A preliminary meeting was held on Saturday, June 3 in Adelaide with members from the newly elected Executive Council of the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA), Archbishop Makarios of Australia and Bishop Silouan of Sinope.
The meeting followed a forum held on Sunday, May 28 at Olympic Hall, where members of GOCSA were invited to attend and express their views and concerns on a number of issues important to the Community.
“It was an honour for our Executive Council to meet with His Eminence Archbishop Makarios and re-engage in dialogue. It was important to hear His Eminence’s views on how we could potentially heal the ecclesiastical issue that has divided South Australia’s Greek community for decades,” GOCSA President, Peter Gardiakos, said.
“The Administrative Council remains committed to serving and consulting with our members and safeguarding the future of GOCSA for generations to come. Whilst no decisions were made at this meeting with the Archbishop, it was heartening to see that we shared common goals such as open dialogue, mutual respect and transparency.”
Archbishop Makarios expressed his love for the members of South Australia’s Greek community and agreed that unity is the common goal between the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and the GOCSA.
The Community will continue to identify ways to future-proof the GOCSA whilst ensuring the organisation’s values, proud history and heritage are preserved.
