The repose of Protopresbyter Sotirios Vlahopoulos of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia
With deep sorrow, the Holy Archdiocese of Australia announces the falling asleep in the Lord of Protopresbyter Sotirios Vlahopoulos on the Saturday of Souls, 3 June 2023.
The cleric of blessed memory was born in 1928 in the village of Kali Vrysi in Kastoria and was the son of a priestly family. He immigrated to Australia in 1956 and entered the priesthood in 1997.
He was ordained a deacon in January 1997 by the late Archbishop Stylianos of Australia in the Church of St Nektarios, Perth, and a priest in March of the same year by the then Bishop of Apollonia and current Metropolitan Seraphim of Sevasteia in the Church of St Nicholas in Bunbury, Western Australia, where his biological father, Fr Athanasios Vlahopoulos, served for many years.
He served the Greek Orthodox community of Bunbury with great devotion and religious zeal for 23 years. During this time, he was called by the Holy Archdiocese to also minister to other parishes in the region of Western Australia, responding with a sacrificial spirit. In recognition of his long-standing and multi-faceted contribution, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia awarded him with the office of Protopresbyter on 13 October, 2019.
After being informed of the repose of Fr Sotirios, Archbishop Makarios expressed his condolences to Fr Sotirios’ wife, Presvitera Frideriki and their four children, while conveying to the family the deep gratitude of the entire Holy Archdiocese of Australia.
His Eminence notes in his statement: “Fr Sotirios of blessed memory was one of the pillars of our Church and of Hellenism in Western Australia. He conscientiously served the small but historic Parish of St Nicholas in the city of Bunbury, distinguished for his ecclesiastical ethos and tireless work in the Lord’s earthly vineyard. I praise God for counting me worthy to meet Fr Sotirios shortly after my arrival to blessed Australia and to express to him, while he was still alive, the gratitude of our local Church for his valuable contribution during his many years of priestly ministry. May his example inspire our clergy and our Christ-loving people, and may God rest his soul in the tents of the righteous and in the land of the living.”
The Funeral Service for the Protopresbyter of blessed memory will take place at the Church of St Nicholas in Bunbury.
