With due ecclesiastical splendour and in an atmosphere of reverence, the memory of its Patron Saint, Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous, the Wonderworker, was celebrated at the Parish of Saint Spyridon, in the suburb of Kingsford, Sydney.
On Thursday morning, 12 December 2024, a festal Poly-Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated, presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who was joined in concelebration by His Eminence Metropolitan Prodromos of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, and His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, accompanied by clergy from the city of Sydney, including the Parish Priest of the celebrating Parish, Father Steven Scoutas, and his Assistant Priest, Father Stavros Ivanos, and by those accompanying the Metropolitan of Rethymno, Archimandrite Vasilios Papadakis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St. Anastasia of Rome in Rethymno, and Archimandrite Theologos Papalevyzakis, Spiritual Councillor of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Arkadi.
A large number of devout believers attended the service, including the President of the Parish, Mr. Elia Economou, and members of the Parish Council, as well as students of the Greek Orthodox College of Saint Spyridon, accompanied by their Head of College, Mrs. Amelia Katsogiannis.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, a procession of the Holy Icon of the honoured Saint took place around the Church. Previously, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia addressed and warmly welcomed His Eminence Metropolitan Prodromos of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, who, with his entourage, is visiting Australia in order to bring fragments of the holy relics of the Four Holy New Martyrs of Rethymno, Manuel, Angelos, George and Nicholas.
The Archbishop of Australia warmly thanked the revered Hierarch of the Church of Crete for having granted permission for the holy relics of the Four Holy New Martyrs to be transferred to Australia for the blessing of the Christ-loving people of Melbourne and Australia more broadly. Furthermore, His Eminence praised the personality of the Metropolitan of Rethymno, emphasising, among other things, his rich theological education, and implored him to preach the Sermon.
In response, His Eminence Metropolitan Prodromos thanked the Archbishop of Australia for the invitation and hospitality, and referred in warm words to the long-standing spiritual bond that connects them since they both served in their homeland, Crete, while praising the many gifts that adorn him and his dynamic pastorate in the Orthodox Church of the fifth continent.
During his sermon, Metropolitan Prodromos focused on the virtues of simplicity and humility, which Saint Spyridon possessed. Through these virtues, as he explained, he was worthy of being made a vessel of Divine Grace and to work miracles. “God in every era,” he pointed out, “has his portion, he has his people, he has his presence in this world. And, as he did then with Saint Spyridon at the First Ecumenical Council, he did and continues to do so countless times in the life of our Holy Church. As you see, the Saints did not abandon this world, nor is holiness a matter of past centuries in the life of the Church.”
In support of the above mentioned, Metropolitan Prodromos invoked the holy life of the Four Holy New Martyrs of Rethymno, as well as of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos, Patron of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, while summing up, he underlined that the common message of all the saints is: “Love Christ, choose the path of holiness, choose to hold the cross in your hand, even if many people, modern people, make fun or mock it. Take up your cross and begin this beautiful journey of faith, which never ends, only finding its conclusion in the Kingdom of God.”
