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Celebrating 100 years of St Michael's The Archangel Orthodox Church( Kaneese)

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DescriptionThe celebrations for St Michael's The Archangel Orthodox Church, ( Kaneese) Fingall Street South Dunedin which turned 100 were held over the weekend of the 5th and 6th November 2011. It is the first Eastern Orthodox church to be built in New Zealand (1911) In fact this church was the first Antiochian Orthodox Church to be built in Australasia, and is now under the The New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a category 2 building. The result of faith and hard work of about 15 Orthodox families mostly from Syria and Lebanon,who had arrived in New Zealand in the 1890's. By 1910 the site in Fingall Street had been purchased and about 200 pounds had been raised . To pay for church furniture their talents for craftsmanship were put to good use with the remainder hundreds raised by a Bazaar. Thus creating a footprint from those Lebanese families and allowing the church to be opened debt free. Vespers on Saturday afternoon, followed by formal dinner in the evening. A christening at the service on sunday followed by a meal, were attended by local families and friends of the church,with at least 3 former priests in attendance. Direct descendants of the founding families were present they take an active interest in the legacy ,vision and and hard work of their fore bearers. Last edited by: Emma Milburn