The Feast Day of the Holy Spirit was celebrated by the faithful at the Holy Trinity Church in Footscray, Melbourne, with His Grace Bishop Evmenios of Chora and Fathers Nikolaos Xylouris from the Holy Trinity Church, Gary Peripetsakis from the St Eleftherios Church in Brunswick, and Dimitris Katopodis from the St Antonios Church in Sunshine.
The services of Matins and the Divine Liturgy were officiated and presided over by Bishop Evmenios, who conveyed the warm wishes and paternal blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia to the congregation.
The event was further honoured by the presence of the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), Bill Papastergiadis OAM, the Mayor of Maribyrnong, Pradeep Tiwari, and church members of St Eleftherios in Brunswick.
Bishop Evmenios, addressing the faithful, warmly thanked Mr Papastergiadis for his presence and his sincere support, underlining the value of unity and cooperation between the Church and the Community.
“The Holy Spirit is the connecting link of the Church – the Spirit of truth, love and peace,” His Grace said characteristically.
“Only when we walk united, with trust and mutual respect can we bear fruit and build a hopeful future for Hellenism and Orthodoxy in this place. We have an obligation to preserve the legacy that our ancestors handed down to us on the fifth continent, but without unity and love this will not succeed.”
Mr Papastergiadis began his speech by thanking Bishop Evmenios, Father Xylouris, the clergy who participated in the Divine Liturgy, as well as members of the church of St Eleftherios in Brunswick who travelled to Footscray to celebrate in unison.
Mr Papastergiadis went on to recall that the Holy Trinity Church was the second church established by the GCM, built in Footscray between 1959 and 1962 due to the strong presence of the Greek population in the area.
He concluded his speech by highlighting that Australia is, by common consent, the heart of Hellenism outside of Greece – thanks to the shared effort and collaboration between the Community and the Church.
Father Xylouris closed the series of speeches by saying: “Thank you for coming. Today is a great honour for us, and we hope to enjoy many more beautiful occasions like this in the future.”
Following the Divine Liturgy, the church committee hosted a vibrant festival in the church courtyard, attracting a large crowd.
