Archbishop Makarios of Australia opened the new Cultural Center of the Castellorizian Association of New South Wales, in Kingsford, Sydney, during an inauguration ceremony that was held on Saturday, May 15.
After performing the sanctification rite, the Archbishop cut the inauguration ribbon, along with the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley, and addressed a warm greeting to the administration and the members of the Castellorizian Association.
First of all, he commended the President of the Association, Georgios Pizanis, and all the members of the Board of Directors for their hard work and efforts for The Castellorizian Cultural Center, which is a successor to the “Cazzie Club” which had suspended its operation a few years ago.
The new facilities, he noted, will further serve the purpose of preserving traditions and customs, ethos and values, as well as the history of the homeland and the stories of first-generation immigrants in Australia.
Subsequently, the Archbishop made a brief historical review, mentioning the migration of the first Castellorizian to Antipodes, as early as the end of the 19th century, but also the establishment of the first Castellorizian Association in Perth in 1912.
He noted that the presence and course of the Castellorizian Diaspora in Australia were strongly determined by the devotion to its roots while its members have been working tirelessly to maintain their ties with their ancestral island for over a century.
“Looking to the future, the challenge remains; to ensure that the younger generations will keep alive in their consciousness their Greek heritage,” underlined the Archbishop and expressed his deep conviction that the new Cultural Center of Castellorizian Association will achieve this noble goal.
In closing, he hoped that the president, the administration and the members would achieve all their goals.