A festive Orthodox Divine Liturgy was held on St. Elijah’s Day, August 2, at the Church of St. Prophet Elijah—one of the most unusual Orthodox places of worship in the world—located underground in Coober Pedy, Australia.

The church belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC). Clergy and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia joined the service, along with many pilgrims who traveled from Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Darwin. The liturgy was led by Metropolitan Silouan of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Coober Pedy sits roughly 850 kilometers north of Adelaide in the middle of Australia’s desert. The town is famous for opal mining and for its distinctive architecture: due to extreme summer heat, many residents build underground homes to escape the temperatures above ground. The underground St. Elijah church is among Coober Pedy’s best-known landmarks and was created for the same practical reasons.

The underground church was built by Serbian Orthodox faithful who settled in Coober Pedy and worked in the opal industry. Given the harsh heat, they decided to carve out a church within the earth—following the town’s traditional underground living arrangements. Work began in the 1990s and was carried out largely by volunteers. Today, the underground complex includes not only the church, but also a parish house, a hall for community events, and a church school.

Carved into sandstone several meters below the surface, the church is about 30 meters long. Its interior features a striking iconostasis made from glass with lighting, while sacred images on the walls were created through stone carving. Because of local ground conditions, traditional wall frescoes were not possible, prompting the builders to adopt this alternative design.

In his homily, Metropolitan Silouan reflected on the Gospel meaning of the feast. He noted that a person’s life resembles a voyage across rough seas, yet Christians are guided and sustained by God’s providence, grace, and help. Speaking about the prophet Elijah, the hierarch emphasized that true veneration of God’s servant lies not only in preserving traditions, but above all in active participation in the Church’s prayer and the Holy Liturgy.

The celebrations began earlier, on July 31, with an evening service, and continued for several days. On the eve of the feast, Metropolitan Silouan was welcomed with solemnity in Coober Pedy, followed by a concert featuring an Orthodox choir. After the services, worshippers were invited to a community meal, and later an ethnographic group from Melbourne performed for those gathered.