“Imbros awaits you, the Great Church awaits you, the Patriarch awaits you… Come, dear compatriots, for Imbros and the Patriarchate are your home, where the most precious treasures of faith and Romiosini are safeguarded… Come, because Imbros needs to hear the voices of the children of the Greeks, the songs of the Greeks, even the mournful chants over the bed of the departed, for Romiosini transforms even death into a song, mocking it in truth. For where the Risen Lord reigns, death no longer holds dominion, and this is the message of Imbros, the message of the Resurrection. Romiosini is the culture, the way, and the ethos of the Resurrection, of joy, and of optimism.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew emotionally appealed to the Imbrians of Melbourne and, more broadly, of the State of Victoria. On Saturday, October 12, he met with members of the Imbrian Association, led by their president, Athanasios Piniris, at the premises of the Parish-Community of the Holy Archangels in the suburb of Mentone, Melbourne. Present at the meeting were the Archbishop of Australia, Makarios, and the Shepherd of Imbros, Metropolitan Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos.
Speaking to his compatriots, the Ecumenical Patriarch conveyed that “a pessimistic outlook, resignation, and defeatism are not traits of the Greeks.” In this spirit, he mentally transported everyone to the Aegean island, briefly describing the difficult times that the Greek community there had endured. He then focused on an optimistic note, emphasizing that “a small remnant remained, a leaven that leavens the whole batch, and in our time we have been blessed to witness our homeland’s resurgence, to see life return, our schools reopening, our churches filling with congregants, and our festivals brimming with youth. Thanks be to God!”
He then spoke about the exiled children of Imbros, expressing his conviction that the fire of longing for return continues to burn within their souls. “The Imbrians, like migratory birds of the sky,” he noted, “in the midst of storms, hail, and snow, left their ancestral land and built their nests in new homelands around the world.” “And they arrived here too, in the metropolis of Melbourne,” he continued, “the city of the Greek Diaspora, and they thrived and flourished, but they never forgot, because we Imbrians, wherever we find ourselves, Imbros follows us, and the longing for return never fades; it burns within every exiled Imbrian.”
Finally, the Patriarch made a special mention of Metropolitan Kyrillos, emphasizing that “the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Great Church, sent to Imbros a worthy and capable Shepherd, who, with sacred zeal and tireless effort, has become the guardian and protector of the Greek legacy of Imbros, and we are particularly pleased that he accompanies us on this apostolic visit, bringing you his own testimony of the wonderful things, by the grace of God, that are unfolding on our island after a long and protracted period of silence, pain, decline, and, at times, pessimism.”
It should be noted that the Ecumenical Patriarch, with great emotion, introduced his Imbrian compatriots who are part of the Patriarchal entourage. Besides Metropolitan Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos, this included Archon Didaskalos of the Nation, Konstantinos Delikostantis, Director of the First Patriarchal Office, and Themistoklis Karanikolas, a member of the Patriarchate’s staff. The Patriarch also gave the floor to Metropolitan Kyrillos and Professor Delikostantis, who spoke warmly about the much-suffering Imbros.
At the meeting with the Imbrians and Tenedian community of Melbourne and Victoria, the Ecumenical Patriarch was accompanied, in addition to those mentioned, by Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki, the Grand Protosyncellus Gregory and the Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios, Director of the Patriarchal Private Office, Patriarchal Deacon Eulogios, Codifier of the Holy and Sacred Synod, Abbess Iakovi of the Holy Hesychast Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner in Akritochori, Archon Didaskalos of the Church Theodoros Giagkou, Professor at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Nikolaos-Georgios Papachristou, Director of the Patriarchal Press and Communication Office, as well as Metropolitans Ezekiel of Derby and Seraphim of Sebasteia, and Bishops of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia. Also present were Metropolitan Myron of New Zealand, the Consuls General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanouil Kakavelakis, and in Adelaide, Alexandra Theodoropoulou, the biological brother of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Nikolaos Archontonis, and the parents of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, Emmanouil and Fotini Griniezakis.
Photos: Nikos Papachristou
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
