The Great Festive Vespers in honor of St. Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythus the Wonderworker, was celebrated with great splendor on the evening of Wednesday, December 11, in the namesake church in the suburb of Kingsford, Sydney.
Archbishop Makarios of Australia presided over the service, which was accompanied by several clergy from Sydney, including the parish priest of the celebrating parish, Fr. Stylianos Skoutas, and Fr. Stavros Ivanou.
Also, present in a spirit of prayerful solidarity were Metropolitan Prodromos of Rethymno and Avlopotamos and Bishops Iakovos of Miletoupolis and Christodoulos of Magnesia, the Executive Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod. It is noteworthy that Metropolitan Prodromos is visiting Australia with the relics of the Four Holy New Martyrs of Rethymno – Manuel, Angelis, George, and Nicholas. He is accompanied by Archimandrites Vasileios Papadakis and Theologos Papalevyzakis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Anastasia the Roman of Rethymno and Councilor of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of Arkadi, respectively.
Among those present were the Australian Minister for Immigration, Mr. Matt Thistlethwaite; the State Minister for Local Government, Leader of the NSW Government in the House of Representatives and Deputy President of the Executive Council, Mr. Ron Hoenig; and the Mayor of Randwick, Mr. Dylan Parker.
Archbishop Makarios warmly welcomed Metropolitan Prodromos and his entourage, as well as the political leadership and local government representatives. He expressed his gratitude for their honored presence in the celebrating Greek Orthodox community and invited Minister Thistlethwaite to offer a brief greeting. Minister Thistlethwaite spoke warmly of the invaluable contributions of the Greek Diaspora to Australian society and praised the inspired leadership of Archbishop Makarios.
After the Archdiocesan Vespers, in a deeply moving atmosphere, the Order of the Friends of Christ, the highest honorary award of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, was presented to four women who have dedicated their lives to the preservation of the Greek language, the Orthodox faith, and the Greek Orthodox traditions. Fr. Stylianos Skoutas aptly described these women as “Teachers of the Nation” for their “national and spiritual contributions offered with a spirit of sacrifice and martyrdom under the most difficult circumstances of Diaspora life in the Antipodes”.
The honorees who received the Order of the Friends of Christ from Archbishop Makarios are:
a) Mrs. Artemisia Ieroklis, originally from Kos, who since 1970 has taught Greek in the schools of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, especially at St. Spyridon’s.
b) Mrs. Barbara Lykoudi, from Monopolata, Kefalonia, who served the schools of St. Spyridon Parish for 50 years, starting in 1973.
c) Mrs. Anna Lamprou of Kythera, who for 65 years has kept thousands of Greek children connected to the language and faith of their ancestors.
d) Mrs. Sophia Chaska, from Rhodes, who has become the “Mother” of Greek Dance in Australia, teaching steps and instilling a passion for the Greek Dance tradition in members of the Greek Diaspora for nearly seven decades.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
