The vice presidents, the secretary, the treasurer, and the members of the new Archdiocesan Council of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia were sworn in on Saturday, January 20, in a ceremony officiated by Archbishop Makarios of Australia, following the elections at the 12th Clergy-Laity Assembly.
It was a poignant moment, as after a decade, the elections took place, and many members were elected for their first term. A characteristic of this renewal is the inclusion of women in the new composition of the Archdiocesan Council for the first time.
Folowiwng the swearing-in ceremony, the Archbishop, under his capacity as president of the Archdiocesan Council, welcomed the new members and extneded warm wishes to them, hoping that they would be worthy of their mission.
More specifically, the Archbishop stressed: “For two reasons, your election and term in our Archdiocesan Council is important and historic at this time. First, you are called upon to mark the end of the first century of our Archdiocese. That, of course, is the easy part. It’s easy to close a door. However, what is challenging and burdensome, and what governs your ministry, is the opening of a new door. To open the door of our Archdiocese for all people to come in. Either young or old, either rich or poor, either literate or illiterate, either obscure or important.
At the same time, we should open the door of our Archdiocese to step out of our comfort zone, dismiss our indolence, and get rid of the introversion and security provided by complacency, and we should approach the world.
So, we conclude the first hundred years and are now called to begin writing the history of the second one. We have a responsibility before God and humankind.
Second, your term is important because we will have to prepare the Visit of our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew next October. I ask you and urge you to roll up your sleeves and to do our best to welcome the First of the Orthodox Church and to celebrate together the great historical and national events of our Archdiocese.”
A fruitful discussion followed and suggestions were made regarding the anniversary celebrations. It was unanimously decided to mint anniversary coins, depicting Patriarch Gregory (1924) and the first Primate of Australia, Metropolitan Christoforos (1924), as well as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (2024) and the current Primate of Australia, Archbishop Makarios (2024).
Simultaneously, a souvenir will be given to all students of the schools of the Holy Archdiocese throughout the country. An anniversary papyrus will be created with a relevant text for the start of the new century that will be distributed to all the faithful of Australia, commemorating the events and the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit.
In the end, after exchanging greetings between the members of the Archdiocesan Council and the Archbishop, the next meeting was set to take place after Easter. During this meetinh, they will draft final program of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit to Australia.
Translated by Thanos Chrysanthopoulos
