The Authentis: 30 Years at the Helm concert, held at Sydney Town Hall on Friday night to mark 30 years since the enthronement of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, was a huge success.
The show-stopping event was organised by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and was attended by over 1,000 people including a number of officials and prominent members of the Greek Australian community.
This included His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia; the High Commissioner of Cyprus, Martha Mavrommatis; Press Counsellor at the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, Costas Giannakodimos; the Honorary Consul General for Ukraine in Sydney, Jaroslav Duma; Randwick City Councillor, Alexandra Luxford; the Bank of Sydney CEO, Miltos Michaelas; and many other Bishops, clergy and representatives of Greek organisations.
At the start of the night, attendees were treated to a surprise video message from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew where he praised the Greek community for their support of the Orthodox faith, Greek traditions and the youth in Australia.
Afterwards, renowned Greek maestro, Themos Mexis, walked on stage to conduct the concert.
For over an hour, the audience watched on in awe as the National Metropolitan Choir of Australia (NMCA) and the Sydney Youth Orchestra performed a number of musical pieces including the Greek and Australian National Anthems, Doxa si Kyrie and an orchestral Sousta.
Throughout the night, there were also performances from soloist, Sandy Constandopedos, as well as Tassos Lambrou and Andrew Belekas on the bouzouki, and Antonis Petrantonakis on the lyra.
The grand finale was an incredible show of multiculturalism. The NMCA and Orchestra performed the Ode to Freedom as the Hellenic Lyceum Youth marched in wearing traditional Greek costumes and holding Greek flags. They were followed by The Sydney Thistle Highland Pipe Band who performed a verse of the Ode. This finale was in honour of Greek Independence Day.
At the end of these celebrations, Archbishop Makarios led a small prayer for the people of Ukraine and later gave a small speech where he announced that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will visit Australia in 2024 to mark the 100th anniversary since the establishment of the Archdiocese.
This announcement was met with applause, followed by a final standing ovation for Mexis and all the artists who performed on the night.
