The inauguration ceremony of the new premises of the Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia, which was founded in 1958 and was the first Pontian organization in South Australia, took place on Sunday, January 24.
The members of the Pontian Brotherhood, based in the Pennington area of Adelaide, 674 Torrens Road, recognized the need to replace the old and aging event hall and, with the support and hard work of all, completed the construction of their new base.
The ceremony of the official opening of the new hall began with its Sanctification, which was performed by Bishop Siluan of Sinope.
Bishop Siluan spoke with love for Pontus and expressed the honor he feels from the fact that the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ordained him Bishop of the erstwhile glorious Diocese of Sinope, which was the capital of Pontus. He also paid tribute to the timeless strong testimony of the Orthodox faith, which was given by the Pontic Greeks throughout their history which is full of memories, pain, suffering and heroism.
In recognition of their contribution to the work of the Brotherhood and / or in the promotion of Pontian history in general and the Pontian Genocide in particular, the Board of Directors of the Pontian Brotherhood awarded the title of honorary member of the Brotherhood to Bishop Siluan of Sinope, to the Municipal Councilor Kelly Thomas, to the Consul General of Greece in South Australia Georgios Psiachas, who honors and supports with his presence many events of the Pontian Brotherhood, to the federal MP of the Adelaide region Efstathios Georganas, who raised the issue of the Pontian Genocide before the Federal Parliament of Australia and was brought to the attention of the former President of the State House of South Australia, Michael Atkinson, following a proposal by which the Parliament of South Australia formally recognized and condemned the Pontian Genocide and finally to John and Valerie Little, who have published an important academic research on Pontian history.
Source: vema.com.au
