Church History

The early history of Kogarah Church is largely unknown. Its existence today is a testament to the dedication of many community-minded Greeks who lived in the Kogarah district and sought to establish it. Most of these pioneers have passed away, and I am indebted to Poppy Liaros, daughter-in-law of the late Constantine Liaros, a prominent member of the community at the time, and wife of the late Peter Liaros, son of Constantine. Poppy has been an invaluable help in piecing together this history, which could have easily been lost, along with the recognition of the hard work of these community-minded Greeks.

Poppy Liaros

While it is crucial that this history not be lost, I was also prompted to write about the Church’s early beginnings in deference to and as a tribute to my beloved and adored late wife, Koula Papapetros, who died recently on the 14th April 2025. Kogarah Church was an integral part of her family history; her Aunty Poppy (Kalliope) Megaloikonomou and her husband, Harry, were also prominent members of the Greek Community and dedicated a large part of their lives to the Kogarah Church Community.

Peter Liaros

Koula and I knew some of the Church’s origins through stories of her Aunty Poppy’s dreams and community involvement, but not much more. However, it was because of her Aunty Poppy that Koula and I were married in the new Church in 1984 by Father John Varvaris, three years after it opened (I will talk more about Father John later). Furthermore, to honour his mother’s devotion to Panagia Myrtidiotisa, our son Emanuel and his wife Marie chose to be married there in 2023 by His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia.

Koula Papapetros

As Panagia Myrtidiotissa was an important part of her life, Koula and her husband, Isidor, had planned to visit Panagia Myrtidiotissa Monastery in Kythera in October 2025 to light a candle for her family. Instead, a candle was lit in her honour by very close friends on Kythera during Easter week 2025, soon after she had passed away. I’ll elaborate on Poppy Megaloikonomou’s involvement later.

In the early 1960s, the Greek population of Kogarah and the surrounding area was small, only a few hundred people. These families, out of necessity, attended religious services at relatively distant churches, namely Agia Triada in Bourke Street, Redfern, and Agia Sofia in Darlinghurst.

Over time, there was always talk of establishing a local Greek Orthodox Church, but nothing was done. Most of the Greek Community, comprising many established Greek migrants and others who were recent arrivals, were too busy making a living. Sometime around Easter 1963, an incident brought the matter to a head: a couple of Greeks walked into the Miami Milk Bar at Rockdale (owned by Peter Liaros) near the train station and complained about having to catch a train to attend the Friday Epitaphio at Agia Triada in Bourke Street, Redfern, and Agia Sofia in Darlinghurst.

Subsequent to the milk bar incident, Peter Liaros passed on the information to his father, Constantine, about his clients’ complaints regarding the lack of a local church. Accordingly, Constantine made a phone call to the Archdiocese and was informed that he needed to submit the names of 100 like-minded families. Constantine walked the streets of Kogarah, Rockdale, Brighton, and Hurstville, achieved his goal of 100 families, and submitted the list to the Archdiocese.

Poppy Megaloikonomou

The first meeting to start the Community was held at the Liaros family home in Gladstone Street, Bexley, in January 1964. Everyone present at the meeting decided to proceed with the approval of the Archdiocese. In the area, there were many retired Kytherians. Christos Kokkineas approached Peter Liaros and asked him to come to his home in Kyeemagh. The second meeting was held in June 1964 at the home of Chris and Hariklia Kochineas. Those also present at the meeting were Poppy and Harry Megaloikonomou, Leo Combis and his wife, Nikolaos and Vretoula Mavromatis, Beneto and Athanasia Mavromatis, and Peter and Poppy Liaros.

Harry Megaloikonomou

Poppy Megaloikonomou, who always dreamed of building a Church in the name of Panagia Myrtidiotissa, stated that she and her husband Harry were very interested in helping to achieve this goal. The next day, she sent her husband Harry to look for the property from her dream. Poppy had apparently been having recurrent dreams about a Church being established, with visions of the property to be purchased. The story told to my wife Koula, was that the Virgin Mary was telling her that a Greek Church needed to be established at a particular site, the vision of which was an old home. Her husband Harry initially ignored this, but when she had the dream a second time, they both took note and drove around Kogarah’s streets to find the image from her dreams.

After the third dream, the property was identified as an old nursing home at 20 Belgrave Street, Kogarah. My information from Poppy Liaros is that a real estate agent found the nursing home, which Poppy Megaloikonomou immediately recognized as the one from her dreams. Having found the property, which was being sold for 17,000 pounds, the bank required three guarantors. Those who stepped forward were Harry Megaloikonomou, Nick Mavromatis, and Lisa Psalti.

They needed a 3,000-pound deposit, and the owner gave preference to the Greeks because it was being bought to establish a Church. However, he required payment within 10 years. After another phone call to the Archdiocese, the newly established Committee was told that they must first form a company, register it, and then compile a Memorandum of Articles and Association. This was duly done with the help of Arthur George (subsequently Sir Arthur), a Greek solicitor.

The new Church required a name before it could be consecrated. Poppy Megaloikonomou wanted it named Panagia Myrtidiotissa after the Church on her island of Kythera. As there was some resistance to this from the Community, Poppy reconsidered her proposal and proposed three names to the Archbishop: The Resurrection of Our Lord, Panagia Myrtidiotissa, and Agia Elessa, which was accepted.

Harry Megaloikonomou was the first President of the newly formed Committee and Dimitri Marinopoulos was the first secretary of the Church. Peter Liaros’ father, Constantine, also served at the Church front door for over 20 years.

The parish was registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) on April 19, 1966. The Archbishop at the time, Ezekiel Tsoukalas, the first Archbishop in Australia, instructed the Committee that a Greek School for children be established and, in the first instance, there should be at least nine students.

Poppy Megaloikonomou and Father Stephanos Papanastasiou canvassed the area of Rockdale and Kogarah and initially enrolled 60 children at Rockdale Primary School and subsequently they used two rooms at the rear of the old Church. Poppy, in addition to all her fundraising, was integral in starting the Kogarah Church school and provided her services gratis for the duration of her longstanding association with the Church.

The old church opened in 1965

After the Nursing Home was purchased, Harry commenced work with fellow parishioners, knocking down walls to open up the area in the old Nursing Home and creating a facade at the front of the Church with a Cross in the centre, symbolizing the newly established Church (the Church remained as such until the Committee had accumulated enough funds to build the new Church, which opened in 1981 and exists there to this day).

The Greek Orthodox Parish of the Resurrection of Our Lord, Panagia Myrtidiotissa, and Agia Elessa in Kogarah was thus established in 1965, and the first service was held by the first priest, Damianos Karavazas, on January 17, 1965. It should also be noted that the first Christening was the son of Peter and Poppy Liaros, Efstratios (Steven).

Between 1965 and 1973, there were four priests, and not much progress was made in developing the Church Community. Indeed, the first ten years were difficult, and few people attended the Divine Liturgies, making everyone’s dream seem to be going backward. Slowly, more people enrolled in the Parish, and in 1973, under the Presidency of Bill Galanos, an invitation was extended to a priest who had been very enterprising in Newcastle and had worked tirelessly to establish the Church there. His name was Father John Varvaris, and he held his first Divine Liturgy on December 6, 1973.

Old Church 1976 – Funding Rally for Proposed New Church

Father John Varvaris

Father John worked closely with Poppy Megaloikonomou on the Kogarah Church School. His plan was for young people to have a simple knowledge of common Greek in preference to Ancient Greek, that would strengthen the family ties and keep people aware of the high place Greece retains in world history of Culture and the Arts generally.

For 30 years, he worked tirelessly with committees for the progress of the parish community of Kogarah with the same enterprise he had shown in Newcastle. Fundraising became a significant priority with the aim of building a new Church to replace the old Church, which stood on the site of the current Church Hall which opened in 1992. However, to achieve this, two properties next door to the old Church were purchased, and services continued the old Church until the new Church was opened.

Opening Day 8 Nov 1981- Resurrection of Our Lord, Panagia Myrtidiotisa and Agia Elessa

To build the newly proposed Church required a lot of money, which was achieved by 1980 when planning and construction commenced. It was estimated at the time the cost would be around one million dollars. The new Church held its first Divine Liturgy Service on November 8, 1981. It is ironic that the first funeral service was held for Dr John Zorbas, who had been a President of the Church Committee and worked very closely with Father John Varvaris on fundraising and planning from 1976 onwards.

Now that the new Church was operative, the old Church was demolished, and plans were made to establish a Church Hall. For the next 10 years, Poppy Megaloikonomou, Father John Varvaris, and other active members of the Church Committee continued with fundraising activities, which raised quite a lot of money. The Church Hall was opened in 1992.

Opening Day 1992 – New Church Community Church Hall

Mrs Poppy Megaloikonomou is generally recognized as the person with the greatest contribution to the creation of the Parish Community of Kogarah. She was the first President of the Philoptohos (Friends of the Poor) and worked tirelessly in fundraising for the Community. In 1992, when the Parish Hall was opened, Poppy’s 27 years of service were acknowledged, having served from the first discussions of the establishment of the Community. Constantine Liaros rightly named her the Godmother of the Church.

In the year 2025, when one considers the resources that the Kogarah Community has developed in the St. George area which includes afternoon Greek lesson classes, Sunday schools, dancing schools, Youth and Seniors meetings — all of this makes The Resurrection of Our Lord, Panagia Myrtidiotissa, and Agia Elessa Parish the largest in Australia and a fitting tribute to Poppy Megaloikonomou.

In addition to this, my beloved late wife, Koula, would be so proud to know that the story of her Aunty Poppy’s spiritual dreams, inspired by Panagia Myrtidiotissa, of establishing a Church in her name, will become widely known. It is a beautiful story that had to be told and now has been documented.

My wife, Koula, was a passionate Australian-born Kytherian, deeply influenced by her Aunty Poppy, and frequently visited the Kogarah Church and prayed to Panagia Myrtidiotissa.

I dedicate this story to Koula Papapetros, not only as a fitting tribute to her Aunty Poppy but also to all of Koula’s family.

Dr. Isidor John Papapetros,
Retired Obstetrician and Gynaecologist