The Church of Saint Elijah the Prophet ( / ''Crkva Svetog Ilije Proroka'') is the

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

church in

Coober Pedy Coober Pedy () is a town in northern South Australia, north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. A blower truck ...

, South Australia, built in 1993 and is dedicated to

Saint Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and Miracle Worker (disambiguation), miracle worker who lived in the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in t ...

. It belongs to the

Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand () is an Eastern Orthodox diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with jurisdiction over Australia and New Zealand. Since 2011, it has an honorary rank of Metropolitanate. Its headquarters ...

. The church is a popular tourist attraction because of its underground location. The whole church complex, with a church, a community hall, a parish house and a religious school, is carved in the

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

between 3 and 17 metres under the ground level.

The building

The church was built by

Serbian Australians Serbian Australians (), are Australians of Serbs, ethnic Serb ancestry. In the 2021 census there were 94,997 people in Australia who identified as having Serb ancestry, making it a significant group with the global Serb diaspora. History Dur ...

who settled in Coober Pedy as opal miners. Because of the hot climate, it was decided to build a church under the ground. The digging of the community hall begun in June 1992, and was finished in a month. The digging of the church itself began in February 1993, and was finished in August 1993, and consecrated on the St Elijah's day (). All work was done by the volunteers. The church is long, wide, and high, and is completely carved in the sandstone. The ceiling window is covered with

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

. The floor is under the ground level in the deepest point, and under the ground level at the shallowest point. The church has a gallery with a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

and the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. The

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

is made of glass. The interior walls are covered with

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s of saints carved in stone. The whole complex contains the church, the community hall, priest's home and the religious school, all carved under the ground. Today, the church is a tourist attraction. More tourists visit the church than there are parishioners. The entrance fee is 5

AUD The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official currency and legal tender of Au ...

for tourists.

References

{{Authority control Churches in South Australia Serbian Orthodox church buildings in Australia Cave churches 1993 establishments in Australia Far North (South Australia)