On Sunday, July 20, three devoted parishioners from St Gerasimos Greek Orthodox Church at Leichhardt, Sydney were honoured with the Order of the Philochrist, the highest honorary distinction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia (GOAA).
The three parishioners were awarded by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia who presided over a Divine Liturgy at the church to commemorate the feast day of the Prophet Elias.
The honourees were George Papakonstantinos for his long-standing role as parish chanter, Zoe Kartsonakis for her work with the Parish Philoptochos, and Afroditi Kalotheos for her contributions to the Greek school since the parish’s early years.
In his sermon, Archbishop Makarios reflected on the life of Prophet Elias and the power of divine grace to transform selfishness into generosity, urging the faithful to give rather than receive.
He also ordained Apostolos Averkios as a Reader and praised Parish Priest Fr Panteleimon Toumbelekis for his dedicated ministry.
