The emotional moments shared with his compatriots, the Imbrians of Sydney and New South Wales, will forever be engraved in the memory of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. On the evening of Friday, October 11, just before departing from Sydney to Melbourne, the Patriarch attended a dinner in his honor at the Parish-Community Hall of Saint Euphemia in Bankstown.
Amidst the evening’s many heartfelt encounters, one particularly poignant moment did not concern Imbros but came from the Ukrainian Parish-Community of Saint Savvas the New in Kalymnos, located in Sydney’s suburb of Banksia. Its Hierarchical Head, Fr. Savvas Pizanias, presented the Ecumenical Patriarch with a deeply personal and meaningful gift—a painting by Ukrainian artist Artur Orlenov, a close friend of Fr. Savvas. The artwork depicted a young Patriarch Bartholomew alongside his late parents, Christos and Meropi Archontonis.
This heartfelt gift deeply moved the Patriarch and will continue to do so whenever he views it, taking him on a mental journey back to his birthplace of Imbros and the distant community of Sydney, Australia.
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
