A hopeful step towards the unity of Hellenism in South Australia

On Saturday, 3 June 2023, in Adelaide, a preliminary meeting was held by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia and His Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinope with the Board of Directors of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA).

This meeting, as pointed out in an GOCSA press release, was preceded by a forum that took place on Sunday, May 28, at the Olympic Hall, at the invitation of its Board of Directors, where GOCSA members had the opportunity to express their views and concerns on important issues concerning the organisation.

“It was an honour for the Board of Directors to meet and restart the dialogue with His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia. It was important to hear the Archbishop’s views on how we could potentially ‘heal’ the ecclesiastical issue which has divided the Greek community of South Australia for many decades.” stated the President of GOCSA, Mr. Panagiotis Gardiakos.

“The Board of Directors remains committed to serving and defending the interests of its members, in order to ensure the future of the GOCSA for generations to come. While in this meeting with the Archbishop no decisions were made, it was encouraging that we share common goals such as open dialogue, mutual respect and transparency,” Mr. Gardiakos pointed out.

For his part, Archbishop Makarios of Australia expressed his love for the members of the GOCSA and agreed that unity is the common goal of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia.

“The GOCSA will continue to identify ways to protect the Community in the future, while ensuring that the organisation’s values, proud history and heritage are preserved,” concludes the announcement.