| DescriptionAgia Barbara-kapel, Skeerpoort, a.jpg |
Afrikaans: Agia Barbara, die 68 jaar oue Grieks-Ortodokse kapel te Skeerpoort, Noordwes, Suid-Afrika 'n Inligtingsbord meld:
- Wit geverf, hoog in die vallei gebou, kilometers ver sigbaar en met 'n betowerende uitsig, staan die esteties-ontwerpte kapel in skerp kontras met die donkergroen omgewing van die landelike Magaliesberg net onder De Wet se Koppie. Jaarlikse dienste in die Grieks-Ortodokse kapel van Sint Barbara lok die afgelope tyd besoekers van honderde gemeentes, veral sedert die stigting van die Griekse radiostasie wat die feesdag promoveer. Dat die Griekse gemeenskap in Desember telkens na hierdie heilige terrein bedevaar vir die Heilige Barbara-feesdag, getuig van die gewildheid van die heilige tempel. Daar word immers geskryf dat 'wanneer jy dit nader, jou gemoed oorloop van patriotiese trots en godsdienstige emosies.'
- Die oorspronklik private kapel word tans beskou as 'n exoklesi of landskapel. Dit is op 'n plaas te Scheerpoort geleë en pryk aan die suidekant van die Magaliesberg. Soos die kraai vlieg is dit 5 km reg wes van die Hartbeespoortdam se westelike punt. Sint Barbara is in 1952 gebou deur Evanghelos Nomikos, 'n skeepseienaar wat ook die weldoener van die Griekse ouetehuis in Johannesburg was.
- Evanghelos Nomikos het met sy gesin in die vroeë fase van die Tweede Wêreldoorlog, moontlik in 1941, met 'n troepeskip van Griekeland na Suid-Afrika gevlug. Dit lyk asof hy tydens die oorlog voorspoedig was omdat hy in 1947 vyf vragskepe gekoop het. Dié het hy vernoem na presidente van die ou Suid-Afrikaanse Republieke: President Kruger, President Steyn, President Reitz, President Brand en President Pretorius.
- Van 1950 tot 1951 het Nomikos 18 plaasgedeeltes in Scheerpoort gekoop. In September 1951 koop hy die grootste gedeelte, 850 hektaar groot. Die rede dat Nomikos besluit het om 'n plaas te koop, was om sy skeepsbemanning te voed.
- Nomikos het 'n kapel op die plaas gebou, en twee redes word aangegee vir die bou daarvan.
- Die eerste besluit om 'n heilige tempel te bou is gebaseer op die familie se godsdienstige oortuigings: hulle het in Sint Barbara geglo. Sint Barbara was blykbaar die kerk wat Nomikos in Santorini, sy geboorteplek, bygewoon het.
- Volgens Laki (Nomikos se seun) het sy vader belowe om so 'n kapel te bou nadat sy dogter van 'n oogkwaal sou herstel het. Blykbaar het die jonger dogter, Effie, van Nomikos en sy tweede vrou, 'n "lui oog" gehad. Na 'n klein operasie en met die beskikbaarheid van kontaklense, is die toestand reggestel. Daar word ook geglo dat die operasie plaasgevind het nadat die kapel gebou is. Hierdie rede vir die bou van die kapel lyk daarom twyfelagtig.
- Die fondamentsteen van die kapel is, miskien ongewoon, bo die hoofingang ingebou. Die inskripsie in wit marmer lui soos volg:
- Heilige Tempel
- St Barbara
- onkostes aangegaan deur
- Evang. P. Nomikos
- 1952
- Die kapel is van 'n tipiese Bisantynse ontwerp, gebaseer op 'n model van die Hagia Sophia in die voormalige Konstantinopel. St Barbara is ontwerp deur argitek John Philippopoulos, 'n jeugvriend van Nomikos, wat ook 'n kunstenaar was. Hy het nie bloot 'n pragtige kapel ontwerp nie, maar ook 'n gebou met voortreflike akoestiek. Die kapel bied sitplek aan 50-60 gemeentelede. 'n Biskopstoel in rooi fluweel staan teen die suidmuur. Twee ikone hang aan die noordmuur, en nog twee aan die noordwestelike pier (of kolom).
- Ten slotte enkele woorde oor John Philippopoulos, 'n buitengewone argitek. Hy het eers aan die Polytechnic Academy in Athene studeer en daarna aan die École de Beaux Arts in Parys. Hier het hy in sy afstudeerjaar die Prix de Rome gewen, 'n prys vir sy ontwerpprojek oor Egeïese argitektuur. Hy het in 1947 na Johannesburg geïmmigreer waar hy die res van sy lewe gewoon en gewerk het.
- Sommige van Philippopoulos se meer onvergeetlike projekte was die Calvinistiese kerk, uit plaaslike steen gekap, in Maseru, Lesotho, wat gunstige resensies ontlok het. Hy het die kerk van die Heilige Konstantyn en Helena in Johannesburg vergroot. Benewens kerke het hierdie kreatiewe argitek etlike eksklusiewe huise ontwerp. 'n Villa wat hy in laer-Parktown ontwerp het, het later die Bensusan-fotografiemuseum geword. Die gordynmure wat hy vir die Ritz Plaza in Johannesburg ontwerp het, was die eerste in hul soort ter wêreld. Met sy dood is Philippopoulos veras, en sy as is, soos hy bepaal het, na sy vaderland teruggestuur waar dit oor sy geliefde 'thalassa', die Egeïese See, gestrooi is.
- Terug by Nomikos: hy het gevind dat die boerdery onwinsgewend was en het belangstelling verloor. In 1961 dra hy die plaas in die naam van sy seun Laki oor. Laki het ywerig begin boer en later bestuurders oor die boerdery aangestel. Met dié het hy egter eindelose probleme ondervind, die hoofrede waarom hy die boerdery eindelik laat vaar het. In 1964 besluit Laki om die plaas te verkoop, wat sedertdien verskillende eienaars gehad het. Die huidige eienaars, Hugo en Rosa Meyer, is die Grieks-Ortodokse gemeente goedgesind en verwelkom hul voortgesette gebruik van die kapel.
English: Agia Barbara, the 68 year old Greek Orthodox chapel at Skeerpoort, North West, South Africa From an information board:
- Painted white, built high up in the valley, endowed with an enchanting view, and visible for many kilometres around, the aesthetically designed chapel stands in sharp contrast to the dark green background of the Magaliesberg countryside just below De Wet's Koppie. Annual services at the Greek Orthodox chapel of Saint Barbara have lately attracted hundreds of congregants, especially since founding the Greek radio station that advertises the feast day. That the Greek community make pilgrimages to the sacred site to celebrate St Barbara's feast day which falls in December, is testimony to the popularity of the holy temple. Indeed, it was described that, "on encountering it, one overflows with feelings of patriotic and religious emotions and pride."
- Originally a private chapel, it is now considered an exoklesi (country chapel). Located on a farm in Scheerpoort, the chapel graces the southern foot of the Magaliesberg Mountains. It is situated five kilometres as the crow flies due west of the western tip of the Hartbeespoort Dam. St. Barbara was built in 1952 by Evanghelos Nomikos, a shipowner, who was also the benefactor of the Greek old-age home in Johannesburg.
- Evanghelos Nomikos with his family fled to South Africa from Greece on a troop-ship during the early part of World War II, possibly in 1941. Nomikos seems to have prospered during the war for he bought five liberty ships in 1947. These he named after presidents of the old South African Republic[s]: President Kruger, President Steyn, President Reitz, President Brand and President Pretorius.
- From 1950 to 1951 Nomikos bought 18 farm portions in Scheerpoort. In September 1951 he purchased the biggest portion, which measured 850 hectares. The reason that Nomikos decided to buy a farm was to feed the crews on his ships.
- Nomikos built a chapel on the farm. Two reasons abound for building the chapel.
- The first decision to build a holy temple is based on the family's religious persuasions: they believed in Saint Barbara. Apparently St. Barbara was the church that Nomikos attended in Santorini, his birth place.
- According to Laki (Nomikos's son), his father had vowed that he would build such a chapel upon his daughter's recovering from an eye condition. Apparently the younger daughter, Effie, of Nomikos and his second wife, had a "lazy eye". After a minor operation, and with the arrival of contact lenses, the condition was corrected. Also, it is believed that the operation took place after the chapel was built. This reason for building the chapel therefor seems doubtful.
- The foundation stone of the chapel is built, perhaps unusually, above the main entrance. Made of white marble, its inscription [is as] follows:
- Holy Temple
- St Barbara
- expenditure by
- Evang. P. Nomikos
- 1952
- The chapel is of typical Byzantine architecture, based on a model of the Hagia Sophia in former Constantinople. St Barbara was designed by architect John Philippopoulos, a childhood friend of Nomikos. Philippopoulos, who was also an artist, not only designed a beautiful chapel, but created an almost acoustically perfect building. The chapel can seat 50-60 congregants. A velvet bishop's chair, in the typical blood-red colour, stands at the southern wall. Two icons hang on the north wall, another two on the north-western pier (or column).
- Finally some words on John Philippopoulos, an architect extraordinaire. He first studied at the Polytechnic Academy in Athens and then at the École de Beaux Arts in Paris. Here he won the Prix de Rome, a prize in his graduating year for his design project on Aegean architecture. He immigrated to Johannesburg in 1947 where he stayed and worked for the rest of his life.
- Some of Philippopoulos's more memorable projects were the Calvinist Church, hewn out of the local rock, in Maseru, Lesotho, which elicited favourable reviews. He enlarged the church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Johannesburg. Other than churches, the architect, who was very creative, designed many exclusive houses. A villa he designed in lower Parktown later became the Bensusan Museum of Photography. The curtain walls he designed for the Ritz Plaza in Johannesburg were the first of their type in the world.
- On his death he was cremated, his ashes were taken to his motherland, and they were scattered, as he had willed, over what had to be his beloved thalassa — the Aegean Sea.
- Back to Nomikos: he found that farming was unprofitable and therefor lost interest. In 1961 he transferred the farm into the name of his son, Laki. [Laki] diligently took up farming. Later he employed managers to run the [farm, but] he experienced endless trouble with them. This was the main [reason] why Laki gave up farming eventually too, and he decided to sell [the farm in] 1964 and since then the farm had a few new owners. [The current] owners are Hugo and Rosa Meyer who support the Greek [Orthodox congregation, and] always welcome them to make use of the chapel on their [property].
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