All Saints' Anglican Church, St Kilda East

All Saints' Church, St Kilda East, is an historic Anglican church within the Anglo-Catholic tradition, located in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. Although it advertises itself to be in St Kilda East (or East St Kilda), it is located just within the borders of the suburb of St Kilda. The church was initiated by the Reverend John Herbert Gregory in 1857, who would serve as its first vicar, and its foundation stone was laid in November 1858. Designed by architect Nathaniel Billing in the Gothic style, the church was officially opened on 8 December 1861. The church is known as a fashionable venue for weddings and the Australian Dictionary of Biography lists numerous notable marriages.

Billing, a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, designed a long nave with side aisles. The church, built of bluestone with Tasmanian freestone dressings, is considered the largest Anglican parish church in the southern hemisphere, capable of seating up to 1400 people. Although the original plan for a 41-meter tower was never realised owing to financial constraints, All Saints' stands as a notable example of Gothic architecture. Near the entrance of the church is the baptistry and a sandstone sculpture memorial to parishioners who parishioners who died in the conflicts of World War I and World War II. Along the walls of the nave and toward the north and south transepts are various stained glass windows depicting events in the life of Jesus Christ and many saints. One window depicts Judas Iscariot, possibly the only church window dedicated to him in Australia. Known for its stencilled chancel decorations, the church features elaborate decorations, most notably in the sanctuary which hosts a marble altar. As with most Anglican churches built in the same period, the altar was designed to be the main focus of the church rather than the pulpit, intended for a more Catholic style of sacramentally-centred worship. In the north transept next to the sanctuary is a lady chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary used for weekday Masses. Inside the chapel is an oratory dedicated to Our Lady of Walsingham.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).