Greek Orthodox Church Manchester

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the mother of God in Manchester.

The Greek community of Manchester is the oldest community in United Kingdom. The official date of founding, as documented by written sources dates back to the 26th of April 1843. The same document states that Greeks existed in the region of Manchester since 1810.

The origin of most Greeks in the community was from the island of Chios, Istanbul and Izmir. The historical references speak of a thriving Greek community, which was active in the area of trade.

The Greeks of Manchester in the mid of 19th century were successful cotton merchants and some of them ship owners. Economic growth and the particular conditions at that time created the need for the large community of Manchester to establish its own place of worship. It was an inspiring effort from the Greeks to establish their identity in Victorian English society, and at the same time to support the ongoing Hellenic freedom struggle.

The Holy Church of the Annunciation is characterised by its unique architecture, which combines elements from the architecture of buildings during the era of Neoclassicism. Through the grand interior architecture typical of churches of the time, it makes reference to the economic prosperity of the greek aristocracy.

The Holy Church, which is dedicated to evangelization of the Virgin Mary, was built in 1860. The construction began in May 1860 and ended in October 1861 within 17 months.

The history of the community is in line with the economic climate of that time. The prosperity of the initial decades of the 20th century is succeeded by the economic decline which begins from the inability of the Greeks to keep up with technological progress. Greek traders are disadvantaged by not diversifying from the shipping trade such that the discovery of radio results in losing the right to negotiate attractive prices for their cotton trade. The decline reached its peak during the Second World War and at this time, according to testimony, the Church for a long time held liturgy once a month if at all with very little participation of believers.

Nevertheless, this situation changed in the 1950s when the community is revived by the arrival of large numbers of Greek Cypriots. Over the last 50 years, they have successfully regenerated the community successfully. Finally, the recent economic crisis in Greece and Cyprus has resulted in the migration of a highly educated group of people. They, together with the previous generations form the present community as we know it.