The 9th Meeting of Bishops and Archiepiscopal Vicars of Australia was held under the presidency of Archbishop Makarios of Australia in Sydney on May 13-14, 2021.
Archbishop Makarios conveyed the paschal greetings and blessings of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the hierarchs and vicars that were in attendance and updated them about current issues and initiatives of the local Church.
All the items on the agenda that were considered were the following:
a) Global social crises, such as that of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, often lead to the appearance and outbreak of zealots and para-ecclesiastical voices that cause enormous spiritual damage to God’s people, disorienting them from the theological, ecclesiastical and scientific truth.
In fact, the Archdiocese announced that it was sad that a portion of the flock did not obey the voice of the Church, the Patriarch’s, the Synod and its Bishops, but was easily swayed and blindly follows words of “enlightened” monks, elders, abbesses, visionaries, prophecy speakers etc.
The Archdiocese of Australia urged the people of God not to be influenced by talk of impending dangers and should not attribute the global trial of the pandemic exclusively and only to the so-called new world order.
In the announcement, “the pandemic is a real fact and in no situation can it be allowed to become a tool for gaining benefit from communication, for increasing popularity stakes, for self-promotion and especially for confirmation of ‘spirituality’ and ‘holiness’.”
This is why the Meeting of Bishops and Archiepiscopal Vicars of Australia unanimously decided to send an Encyclical by the Archbishop to the pious flock of Australia, which will authoritatively, theologically and scientifically inform the plenitude of our local Church about the pandemic and vaccination.
b) Along with the protest letters and petitions, which condemn the careless, irresponsible and ultimately malicious journalistic reports of the ABC news agency against Archbishop Makarios, the Archdiocese and the Greek community in Australia, is added the protest of the Bishops of the Archdiocese of Australia that unequivocally condemned deceitful journalism and distortion not only for Hellenism and the Church, but for every organisation and for every person who resides in Australia.
In an official statement, the body of Bishops asked ABC Management to retract the reports and to publicly apologise for the lies, slander and distortions they published about the Church, the Archbishop and the Greek community.
Otherwise, it clarified that the Archdiocese of Australia would turn to the Australian judicial system as well as other public and private organisations to restore the truth.
At the same time, the gratitude by the local Church was publicly expressed to all the organisations and bodies that strongly reacted by writing to the ABC, and whose members exceed 800,000.
c) The Archdiocese was pleased to note a large number of visits to the electronic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Australia, “Vema,” which until recently was in print format.
The Archdiocese is also pleased to announce to the flock of our Holy Archdiocese that, from next week, the English version of “Vema” will be available for our English-speaking brethren and especially for our youth.
d) The issue of performing sacraments in farms, holiday homes, or chapels that do not belong to the Orthodox Church or to a non-denominational church was carefully considered.
The Holy Archdiocese does not allow sacraments to be performed outside of holy parishes unless there is an urgent need and only after special permission has been granted from the Holy Archdiocese.
e) The National Metropolitan Choir of Australia, which was established by the Archbishop, is moving forward and will present its first official event on 26 November this year, at Sydney Town Hall to honour the completion of 30 years since the election of our Patriarch to the Patriarchal Throne.
Unfortunately, due to the restrictive measures, the Metropolitan Choir will not be able to hold the event in Constantinople, and specifically in the Holy Church of St Irene, as had originally been planned for the anniversary of the Patriarch.
f) Following the voluntary resignation of Konstantinos Kontis from the Consolidated Trust of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, the Archbishop has appointed Theo Bakalakis as a member.
Bakalakis is an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and an elected member of the Greek community in Australia who works in Cairns.
g) The convening of the Clergy-Laity Congress is again postponed due to the restrictive measures imposed because of the pandemic in indoor venues.
Determining factors in setting a new date for the meeting are the operation of the schools (the Clergy-Laity Congress will be held at St Spyridon College in Sydney) as well as the opening of the airports to non-Australian citizens so that representatives of the Mother Church in Constantinople can attend this important event of our Holy Archdiocese.
In conclusion, the Archbishop and the members of the Synaxis (Meeting) wished all the flock of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia to always have the joy of the Resurrection and the grace of the life-giving Tomb.