St. Philip's African Orthodox Church
57 Hankard Street

St. Philip's is the only African Orthodox parish in Canada. It recognizes both the African and West Indian background of its congregation, although it is open to all races. Its present congregation has about 30-40 families. St. Philip's has been recognized as a Nova Scotia Provincial Heritage Site.

The advent of the African Orthodox Church was part of a 20th century worldwide movement for Black racial consciousness. The founding leader of the Church, George Alexander McGuire, had early connections with the Universal Negro Improvement Association headed by Jamaican Marcus Garvey. However, the two institutions have been quite separate since the 1920s. The Apostolic Succession for the Church is through the American Catholic Church.

Vicar General Rafel Jones and his Confirmation Class

Patriarch Alexander McGuire and Bishop Stanley Trotman

In 1921, Reverend W. E. Robertson of New York established the African Orthodox Church in Whitney Pier in a response to a request from Black steelworkers. After serving the community from a number of locations, the St. Philip's AOC parish purchased land from William Fitzgerald, then Mayor of Sydney. In 1927, a building originally owned by the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO), was moved by flatcar and rollers from the steel plant property to Hankard Street where it was consecrated. Volunteers from the community-carpenters, other craftsmen and labourers-immediately began reconstruction, adding an inset tower and pointed windows. The new St. Philip's African Orthodox Church was opened on July 12, 1928.

The tool shed donated by BESCO that was to become St. Philip's

Choristers of St. Philip's, Easter Sunday, 1941

The present steeple and closed bell tower were completed in the 1970s and are much like the originals that were completed in the 1940s. Inside, one is struck by the dignity with which everyday materials are used in the decoration of the Church.
Bishop Vince Waterman and the altar at St. Philip's
The Byzantine crosses indicate the Orthodox connection, although the vestments and many of the ritual devotions have associations with Roman and Anglican Churches. The community indicates its pride in the history of the Church with an exhibition of historical photographs just inside the doorway.