On Sunday, July 25, at the Church of the Annunciation in Perth, a memorial service was held for the fallen and the victims during the invasion of “Attila” in Cyprus in 1974.
The Divine Liturgy was presided over by Commissioner of Perth, Bishop Elpidios of Kyana, while the Consul of Greece in Perth, Georgia Karasiotou, the president of the Cypriot Community of Western Australia, Zak Chrysostomou were present, and a large congregation that flooded the Church.
During the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Elpidios interpreted the evangelical passage of the day, while immediately afterwards the message of the Archbishop Makarios of Australia was read for the 47th sad anniversary of the invasion of Cyprus.
Specifically, he stressed, among other things, the following:
“Nevertheless, our vision of reunification will not be dashed. Despite all the obstacles and the obstacles they bring, the struggle for the liberation of occupied Cyprus will not cease to be a sacred duty for all of us.
Sacred duty to the thousands of victims of the ‘Attila’ invasion, whose memory we honor today, but also to those who were left behind – to the relatives of the dead and the missing, to the violently uprooted from their ancestral homes, especially to the next generations of Cypriots, who must live in an environment of peace, harmony and reconciliation….
On the occasion of today’s sad anniversary, we resolutely reaffirm our commitment: We do not forget! We do not give up! We continue with faith in God to claim the only just solution to the Cyprus problem, the reunification of the mainland! ”.
Then, he performed the memorial prayer for the rest of the souls of the fallen and the victims in July and August 1974.
At noon of the same day, a memorial service was performed and wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph of Kings Park, which overlooks the beautiful Swan River in Perth.