On Sunday 3 November 2024  we celebrated 120 years of St George‘s Greek Orthodox Cathedral with His Eminence Archbishop Sergios Kykkotis, Very  Reverend Archimandrite Doukas Coulbanis and Very Reverend Father Nikolaos Giamouridis. 

Our beautiful cathedral in Woodstock is the oldest Greek Orthodox Church in South Africa Completed in 1904 it was elevated to the status of cathedral in 1968. 

Can you imagine how exciting it must have been for our predecessors to build it and to finally establish a Hellenic church and community so far away from our motherland Greece. 

We all have attachments somewhere along the line to this first church. 

In 1935 my father Gerasimos Sofianos, who hailed all the way from the legendary island of Ithaca, was stranded in Cape Town due to an emergency operation he had to undergo at Groote Schuur. He was a merchant marine but the ship had to sail without him! 

When he was well he was welcomed into the community and of course he attended services at the cathedral. 

And that was that….. he stayed and opened a cafe (of course!) in Sea Point!

But back to our 120 year anniversary celebration today. 

It is also the second Feast Day in the Ecclesistical year for the Great Saint and Martyr Saint George who is the patron saint of our cathedral.  

Not only is he highly revered by Orthodox Christians, he is also well-known around the world to other denominations as well and is an iconic figure depicting the saint slaying a dragon – the embodiment of good over evil and the light of Christ illuminating the darkness.

After the Holy Liturgy service we all gathered in the church hall  next door for a slap-up festive lunch. 

And that too was part of the 120 year history only today our grande old dame has been given a 21st century deluxe makeover. 

Mr Chris Yiacoumis, President of the Hellenic Community, welcomed us and said the dear old hall is once again bright and beautiful and ready to become  the hub of our community, restoring the legacy of our communal gathering place for generations ahead. 

Our Committee has worked tirelessly to mend and repair, restore and rejuvenate our church building and hall so that we can enjoy all kinds  of religious, social and cultural events in modern comfort and chic style while embracing our rich history. We salute you for that! 

We started off with a charming presentation by the Sunday School kids with Artemis Michaletos, who told us the timeless story of Saint George and the dragon.  

It was followed by a short musical interlude by our Hellenic Community Choir and Orchestra – with a special song dedicated to our blessed Saint George. 

Then…………need I say more?  Yes  we tucked into a veritable feast of favourites – meze, salad, pastitchio, lamb and chicken and finally we capped it all with watermelon and strawberries! 

The hall looked magnificent in all its brand new windows and lights, floors polished, upgraded kitchen, five-star loos, you name it, and,of course , the tables were beautifully laid. 

All hail and tribute, deepest thanks and the biggest hugs ever must go to the ladies who manned the kitchen for days preparing these delicious dishes for us. Everything was served so eloquently and went so smoothly and please note we’re talking feeding about 200 hungry Greeks! 

Bravo and God bless your loving hands that put this all together. 

We ended off with a fun auction of watermelons which added a good chunk of cash to our church funds. 

We had a blast and apart from celebrating those precious 120 years today we are looking forward to the next 120 years with loads more to celebrate, God willing.

( Text and photos: Pepe Sofianos)