A Brief History - From then to now
Built in 1876 and designed by the architect John Belcher, our cathedral was originally a place of worship for the Catholic Apostolic Church until 1961. As can be seen in the figures below, the original church building was much larger than it is today, it was in fact bombed in 1941 during World War 2, the remains of which can be seen today as part of the courtyard.
The original exterior of the Cathedral
(image from archiseek.com)
The original interior of the Cathedral
(image from archiseek.com)
The Cathedral was eventually taken over by the Greek Orthodox Church in 1963 and bought in 1977. Bishop Christoforos Kommodatos and his brother Very Reverend Archimandrite Athenagoras Konstantinou were instrumental in the establishment of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God and the adjoining Greek school. The latter of which bears the Bishop's name and Bishop Christoforos' Greek School continues to run today, with head teacher Ms Eleni Gkika.
Bishop Christoforos with the students of the Greek School.
The students of Bishop Christoforos Greek School in Summer 2017
From the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in 1963 the community has continued to blossom and grow. In 2013 we celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the establishment of the Cathedral at the annual 8th September Panigyri where His former Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Great Britain and Thyateira was present.
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Following the enthronement of His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas in Summer 2019, we had the pleasure of welcoming him to our Cathedral to our Annual Panigyri in September 2019.
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Our parish hosted the National Clergy Conferene in 2015 and 2019 and our parish priests regularly attend conferences with other Christian denominations.
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Clergy Conference 2015
Very Revd. Archimandrite Christodoulos representing the Greek Orthodox Church alongside other Christian church leaders during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2016
Today, our community holds the same values and traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church and has done so for over half a century when it was established. We continue to hold an annual Panigyri in celebration of the Nativity of the Mother of God, with worshippers attending from across London.
Our Icon of the Virgin Mary from Kykkos Monastery in Cyprus
Parishoners enjoying the annual Panigyri in celebration of the Nativity of the Mother of God