The first-ever Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Sunday, October 19, at the newly established Church of Saint Haralambos in Mount Gambier – marking a historic moment for Orthodox Christians in the Limestone Coast region.
This milestone comes after The Greek Herald first reported the planning approval for the heritage-listed former Rosaville Methodist Church to be repurposed as a Greek Orthodox parish.
Presided over by His Grace Bishop Silouan of Adelaide, the weekend’s services began with Vespers on Saturday evening and continued with Matins and the Divine Liturgy on Sunday.
Faithful from across South Australia and western Victoria gathered in large numbers to witness the service at the church – the first Orthodox parish in a city of 30,000 residents.
For more than five decades, local Greek Orthodox worshippers had been served by visiting priests from Adelaide, holding services only a few times a year in borrowed halls or Anglican churches. The new parish now offers a permanent spiritual home for the community.
In his sermon, Bishop Silouan emphasised that the church’s establishment was more than a milestone – it was “a living expression of the Gospel and the love of Christ,” made possible by the perseverance and faith of local believers.
Following the Liturgy, a traditional ceremony was held in which symbolic gold, silver, and bronze keys were offered.
The Bishop gifted the gold key to Theodosios Sarvanakis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Mount Gambier, honouring the community’s enduring spirit of Romiosyni. The silver key was given to Elisabeth Papanikolaou, and the bronze to brothers George and Kyriakos Kyriakou, who played a major role in the church’s renovation.
The celebrations concluded with communal meals hosted by the Philoptochos Ladies of Adelaide, filled with emotion, joy, and hope for the continued growth of Orthodox faith in the region.
The faithful of Mount Gambier now look forward to regular services and a new era of spiritual life on the Limestone Coast.
The Archdiocese plans urgent restorations and upgrades at the church, including accessibility improvements, while retaining the building’s heritage and communal significance.
