The amount $ 250,000 was raised by a charity dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of Australia on Sunday night, November 22, to support missionary work in Africa and Asia.
This is an initiative that had been established in previous years by the late Archbishop of Australia, Stylianos, known as “Share With Africa,” which, at the urging of Archbishop Makarios, was renamed “Share With the World.” This change was made in order to include in the aid program the missionary Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as they are the most adjacent to the Archdiocese of Australia.
It is worth noting, in fact, that the amount of $ 250,000 that has been raised during this year’s event is three times the amount of money collected in previous years, which is promising for the future of this reorganized program of the Archdiocese of Australia.
The charity dinner was hosted at Saint Paraskevi Parish Event Hall in Blacktown, Sydney. Due to the pandemic measures, a limited number of invitations were made available, the event was live-streamed on the Internet, and electronic donations were made available. The dinner included, among other things, a video screening of the Orthodox Church’s charitable work in Africa and Asia. The coordinator of the event was Asterios Zouriakas, while Bishop Emilianos of Meloa and Fr. Konstantinos Varypatis, pioneer of this initiative, addressed a greeting.
In his short greeting, the Bishop conveyed the paternal wishes of Archbishop Makarios and congratulated the fathers and the organizing committee for the implementation of this initiative. In addition, he encouraged those present to offer what they can for our neighbor who is deprived of basic goods while urging them to make the offering a way of life, even if it is not material goods.
The Holy Archdiocese of Australia and Archbishop Makarios thank the people who participated in this event. In fact, the Archbishop stressed: “We must extol all those who helped in the midst of a pandemic and financial hardship. This is how our flock shows its quality and dynamic presence. This proves our people’s sensitivity and trust. May God repay them a hundredfold blessing.”