Our Parish History

St. George Indian Orthodox Church (SGIOC), Perth is one of the independent Churches of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as the Indian Orthodox Church. During the early 1990s, several Keralites migrated to Australia in search of better life for themselves and their families. With the growing number of Orthodox families, there was a greater need felt among some of the Orthodox families in Perth to establish a church following Indian Orthodox tradition. The parish was officially established in the name of St. George, with the spiritual blessings and abundant support from Former Diocesan Metropolitan H.G.Dr.Yakob Mar Irenaios Thirumeni. The Church was named St. George Indian Orthodox Church, Perth. H.G.Dr.Yakob Mar Irenaios Thirumeni, appointed Rev. Fr. K.Y Chacko as our first Vicar. Our first Holy Qurbana was conducted on 28th Feb 2009 by Very. Rev. M.L Thomas Cor Episcopa with the presence of Rev. Fr. K Y Chacko. We initially had 12 families, who joined as members. Amongst them, our office bearers were selected. SGIOC Perth is under the spiritual and administrative jurisdiction of the Diocese of Madras, India. The present Metropolitan of this Diocese is His Grace Geevarghese Mar Philaxenos Thirumeni.

As the church grew gradually, parish increased Holy Qurbana from monthly to fortnightly in 2011 and then to weekly in 2013. SGIOC Perth currently has 70 Members and growing. The church has come a long way, helped by generosity of its members together with tireless and selfless service of previous and current Vicar(s) and Managing Committee Members. And above all, the blessings from Almighty Lord.

On 26th October 2014, history was created when a new congregation was formed in Albany, under the leadership of His Grace Geevarghese Mar Philaxenos Thirumeni (Rev. Fr Vinod George, then) and blessings of His Grace Dr. Yuhanon Mar Diascoros Thirumeni. This Church was named St. Marys Indian Orthodox Church, Albany. It is a subsidiary of SGIOC Perth and currently conducts Holy Qurbana quarterly.

The SGIOC Perth strives to uphold the faith amongst the Indian Orthodox believers in the Western Australian community. The Vicar is instrumental in providing spiritual growth of members and their families. The Managing Committee, led by the Vicar, overlooks the day to day activities of the parish. The church runs all the spiritual activities of Our Church such as Sunday School, Prayer Meeting, Martha Mariyam Samajam and Youth movement. All these ministries are aimed at empowering our church members to grow spiritually. We humbly offer our thanks and praise to God Almighty, who has constantly provided for His people. We also honour our patron saint and request his intercession for continued blessings and guidance in our daily lives and the continued prosperity of our church.