St George Macedonian Orthodox Church, Fitzroy

Ѓорѓи“, Makedonska Pravoslavna Crkva „Sveti Ǵorǵi“) was a Macedonian Orthodox church located in Fitzroy, a suburb of inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

[1] Completed in 1959, St George was the first independent[2] Macedonian Orthodox church built within Australia and outside of North Macedonia.

[7][2][8] Notable Macedonians involved in the initiative were Atanas and Done Filipov, Dane Trpkov, Stojan Srbinov, Risto Altin and Vančo Nedelkovski.

[10] Over a period of two years, funds were raised and a plot of land was purchased on Young Street, in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, home to many immigrants from southern Europe.

[15] The establishment of St George was a pivotal moment that initiated the unitary religious and social life of the Macedonian Australian community and asserted their existence in the country.

[16] The Australian-based Bulgarian, Serbian and Greek churches engaged in a vigorous and public campaign opposing the Macedonians.

[19] The metropolitan attempted to limit membership of the St George Church Committee to citizens from Yugoslavia during the 1960s - early 1970s.

[15] The site was redeveloped and is now home to urban residents, with the bell tower being one of the remaining features of the former church.

Plaque from St George Church commemorating its founding, now located at the St George & St Mary Church, Epping
Building redeveloped as apartments. Brickwork and bell tower are original remnants of St George Church