On Saturday, 3 June 2023, in Adelaide, a preliminary meeting was held by Archbishop Makarios of Australia and Bishop Silouan of Sinope with the Board of Directors of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA).
This meeting, as pointed out in a GOCSA press release, was preceded by a forum that took place on Sunday, May 28, at the Olympic Hall, at the invitation of its Board of Directors, where GOCSA members had the opportunity to express their views and concerns on important issues concerning the organization.
“It was an honor for the Board of Directors to meet and restart the dialogue with Archbishop Makarios of Australia. It was important to hear the Archbishop’s views on how we could potentially ‘heal’ the ecclesiastical issue which has divided the Greek community of South Australia for many decades.” stated the President of GOCSA, Mr. Panagiotis Gardiakos.
“The Board of Directors remains committed to serving and defending the interests of its members, in order to ensure the future of the GOCSA for generations to come. While in this meeting with the Archbishop, no decisions were made, it was encouraging that we share common goals such as open dialogue, mutual respect, and transparency,” Gardiakos pointed out.
For his part, Archbishop Makarios of Australia expressed his love for the members of the GOCSA and agreed that unity is the common goal of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia.
“The GOCSA will continue to identify ways to protect the Community in the future while ensuring that the organization’s values, proud history, and heritage are preserved,” concludes the announcement.
