The Feast Day of Panagia Kamariani in Melbourne

The feast day of the Nativity of the Theotokos took place at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani, in Red Hill, Victoria, with due splendour and a great participation of faithful believers. With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, the Holy Services and the Divine Liturgy were presided over by Archimandrite Irinaios Koikas.

On Saturday, 7 September, the eve of the Feast Day, the Great Vespers took place with the blessing of the five loaves (Artoklasia), with the participation of the clergy of the Holy Diocese of Melbourne. On the main day of the Feast, Sunday 8 September, the Matins and Feast Day Divine Liturgy took place, while the procession of the Holy Icon of Panagia Kamariani followed and then a festive meal for all the pilgrims who had filled the Holy Monastery from early in the morning.

The Parish Priest of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani, Father Irinaios, during his homily referred to the event of the birth of the Virgin Mary and at the end he emphasised, among other things, that “we are grateful for the warm response from our faithful believers. The success of the feast day reflects the respect and love of the faithful for the person of our Chief Shepherd Archbishop Makarios of Australia and for the canonical institution of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia. We thank everyone who participated and helped make the feast day a success.”

It should be noted that after the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy and the procession of the Holy Icon, there followed a traditional festival with music, dancing and traditional food, which created a pleasant atmosphere and strengthened the spirit of unity, solidarity and cooperation of the wider Greek Orthodox community.