On Tuesday, June 7, the Archdiocesan Council of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, under the chairmanship of Archbishop Makarios, convened in Sydney.
The Chairman and members of the Archdiocesan Council expressed their infinite gratitude and deepest respect to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Mother Church for their support from time to time to the whole local Church in Australia, and the issues discussed included the new projects to be implemented in the Holy Archdiocese.
Also, the medal of the Order of the Philochristians of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia was awarded to the Primate of the Holy Great Church of Christ, Mr. Michael Diamantis.
Read below the statement of the Archdiocesan Council
The Archdiocesan Council of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia convened, today, June 7th, under the chairmanship of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, in Sydney, and, after a careful and thorough study of the items on the agenda, the Chairman and the members unanimously decided and announced the following:
We praise first and foremost the Triune God and then we express our infinite gratitude and deepest respect to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Mother Church for their support from time to time to the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, our venerable Archbishop, our Bishops, the clergy and the faithful people of the fifth continent. The paternal care and concern of our Patriarch have been expressed at various times in various ways, most notably and primarily through the election of our Archbishop, then through the election of the Episcopal Bishops, of whom we welcome the latest elected Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopol, Christodoulos of Magnesia, Evmenios of Kerasountos and Bartholomew of Charioupolis, and finally, with the inclusion of the Ukrainian parishes and communities under the jurisdiction of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.
During the session of the Archdiocesan Council, the new projects to be implemented in the Holy Archdiocese of Australia were presented:
a. The renovation of the buildings of the Holy Archdiocese and the construction of a museum and a multi-purpose hall on the same site,
b. The rebuilding of the Theological School from the ground up,
c. The renovation of the buildings of the Axion Estin Monastery in the Archdiocesan District of North Cote and the erection of premises for education and cultural events,
d. The purchase of the new Cathedral in Adelaide and the erection of facilities for youth and offices for the Archdiocesan District,
e. The erection of the nursery in Perth, on the site near the Archdiocesan District offices in Western Australia.
The members of the Archdiocesan Council expressed their satisfaction with the progress of the projects, which will make the Archdiocese of Australia equal to what it represents on the fifth continent.
His Eminence, upon the proposal of the Episcopal Bishops and the other members of the Archdiocesan Council, honoured with the medal of the Order of Philochristians of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia His Eminence the Most Venerable Hierarch of the Holy Great Church of Christ, Mr. Michael Diamantis, for his contribution to date to the local Church, particularly to the Archdiocesan Council and to the Archdiocese’s progress on many legal issues over the past 60 years. The Archbishop introduced the honoree, while the honoree, obviously moved, expressed his gratitude for the award.