Greek Cathedral Of Aghia Sophia And Presbytery

The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Aghia Sophia is a Byzantine-style cathedral built in 1878-1879 to designs by John Oldrid Scott. The builders were Kirk and Randall of Woolwich.

Plan and Setting

The church follows a Greek cross plan, with four projecting arms forming a nave, transepts and sanctuary. The sanctuary faces north. To the south is a narthex with a gallery above, and to the east a vestry. A crypt runs beneath the eastern portion of the building.

The site is bounded by a terracotta boundary balustrade with rectangular piers and inset fluted Ionic half-columns and pyramidal caps. Some of these are modern replicas of originals partly lost in the Blitz. The railings date to the 1990s and were designed with reference to historic photographs showing the originals. The balustrade is separately listed.

Materials and Structure

The cathedral is built of yellow brick with red brick banding and dressings in stone and red brick. The central copper-clad dome has twelve round-arched lights. The nave, transepts and sanctuary have pan-tiled, pitched roofs. Smaller copper semi-domes flank the nave and crown the northern apses. The principal dome was originally covered with lead but was reclad in copper in 1901. It is surmounted by a gilded cross.

Exterior

The church is Byzantine in inspiration. The principal front faces south and is dominated by the nave's gable end, which contains a large semicircular relieving arch with alternating stone and brick voussoirs. Within this is a round-arched, recessed window of four lights with terracotta column mullions and banded heads. Pilasters rise from impost level to support a broken pediment formed by the gable end with enriched eaves and cross finial. The window's sill contains a granite panel bearing an inscription in Greek which reads (in translation): 'The Greek Colony in this seagirt island built this Church far from their dear country, dedicating it to the Holy Wisdom of God, during the reign of the great and illustrious Queen Victoria. London 1878'.

At ground level the two principal entrances flank three central, recessed, round-arched windows set in moulded terracotta surrounds and linked by red brick and stone banded heads and a decorative cornice. A bulging half-column forms the mullion of the central two-light window and there is further decoration in the tympana above.

The east and west facades also have large semi-circular relieving arches with alternating stone and brick voussoirs under the gable end pediments, framing large stone wheel windows. Other windows are round-arched, in singles or pairs, some with brick surrounds and others in carved stone. The same motifs feature in the plainer north elevation, which is built so close to the adjoining building as to have little public aspect.

Interior

The interior is notable for both its spatial qualities and rich decoration and fittings. The rectangular narthex leads up five steps to the main prayer hall, which is dominated by the large central dome. The barrel-vaulted south, east and west transepts are of equal length. To the north is the Sanctuary, divided from the nave by the iconostasis screen. The Sanctuary is tripartite with three apses surmounted by semi-domes, the central one housing the altar and therefore taller and wider. There is a vestry to the north-east and a gallery in the south transept.

The narthex was originally stone paved with exposed polychrome brickwork, but in 1994 was lined in marble. It retains its original stencilled ceiling. It contains a series of mosaics, some from 1994 and others more recent in date by mosaic artists Sotiris Varvogli and Fanis Mavridis. Relocated in the narthex is a 17th-century inscription which originally stood above the door of the church in Greek Street and records the patronage of the church by Charles II and the Bishop of London.

In the main church, the walls are lined in rich coloured marbles in green, black, white and pink (added in 1881-1885) and, where exposed, there is polychrome brickwork. The floor is tessellated paving in geometric patterns with a double-headed eagle design at its centre, the traditional emblem of Byzantium. It dates to 1889. The windows are all acid-etched glass in a variety of floral designs.

The dome, resting on pendentives, is decorated by multi-coloured glass enamel mosaic designed by sculptor and painter AG Walker, executed by GN Mecenero and undertaken in 1891-1893. Against a background of gold is a figure of Christ, arms outstretched in benediction, seated on a rainbow with His feet against a spherical body representing the earth. He is encircled by twelve cherubim in a scalloped border beneath which, in between the twelve round-headed lights, are the figures of the apostles and evangelists. There is a band of Greek text at the base of the dome. The pendentives, also with a gold background, contain four-winged seraphim and are inspired by the same features at Hagia Sophia, Constantinople. The gilded Bath stone Composite capitals to the dome piers also reference the mother-church of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Sanctuary arch is decorated by further mosaics by Walker, depicting Moses and Aaron.

The four arches which support the dome originally had alternating brick and stone voussoirs but in 1926 these were covered with the second major mosaic scheme in the cathedral, that by Russian artist Boris Anrep. In contrast to Walker, who uses foreshortening and shadow to make his figures appear lifelike, Anrep adopted the flat perspective and simple detail of Byzantine mosaic art. His biblical figures, saints and angels adorn the transept arch soffits and the Sanctuary apse ceilings.

Fixtures and Fittings

Dividing the Sanctuary from the crossing is a richly-carved three-tiered iconostasis, designed by John Oldrid Scott and made by Farmer and Brindley. It is crafted of panels of walnut inlayed with rare woods and mother of pearl. The lower tier contains three doors to the Sanctuary, each featuring paintings by German artist and philhellene Ludwig Thiersch. These are interspersed with further paintings by Thiersch and with wrought iron brackets designed to hold lamps. The paintings depict the principal figures of Christian worship including the Archangel Michael, St George and St John the Baptist. There are twelve icons or paintings depicting scenes from the life of Christ, also by Thiersch, on the middle storey and the final section comprises a painted Crucifixion flanked by icons of Mary, Mother of Jesus and Saint John.

Other notable fixtures and fittings include: a walnut choir gallery also by Farmer and Brindley to Scott's design; fine carved oak and brass misericord seating dating to circa 1850 and brought from the Church of Our Saviour, London Wall; Bishop's seat complete with baldachin and other clergy seats; hanging silver-plated double Greek cross with ruby lamps; large sections of a 16th-century iconostasis in the east transept with roundels containing figures of saints and vines; intricately-carved mahogany pulpit on alabaster and marble columns with wood inlay sounding board; marble altar; brass candelabra and candlesticks; fixtures and fittings behind the iconostasis, including vestment cupboards; cast-iron radiator covers and umbrella stands; a painting of Christ Blessing the Children dating to circa 1881; various memorial panels, including three which commemorate soldiers of the First World War.

Crypt

The crypt is located beneath the eastern section of the church and has a jack-arched brick ceiling supported on iron columns. The crypt stair and a second flight of steps leading into the main room are original and there is also a fireplace. The area under the Sanctuary has been converted into a small museum, exhibiting vestments, books and silverware from the Cathedral's collection and the re-sited foundation stone. The design of the museum is by Panos Arvanitakis and was completed in 2006.

Presbytery

There is a presbytery of 1921 to the west of the church, the interior of which was not inspected. It is included in the listing.

History

Saint Sophia, Moscow Road was the fifth Greek church in London, successor to buildings near Greek Street, Soho (from 1677-1684); in the Imperial Russian Embassy (1684-1837); at Finsbury Circus (1837-1850); and on London Wall in the City (1849-1879).

The impetus for constructing a new church was that the majority of the Greek community who worshipped at the Church of Our Saviour, London Wall lived further afield, many in the smart, new west London suburbs of Paddington, Bayswater and Notting Hill. Thus, a building committee headed by Emmanuel Mavrogordato decided to build a new and more conveniently-located place of worship. This was to be 'a beautiful Church, outstanding in style and execution, a monument worthy of the great names of the Greeks settled in London and of the Greek Orthodox Church'. Also involved was the church's solicitor, Edwin Freshfield, a renowned Byzantinist of the time, who was consulted on aspects of the building's design. The foundation stone was laid in 1878 by Eustratius Ralli. In a speech, Mavrogordato explained that the committee had inclined to call the church 'Divine Wisdom' because 'it possesses a natural significance from its historical association with our national fortunes and is a symbol of our national aspirations and hopes'. The first service was held on Whitsuntide Sunday, 1 June 1879 and the church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Corfu on 5 February 1882, on completion of the majority of the interior decoration.

Scott's initial proposals for St Sophia were exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1876. The plans show a stone building with brick and terracotta details, domes carried on marble columns above the transepts and sanctuary, and a baptistery. The design was subsequently simplified for reasons of economy.

In 1922, Saint Sophia was designated by the Oecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as the seat of the newly-created Diocese of Thyateira, named after the See of Thyateira in Asia Minor, with jurisdiction over Central and Western Europe. It thus became a Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the seat of the bishop of Thyateira.