Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)

Church in Toronto, Ontario

Saint Sava Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church

Saint Sava Church, pictured in 2010

Location| 203 River Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 3P9
Denomination| Serbian Orthodox
Website| svetisavatoronto.org
History
Consecrated| May 22, 1955
Architecture
Architect(s)| Petar "Pera" Popović[1]
Architectural type| Serbo-Byzantine Revival
Years built| 1953–1955
Groundbreaking| June 10, 1953 (1953-06-10)
Administration
Diocese| Diocese 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

[edit]

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]

In May 2016, the church made headlines as the site of a car crash.[9]

## See also

[edit]

* Saint Michael the Archangel Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)
* All Serbian Saints Serbian Orthodox Church (Mississauga)

## References

[edit]

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. ^ Brockbank, Nicole (3 May 2016). "Car crashes into church in Toronto's east-end overnight". CBC.ca. Retrieved 16 May 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Sava Church, Toronto.

* v
* t
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Serbian Orthodox church buildings

Serbia|

| Belgrade|

* Church of Saint Sava
* St. Michael's Cathedral
* St. George, Banovo Brdo
* Ružica
* St. Mark's Church
* St. Basil of Ostrog
* Church of the Ascension
* Rakovica Monastery
* Chapel of Saint Petka
* Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
* St. Alexander Nevsky
* Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Batajnica)
* St. Nicholas (Dobanovci)
* Holy Virgin (Zemun)

|

Vojvodina|

* St. Nicholas (Bačinci)
* St. John the Baptist (Bačka Palanka)
* St. George (Banoštor)
* St. George (Bečej)
* St. Peter and Paul (Berkasovo)
* Saint Sava (Čerević)
* St. Nicholas (Erdevik)
* St. Elijah (Ilinci)
* Presentation of the Theotokos (Inđija)
* Dormition of the Theotokos (Irig)
* St. Nicholas (Irig)
* St. Theodore Tiron (Irig)
* Holy Apostle Luke (Kupinovo)
* Saint George's Cathedral (Novi Sad)
* Transfiguration of the Lord (Ruma)
* St. Nicholas (Sibač)
* St. Nicholas (Sivac)
* St. George (Sombor)
* Epiphany of the Lord (Srbobran)
* Nativity of the Theotokos (Sremska Kamenica)
* Sremski Karlovci Orthodox Cathedral (Sremski Karlovci)
* St. Demetrius (Sremska Mitrovica)
* St. Archdeacon Stephen (Sremska Mitrovica)
* Holy Archangel Gabriel (Susek)
* Presentation of the Theotokos (Sviloš)
* St. Nicholas (Šid)
* Dormition of the Theotokos (Titel)
* St. George (Tovariševo)
* Transfer of the relics of the Holy Father Nicholas (Turija)
* Church of St. Nicholas (Vršac)
* Assumption (Zrenjanin)

Central Serbia|

* St. Achillius (Arilje)
* Kađenica (Dljin)
* Holy Ascension (Krupanj)
* Lazarica (Kruševac)
* Odžaklija (Leskovac)
* Cave Church (Lukovo)
* St. George (Lukovo)
* Štava Church (Lukovska Banja)
* Holy Trinity Cathedral (Niš)
* Apostles Peter and Paul (Stari Ras)
* Oplenac (Topola)
* St. Mark (Užice)

Kosovo* (status)|

* Nativity of the Theotokos (Obilić)
* Christ the Saviour (Pristina)
* Our Lady of Ljeviš (Prizren)
* St. Elijah (Podujevo)
* Saint George (Prizren)
* St. Nicholas (Prizren)
* Virgin Hodegetria (Mušutište)

Montenegro|

* St. Jovan Vladimir (Bar)
* Cetinje Monastery (Cetinje)
* Court Church (Cetinje)
* Vlah Church (Cetinje)
* St. Nicholas (Kotor)
* Podgorica Cathedral (Podgorica)
* Morača
* Ostrog Monastery
* Savina Monastery

Bosnia and
Herzegovina|

| Republika Srpska|

* Banja Luka Cathedral (Banja Luka)
* St. Nikola (Dobrelji)
* St. Nicholas (Dobrljin)
* St. Nicholas (Javorani)
* St. Nicholas (Rijeka)
* St. Nicholas (Romanovci)
* St. George (Sopotnica)
* St. Nicholas (Srđevići)
* St. Archangel Michael (Veličani)

|

Federation B&H|

* Holy Trinity (Mostar)
* Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Sarajevo)
* Holy Transfiguration (Sarajevo)
* Nativity of the Theotokos (Sarajevo)

Croatia|

* Holy Venerable Mother Parascheva (Banovci)
* Transfer of the relics of the Holy Father Nicholas (Bijelo Brdo)
* St. George (Bobota)
* St. Peter and Paul (Bolman)
* St. Stephen (Borovo)
* Ascension of the Lord (Cetina)
* Presentation of Mary (Čakovci)
* Dalj Cathedral (Dalj)
* Saint Archangel Michael (Darda)
* Nativity of the Theotokos (Drežnica)
* Holy Annunciation (Dubrovnik)
* Nativity of the Theotokos (Gaboš)
* St. George (Grubišno Polje)
* St. Michael the Archangel (Ilok)
* St. Nicholas (Jagodnjak)
* St. Stefan Štiljanović (Karanac)
* St. Nicholas (Karlovac)
* St. George (Kneževo)
* Intercession of the Holy Virgin (Knin)
* Pentecost (Markušica)
* St. Nicholas (Mikluševci)
* St. Nicholas (Mirkovci)
* St. Panteleimon (Mirkovci)
* Transfiguration of the Lord (Mohovo)
* Dormition of the Theotokos (Negoslavci)
* St. Elijah (Novi Jankovci)
* St. George (Opatovac)
* St. Peter and Paul (Orolik)
* Dormition of the Mother of God (Osijek)
* Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (Ostrovo)
* St. Nicholas (Pačetin)
* St. Spyridon (Peroj)
* Presentation of Mary (Popovac)
* St. Nicholas (Rijeka)
* Saint Parascheva (Slabinja)
* Nativity of the Theotokos (Srijemske Laze)
* Transfiguration of the Lord (Šarengrad)
* Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (Štikada)
* St. Peter and Paul (Tepljuh)
* St. George (Tovarnik)
* Transfiguration of the Lord (Trpinja)
* St. George (Varaždin)
* Pentecost (Vinkovci)
* St. Nicholas (Vrlika)
* St. Nicholas (Vukovar)
* Serbian Orthodox Cathedral (Zagreb)

Hungary|

* St. George (Budapest)
* Annunciation Church (Szentendre)
* Dormition of the Theotokos (Szentendre)
* Požarevac Church (Szentendre)
* St. Nicholas (Szeged)
* Transfiguration Church (Szentendre)

United Kingdom|

* Holy Prince Lazar (Birmingham)
* Serbian Orthodox Church (Halifax)
* St. Nicholas (West Wycombe)

United States|

* Sts. Constantine and Helen Serbian Orthodox Church, Galveston
* Trinity Chapel Complex, Manhattan
* Saint Sava Church, Jackson, California
* Saint Sava Church, Merrillville, Indiana
* Saint Sava Cathedral, Milwaukee

Canada|

* Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Hamilton
* Saint Sava Church, Toronto
* All Serbian Saints Church, Mississauga
* Saint Arsenije Sremac Church, Whitby
* Saint Michael the Archangel Church, Toronto

Other
countries|

* Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, Slovenia
* Serbian Church in Arad, Romania
* Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Timișoara, Romania
* St. Nicholas Serbian Church, Timișoara, Romania
* St. George Serbian Church, Timișoara, Romania
* St. Sava Church, Paris, France
* Saint Spyridon Church, Trieste, Italy
* Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Stockholm, Sweden
* Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Komárno, Slovakia (in care of OCLS)

Notes|

* indicate churches in Kosovo, which is the subject of a territorial dispute between Serbia and Kosovo.

43°39′50.3″N 79°21′32.7″W﻿ / ﻿43.663972°N 79.359083°W﻿ / 43.663972; -79.359083
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