This morning, Archbishop Makarios of Australia met with Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Sydney.
The atmosphere of the meeting was cordial and warm. The two men discussed issues of common interest with emphasis on the forthcoming bill on religious discrimination.
Archbishop Makarios’s raised from the agenda the issues of the Halki seminary and Religious Freedom and Education.
Prime Minister Morrison welcomed the new Archbishop to Australia saying “as I wrote you in my letter, Australia is very lucky to have you as Archbishop. We have watched your course until your arrival here, but we have also seen your steps since you came to Australia up to today and we congratulate you. We welcome you to Australia. Thank you for being close to us. We will be by your side.”
For his part, Archbishop Makarios thanked the Prime Minister stressing the following: “I feel blessed because God led my steps to this beautiful country. I thank you on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and all the Greek expats for what you have been offering to the Greeks of Australia to this day. As Orthodox and Greeks we will be a testimony of peace, unity and love in the Australian continent.”