OUR HISTORY

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From a young age, it was always the dream of Fr. Savvas—as well as many other devout individuals of both Kalymnian and non-Kalymnian descent—to establish an Orthodox Church in Australia dedicated to St. Savvas of Kalymnos, one of the newest saints of the Orthodox Church.

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His first attempt came as a teenager, when he and a few others raised over $30,000 to offer to the Greek Orthodox Community of Batemans Bay, which was planning to build a church. The idea was to contribute these funds in exchange for naming the church after St. Savvas. This was initially agreed upon by the community's president, Mr. Sideris, and the late Mrs. Michailou (Fr. Savvas’ aunt), along with Fr. Savvas himself. However, at the last minute, the plan fell through. A wealthier family from Canberra—the Liangis family—offered to fully fund the construction of the church, on the condition that it be named after St. John the Baptist, in honor of Mrs. Sotiria Liangis’ son, John. Even a proposal to make it a dual-altar church (Disipostatos), allowing inclusion of St. Savvas’ name, was rejected.

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This was a great disappointment to many and a source of confusion, especially considering that a nearby church in Jervis Bay was already named after St. John. Many questioned how Church authorities allowed two parishes with the same name to be established so close to each other. Why not allow a dual Altar dedication and include St. Savvas as well? Although the name of St. Savvas was rejected at the time, he was not forgotten.

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In 2010, the dormant dream was revived. Upon Fr. Savvas’ request, permission was granted by his hierarchs. By October 2014, a missionary parish and community association was officially and legally registered under the name of St. Savvas. Services were initially held in a temporary location as the community began to take shape. The first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on 21 December 2014.

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Through God’s grace, a significant miracle occurred on

31 August 2016 through the intercession of St. Savvas. Despite various challenges and opposition, the community was able to purchase an existing church with a large block of land, two halls, and multiple facilities, located in the St. George area along the main highway. The building, originally a Protestant church established in 1890, was a local landmark in Banksia and the broader St. George region.

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The first Agiasmo (blessing of the premises) was held on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, followed by the first official Divine Liturgy under the jurisdiction of the "Patriarchate of Kyiv" on Sunday, 20 November 2016.

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The Church and Community of St. Savvas the New of Kalymnos became the first church in the world named solely after the saint—outside of his original church in Kalymnos, where his miraculous holy relic (entire body) is kept. Fr. Savvas was also blessed to receive several relics and personal items of St. Savvas, including one of his stoles (which emits a heavenly fragrance) and an icon painted and signed by the saint himself in Aegina in 1919, a year before his spiritual brother St. Nektarios passed away. These sacred items are housed in the church for the faithful to venerate.

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Within the church is also a chapel dedicated to Panagia Hrisoleontissa, a historic and miraculous icon housed in a monastery in Aegina. An exact copy of the icon was gifted to the church by the Abbess—who is also Fr. Savvas’ and Presvytera Styliani’s aunt. The chapel also includes a side altar dedicated to St. Euphemia. Both St. Savvas and St. Nektarios held Panagia Hrisoleontissa in deep reverence, having lived at her monastery and prayed before her icon. St. Nektarios, just days before his death, made a final pilgrimage to the monastery to pray before her icon.

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Hanging from this icon is also an engolpion gifted by the late Bishop Chrysostomos of Chersonysos and Azov, the parish’s first spiritual father under the ‘Kyiv Patriarchate.’ Although he passed away before seeing the icon installed in the chapel, his gift remains a testament to his devotion.

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On Sunday, 12 November 2017, a Patriarchal Delegation led by then-Patriarchal Vicar Metropolitan Epiphanios of Pereyaslav (now Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine) officially consecrated the church and Holy Altar—a beautiful and historic milestone for the parish.

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On 11 October 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, in granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, officially lifted all anathemas, excommunications, and defrockments from Metropolitan Philaret and all clergy under him. This restored them fully to episcopal and priestly communion, thereby recognizing their canonical status throughout the Orthodox world.

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On 15 December 2018, the united council (Sobor) of bishops, chaired by hierarchs of Constantinople, elected Metropolitan Epiphanios of Pereyaslav as the head of the newly unified Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

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On 6 January 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople officially handed over the Tomos of Autocephaly to Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

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Following the resolutions of the Synaxis of Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, held on 28–29 March 2022 and led by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, the Parish of St. Savvas of Kalymnos—along with its sister Ukrainian parish of St. Basil the Great in Newcastle—was formally admitted into the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese under the Ecumenical Patriarchate.