With ecclesiastical splendor and majesty, and in a spirit of devotion, the Despotic Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ was celebrated at the headquarters of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia in Sydney.
On Tuesday evening, December 24, the solemn Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, presided over by Archbishop Makarios of Australia and concelebrated by Bishops Iakovos of Militoupolis and Christodoulos of Magnesia, the Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod. Among the clergy participating in the Eucharistic assembly was Fr. Vlado, a clergyman from the Holy Archdiocese of Ohrid, who received a warm welcome from the Archbishop.
The Archbishop also welcomed the presence of the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, Stavros Venizelos, who attended with his wife, Larissa Tikaidis, and their son, Angelos, as well as the Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and criminologist from Greece, Athanasios Kechagioglou.
During the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Makarios’ Christmas Encyclical was read in both Greek and English.
