During a church service at St Spyridon’s church in Clayton, Melbourne last Friday, the outgoing Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Dimitrios Michalopoulos, was awarded The Gold Cross of St. Andrew and an honorary diploma for his devotion to the church and Greek ideals.
The Cross, given to Mr Michalopoulos by His Grace Bishop Emilianos, on behalf of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, is the highest award of recognition given by the Archdiocese to people who have offered lifelong service.
“The Archdiocese of Australia reserved a great honour for me. The award is in recognition of my three years of service in Melbourne and the efforts I made to promote the needs of the Greek community. However, I do not see this award as an epilogue, but as a starting point for new initiatives and as a responsibility to meet the great honour bestowed on me,” Mr Michalopoulos tells The Greek Herald.
READ MORE: Consul General in Melbourne, Dimitrios Michalopoulos, receives church medal.
“In the life of a Greek diplomat the contact with Hellenism around the globe is not limited by time or locale, it is one of constant challenge to which we are called to respond to. The recognition I received from the Archdiocese strengthens and encourages me in my next steps. My heartfelt thanks to the Archbishop of Australia.”
Asked about the experiences he will take with him, Mr Michalopoulos says that the time he served in Victoria, will remain engraved in his memory due to the dynamic spirit of Hellenism in Melbourne and its impact to the wider Greek Australian community.
“I met successful people, who excelled, each in their own fields and who never forgot the place where their ancestors were born. I would like the relations between the Greek diaspora and Greece to remain strong, in a spirit of mutual respect and national solidarity.
“On a more personal level, Melbourne is a very beautiful city, with the right infrastructure, a high level of higher education and a thriving economy. In other words, it is Athens as it should be. I hope, then, that these memories will soon become a reality in the homeland,” Mr Michalopoulos concluded as he is getting ready to embark on another journey in his career.
The Greek Herald would like to thank him for his service.
