Address: 2 Leeds St, Footscray, Vic. 3011
Phone number: +61 3 9687 2727
Priest: Stergios Patsouris, 0434 214 998
Feast Day: Sunday of the Pentecost

History:

The Holy Church of “Holy Trinity” at Footscray was the second church erected by the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV), after The Holy Church of the “Annunciation of Our Lady”. The decision to erect the church was a result of numerous requests by Community members living in the area. The discussions in regard to the construction of the church began in mid-1959. During the course of discussion by the Board of Management in the months of June and July 1959 numerous recommendations were made for the purchase of an appropriate allotment of land.

Specifically, during the Board of Management meeting of 27th July 1959, the then President of the GOCMV, Mr. Vassilis Logothetis mentioned that the Board must carefully consider the purchase of land and the erection of a church at a central Footscray location. In accordance with the Board of Management minutes, a subcommittee of GOCMV members that resided within the suburb of Footscray was established for the purposes of locating the appropriate land, erecting the Holy Church and raising the required funds.

At the Board of Management meeting dated 17th August 1959, the General Secretary Efstathios Vlassopoulos referred to his discussions with the representative of the Footscray subcommittee, Mr. Antipas, during which he was reassured that if the GOCMV was to secure an appropriate property, the subcommittee would be “willing to conduct a fundraiser to raise the necessary funds for the construction of the Holy Church.” The minutes of the meeting also refer to the fact that the President of the GOCMV and the members of the Board of Management “recognise and agree that there is a need to erect a church in the area.” Furthermore, the cost and capital that would be required to erect a church were discussed and it was noted that “the Community would be able to contribute the amount of 6000 Pounds towards the construction of the new church; however these funds would not be sufficient.”
The Board of Management appointed Mr. E. Vlassopoulos and Mr. T. Marmaras as the responsible Board Members for securing for the required loan and that the following members were to assist the ‘Footscray subcommittee’, those being:  Mr. E. Vlassopoulos, Mr. D. Elefantis, Mr. G. Agathagelidis, Mr. G. Nikakis and Mr. S. Gavrilidis.
At the GOCMV Board of Management meeting held on the 29th December 1959, the President noted that the Footscray Subcommittee “has found the appropriate land for the erection of the Holy Church and for an after-hours Greek school”. The value of the land that was sourced amounted to the sum of 4,250 Pounds. As part of the discussion Mr. D. Elefantis recommended that the adjacent property, 2 Leeds Street, should be purchased and that it be used as a school.
The discussions in regard to the purchase of the properties continued and at the Board meeting dated 15th February 1960, the then Secretary E. Vlassopoulos presented to the Board of Management the contract of sale that included an exit clause stipulating that if  the local Council did not approve the construction plans, the contract would be void. Council approval for the erection of the church was soon after granted and the sale of both land and house were secured.
The Board appointed Mr. K. Sofianos, in its meeting on the 31st July 1961, as the preferred architect of the project. The estimated cost for the construction was estimated at approximately 20,000 Pounds.
The construction of the church was completed with some delays and with the financial assistance of GOCMV members and parish members.
The church began to operate in 1962, with the first priest being the Reverend Stylianos Aivaliotis.

Source: GOCMV Minutes Volume VII

Text by Costas Markos and Steve Messinis