) — A heritage-listed former Anglican church on Cleveland Street, designed by Edmund Blacket, now the cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and the seat of Archbishop Makarios.
- Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Surry Hills (Sydney) — The first Greek Orthodox church in Australia, with foundation stones laid in 1898 and consecrated in 1899; originally Byzantine in style, it received a Romanesque façade in 1931 and is heritage-listed.
- Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Strathfield (Sydney) — The cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR), which has been its episcopal see since 1950.
- St George Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Cabramatta (Sydney) — A principal centre of Serbian Orthodox life in Australia within the Serbian Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand.
- St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College, Redfern (Sydney) — Founded in 1982 by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, an Orthodox seminary and full member of the Sydney College of Divinity; its chapel and academic buildings form the spiritual heart of Orthodox theological formation in Australia.
- Holy Monastery of Saint John, Forrestfield (Perth) — A coenobitic men's monastery under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia's district of Perth, one of several monastic communities that have taken root in Australia in recent decades.
Orthodoxy
kept here.
The shape of the faith as it is lived and prayed across Australia today.
Australian Orthodoxy is predominantly a diaspora Orthodoxy: there is no autocephalous Church of Australia. Instead, parishes belong to metropolises, archdioceses or dioceses of the traditional mother churches — Constantinople, Antioch, Moscow (through ROCOR), Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and others — all of which recognise one another as canonical and share the same faith, sacraments and liturgical tradition.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is the largest jurisdiction and effectively sets the tone of public Orthodox life in Australia. Liturgical languages vary by community: Greek is most widespread, alongside Arabic in Antiochian parishes, Church Slavonic in Russian and Serbian parishes, and Romanian in Romanian parishes. Across all jurisdictions, English is used increasingly — fully or partially — to serve second- and third-generation Australians and converts.
Inter-Orthodox cooperation is coordinated by the Episcopal Assembly of Oceania, which brings together the canonical bishops of the region. Relations with the Australian state are cordial; Orthodox clergy participate in chaplaincies (hospitals, prisons, the Defence Force), and many Orthodox schools operate, particularly under the Greek Archdiocese. Orthodox Australians tend to be concentrated in the major urban centres — greater Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth — reflecting the post-war migration waves from Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union and Romania.
It is important to distinguish the Eastern Orthodox communities described here from the Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic, Armenian Apostolic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac and Indian Malankara), which are also present in Australia but belong to a separate communion of churches not in sacramental unity with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Asked
of this land.
Frequently asked questions about Orthodoxy in Australia
How many Eastern Orthodox Christians live in Australia?
The 2021 Australian Census recorded 535,470 people identifying as Eastern Orthodox, making it the third-largest Christian grouping in the country after Roman Catholics and Anglicans.
Is there an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Australia?
No. Australia is canonical "diaspora" territory, so Orthodox Christians there belong to dioceses and archdioceses of the traditional mother churches — chiefly the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia), the Patriarchate of Antioch, the Patriarchate of Serbia, ROCOR (Moscow Patriarchate), and the Romanian Patriarchate.
When did Orthodoxy first arrive in Australia?
Orthodox Greeks, Lebanese and Russians began settling in Australia in the late 19th century. The first Greek Orthodox church, Holy Trinity in Surry Hills, Sydney, had its foundation stones laid on 29 May 1898 and was consecrated in April 1899, initially serving both Greek and Antiochian faithful.
What language is used in services?
Each jurisdiction uses its traditional liturgical language — Greek, Arabic, Church Slavonic, Romanian — while English is used increasingly, fully or partially, to serve Australian-born Orthodox Christians and converts.
Who leads the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia?
Since 9 May 2019, His Eminence Makarios (Griniezakis) has been Archbishop of Australia, with his cathedra at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Redfern, Sydney. The Archdiocese oversees more than 130 parishes and eight monasteries.
Is Eastern Orthodoxy the same as Oriental Orthodoxy (e.g. Coptic or Armenian)?
No. Eastern Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, Romanian, etc.) and Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic, Armenian Apostolic, Ethiopian, Syriac, Eritrean, Indian Malankara) are two distinct communions that have not been in sacramental unity since the 5th century.