Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)

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Saint Sava Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church
Saint Sava Church, pictured in 2010
Map
Location203 River Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 3P9
DenominationSerbian Orthodox
Websitesvetisavatoronto.org
History
ConsecratedMay 22, 1955
Architecture
Architect(s)Petar "Pera" Popović[1]
Architectural typeSerbo-Byzantine Revival
Years built1953–1955
GroundbreakingJune 10, 1953 (1953-06-10)
Administration
DioceseDiocese of Canada
Clergy
Pastor(s)V. Rev. Prvoslav Purić
V. Rev. Drago Knežević

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Српска православна црква Светог Саве) is a Serbian Orthodox church located in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

It is dedicated to Saint Sava, the first Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is the first Serbian Orthodox church built in Toronto and is commonly referred to as the mother church of the local Serbian Canadian community.[2]

History

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The church is located on the same site (the northeast corner of River Street and Gerrard Street East) as the Gerrard Street United Church which was built in 1880 and demolished in 1939 when the parish was merged with Saint Enoch United Church.[3]

The construction of the Saint Sava church and church hall began on June 10, 1953, and the cornerstone was consecrated by Bishop Dionisije Milivojević on August 22, 1953. The architect of the church and church hall was Petar "Pera" Popović, and the building contractor was Velja Relja. The single-nave church was built in the Romanesque style and adapted into a Serbo-Byzantine Revival style. It has a small semicircular altar-apse in the east while in the west is the main entrance to the church with a small vestibule. A small round dome also rises above the roof on the west side of the church. The church has three crosses. The church hall is attached directly to the north side of the church, through which one can also enter the church.

The first service was held in the church hall on Easter 1954,[4] and the foundation of the church was consecrated on September 5, 1954 by Bishop (now Saint) Nikolaj Velimirović.[5]

The church was completed and consecrated on May 22, 1955, by Bishop Dionisije Milivojević. Princess Olga (sister of Russian Emperor Nicholas II) attended the celebration and banquet, donating an icon of Saint Alexander Nevski made by her own hand.[5] The iconostasis of the church, the work of Sima Temovski, was consecrated in 1956.

In October 2005, the church was registered as a heritage building by the Ontario Heritage Trust[6] as part of the Cabbagetown South Heritage Conservation District.[7][8]

The church has been visited by a Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church on three occasions: by Patriarch Irinej in June 2015[9] and February 2016[10] and by Patriarch Porfirije in October 2024.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ACO Toronto (2022-01-31). "St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church". Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  2. ^ Novine Toronto (2013-12-06). "Šezdeset godina Crkve Svetog Save na Riveru (7)" (in Serbian). Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  3. ^ "TPL photo". digitalarchive.tpl.ca.
  4. ^ "Историјат Цркве "Свети Сава"". svetisavatoronto.org.
  5. ^ a b Saint Sava Church (26 August 2005). "Srpska kolonija u Torontu, Ontario" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Ontario Heritage Act Register | Details". Ontario Heritage Trust.
  7. ^ "203 River Street". Cabbagetown Heritage Conservation District Committee.
  8. ^ "City of Toronto's Heritage Property Search Detail". secure.toronto.ca.
  9. ^ Istočnik (2015-06-10). "Патријарх Иринеј у Торонту" (in Serbian (Cyrillic script)). Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  10. ^ "Патријарх Иринеј на Сретење служио у Торонту" (in Serbian (Cyrillic script)). spc.rs. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Патријарх Порфирије богослужио у цркви Светог Саве у Торонту" (in Serbian (Cyrillic script)). spc.rs. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
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43°39′50.3″N 79°21′32.7″W / 43.663972°N 79.359083°W / 43.663972; -79.359083

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