On Tuesday, September 30, at the official dinner marking the conclusion of the 2nd Pan-Australian Clergy Synaxis in Sydney, Metropolitan Apostolos of Miletus received heartfelt wishes from hierarchs, clergy, and laity on the 40th anniversary of his episcopal ordination by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios.
Archbishop Makarios of Australia warmly addressed the Metropolitan, thanking him for representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Synaxis and praising his lifelong devotion to the Mother Church. He highlighted the Metropolitan’s leadership in the renewal of the Monastery of St. Anastasia in Halkidiki and emphasized that his true legacy lies in his “Phanariot dignity, ethos, and unwavering loyalty to the Great Church of Christ.”
Speaking personally, Archbishop Makarios noted that Metropolitan Apostolos embodies the spiritual inheritance of great hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He concluded by reading a congratulatory letter from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and presenting the honoree with an engolpion and a bishop’s staff.
Moved by the tributes, Metropolitan Apostolos expressed gratitude for the love and hospitality shown to him, remarking: “Until today, I had two very good friends. Tonight, I gained a third.”
