Sts Peter and Paul Ukrainian Cathedral

Ukrainians who came to Australia did not have their own church. That is why on 4 June 1950, two priests Fr. Pavlo Smal and Fr. Dr. Ivan Prasko gathered the faithful to start fundraising for the purchase of a plot of land and the construction of their own church in Melbourne.

After 8 years, in 1958, a plot of land was bought in North Melbourne, on which a new church for Ukrainians in Australia was to be built. On 18 October of the same year, the site was consecrated. This event was attended by Metropolitan Maksym Hermanyuk, CSsR, Archbishop Ivan Buchko, Bishop Izidor Boretskyi, parish priest Fr. Dr. Ivan Prasko and all Ukrainian priests in Australia: Fr. Dr. Petro Diachyshyn, Fr. Mykola Kopyakivskyi, CSsR, Fr. Dmytro Kaczmar, Fr. John Bowden, Fr. Yuriy Spolitakevych, Fr. Stefan Maslo, CSsR, and Fr. Mykola Ivanco.

On 11 April 1959, a meeting of the faithful was held in the People’s House in Melbourne to choose a project for the construction of the church. After this meeting, Orion Wenhrynowycz’s project was chosen. The plan of the future Cathedral was prepared by the firm Smith and Tracy, and the construction of the temple was to be started by the firm Clemens Lang Ford after the competition.

Construction began in December 1961, and on 26 August 1962, the cornerstone was laid and consecrated by Archbishop Ivan Buchko and Bishop Ivan Prasko.

The blessing of the Cathedral took place on Easter, 14 April 1963, which was attended by more than 3,000 people.

The solemn consecration of the Cathedral with the iconostasis took place on 3 December 1967, which was attended by many faithful. A procession with the relics of St. Martyr Josaphat took place around the church, and later the relics were invested in the altar.