Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

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Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
Official seal
Location
CountryAustralia
HeadquartersCathedral of The Annunciation of Our Lady, Redfern, Sydney
Statistics
Population
- Total
400,000 approx (2021 Census)[1]
Parishes121
Information
DenominationEastern Orthodox Church
CathedralCathedral of The Annunciation of Our Lady (1970-present)
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia (1927-1970)
Patron saintSaint Paisios of Mount Athos
LanguageGreek, English, Ukrainian
Parent churchEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Metropolitan ArchbishopMakarios Griniezakis
Auxiliary Bishops
  • Metropolitan Ezekiel of Dervis
  • Metropolitan Seraphim of Sevastias
  • Bishop Pavlos of Christianopolis
  • Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis
  • Bishop Emilianos of Meloa
  • Bishop Elpidios of Cyneae
  • Bishop Silouan of Sinope
  • Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis
  • Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia
  • Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta
  • Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis
Judicial VicarVery Reverend Father Christophoros Krikelis
Website
greekorthodox.org.au

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia is the Australian archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church, part of the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The archdiocese is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. As of 2023, there were over 130 parishes and eight monasteries in the seven diocesan districts of the archdiocese in Australia.[2][3]

Archbishop and governance[edit]

Since May 9, 2019, Bishop Makarios is Archbishop of Australia.[4][5] He was elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and was enthroned in front of thousands of faithful on 29 June 2019 at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos.

Since February 2024, the Archdiocese of Australia is governed by the Holy Eparchical Synod, at which the incumbent Archbishop of the day presides, and whose members are his active assistant Bishops in their capacity as Regional Bishops.[6]

History[edit]

The first churches founded by Greek Orthodox in Australia were Holy Trinity in Surry Hills, Sydney (1898), and Annunciation of the Theotokos in East Melbourne (1900). The first priest to serve the religious needs of the Greek Orthodox population in Sydney and Melbourne was Archimandrite Dorotheos Bakaliaros. In March 1924, the "Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand" was established under the Ecumenical Patriarchate to cover the expanding Greek population, which by 1927 numbered over 10,000 and had established churches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Port Pirie in South Australia. The first metropolitan of the new province of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was Christoforos Knitis of Serres. In 1929, Metropolitan Christoforos returned to his homeland, Samos. He died on 7 August 1959.

In 1931, Timotheos Evangelinidis was elected as the second Metropolitan of Australia and New Zealand. He arrived in Australia on 28 January 1932 and presided over the church in Australia and New Zealand until 1947 when he was elected Metropolitan of Rhodes. On 22 April of that year, Theophylactos Papathanasopoulos was elected as the third metropolitan. On 2 August 1958, Metropolitan Theophylactos was killed in a car accident. In February 1959 the assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of America, Bishop Ezekiel Tsoukalas of Nazianzos, was elected Metropolitan of Australia. He arrived in Sydney on 27 April 1959.

On 1 September 1959, the Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand was elevated to an archdiocese and Metropolitan Ezekiel to an archbishop. Archbishop Ezekiel's episcopacy coincided with a period of great expansion in the numbers of Greek Orthodox in Australia through immigration, and many of the parishes that the church has today were formed under his guidance. In August 1974, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated Archbishop Ezekiel to the titular see of Metropolitan of Pisidia.[7] He died in Athens in July 1987. On 3 February 1975, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate unanimously elected the Metropolitan of Miletoupolis, Stylianos Harkianakis, a lecturer at the University of Thessaloniki, as the new Archbishop of Australia. Archbishop Stylianos arrived in Sydney on 15 April 1975 and was officially enthroned on Lazarus Saturday, 26 April 1975.[8]

Primates[edit]

Current hierarchs[edit]

The following clergy are members of the archdiocese's current hierarchy.[10][11]

Greek Orthodox Hierarchs in Australia
Hierarch Position(s) Years Notes
Archbishop Makarios of Australia Archbishop of Australia 2019–present
Metropolitan Ezekiel of Dervis Retired in 2021, based in Melbourne 1977–present Titled Bishop of Dervis until his retirement in 2021, formerly Vicar of Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth
Metropolitan Seraphim of Sebasteia Retired in 2019, based in Sydney 1991–present Titled Bishop of Apollonias until his retirement in 2019, formerly Vicar of Sydney and Chancellor of the Archdiocese
Bishop Pavlos of Christianopolis Retired, based in Adelaide 1984–1994
2019–present		 Joined schismatic Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of America and Australia in 1994 and was defrocked by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1994. Pavlos sought repentance and was re-recognised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on June 19, 2019
Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis Head of Pastoral and Spiritual needs of St Basils Aged Care Homes, based in Sydney 2011–present First Australian born Greek Orthodox Bishop, Formerly Vicar of Brisbane and Assistant Vicar of Melbourne
Bishop Emilianos of Meloa Vicar of Brisbane 2019–present Formerly Vicar of Sydney and Chancellor of the Archdiocese
Bishop Elpidios of Cyneae Vicar of Perth 2020–present
Bishop Silouanos of Sinope Vicar of Adelaide 2020–present
Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis Vicar of Melbourne 2021–present
Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia Head of Synaxis of Australian Bishops and Proistamenos Parish of The Resurrection of our Lord, our Lady of Myrtles, St. Elessa, Kogarah, New South Wales 2021–present
Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta Vicar of Northcote region, Victoria 2021–present
Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis Vicar of Canberra and Tasmania 2021–present

Archdiocesan Districts and Heads[edit]

Archbishop Makarios at the opening of the Greek Orthodox Archepiscopal Church of Holy Wisdom (St. Sophia) in the Archdiocesan District of Adelaide, November 2022.
Bishop Nikandros of Dorylaion, assistant Bishop to Archbishop Stylianos between 2001 and 2019, conducting the Epiphany service in Adelaide, 2008.

District of Sydney[edit]

  • Bishop Panteleimon of Theoupoleos (1971–1972)
  • Unknown (1973–1990)
  • Bishop Seraphim of Apollonias (1991–2019)
  • Bishop Emilianos of Meloa (2019–2021)

Since November 2021, the Archbishop of Australia has assumed responsibilities of the Archdiocesan district of Sydney

    • Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis (2021–present) (assistant)
    • Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia (2021–present) (assistant)

District of Melbourne[edit]

  • Bishop Dionysios of Nazianzus (1965–1970)
  • Unknown (1971)
  • Bishop Aristarchos of Zinoupolis (1972)
  • Bishop Panteleimon of Theoupoleos (1972–1975)
  • Bishop Aristarchos of Zinoupolis (1976–1981)
  • Bishop Panteleimon of Theoupoleos (1979–1984)
  • Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis (1984–2021)
    • Bishop Joseph of Arianzos (2001–2003) (assistant)
    • Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis (2011–2019) (assistant)
  • Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis (2021–present)

District of Adelaide[edit]

  • Bishop Panteleimon of Theoupoleos (1975–1979)
  • Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis (1980–1984)
  • Bishop Paul of Christianoupolis (1984–1989)
  • Bishop Joseph of Arianzos (1990–2000)
  • Bishop Seraphim of Christianoupolis (2001–2002)
  • Bishop Nikandros of Dorylaion (2002–2019)
  • Bishop Silouanos of Sinope (2020–present)

District of Perth[edit]

  • Bishop Aristarchos of Zinoupolis (1972–1975)
  • Unknown (1975-1976)
  • Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis (1977–1980)
  • Unknown (1981–2001)
  • Bishop Nikandros of Dorylaion (2001–2002)

From June 2002 until January 2020, Perth and Western Australia was under the jurisdiction of the Adelaide Archdiocesan district

  • Bishop Elpidios of Cyneae (2020–present)

District of Brisbane[edit]

  • V. Rev. Fr Gregory Sakellariou (1961–2000)
  • V. Rev. Fr Dimitri Tsakas (2000–2019)
  • Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis (2019–2021)
  • Bishop Emilianos of Meloa (2021–present)

District of Northcote, Victoria[edit]

Until its formation in 2019, this region was a part of the Melbourne Archdiocesan district

  • Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta (head of this district as a priest 2019-2020, as a bishop 2021-present)

District of Canberra and Tasmania[edit]

Until its formation in 2020, the Canberra region was under the jurisdiction of the Sydney district and the Tasmanian region was a part of the Melbourne district

  • Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis (head of this district as a priest 2020, as a bishop 2021-present)

St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College[edit]

St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College is an Eastern Orthodox Christian seminary located in Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales. The college was established in 1986 by Archbishop Stylianos, who had proposed the establishment of a theological college during the fourth clergy and laity congress in 1981. There was a need for a theological college that would be primarily dedicated to theological study in co-operation with other theological colleges. It would be hoped that a centre of theological reflection and ecumenical dialogue would be created, offering the Orthodox worldview and perspective with scriptural commentaries, the writings of the Greek Fathers, the Orthodox liturgy, iconography and spirituality.

Greek Orthodox monasteries in Australia[edit]

  • Holy Monastery of St George (New South Wales)
  • Holy Monastery of Panagia Pantanassa (New South Wales)
  • Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross (New South Wales)
  • Holy Monastery of Panagia Gorgoepikouos (Victoria)
  • Holy Monastery of Axion Estin (Victoria)
  • Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani (Victoria)
  • Holy Monastery of St Nektarios (South Australia)
  • Holy Monastery of St John (Western Australia)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Australian Bureau of Statistics". Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Churches – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia". Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  3. ^ "Monasteries – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia". Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  4. ^ "Metropolitan Makarios of Christoupolis Elected as the New Archbishop of Australia".
  5. ^ "Biography – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia". Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  6. ^ "Eparchical Synod and Regional Bishops in the Holy Archdiocese of Australia". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  7. ^ Tamis, Anastasios (2005). The Greeks in Australia. Cambridge University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-521-54743-7.
  8. ^ Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia — History Archived 2017-09-17 at the Wayback Machine. greekorthodox.org.au. Retrieved on 7 April 2016.
  9. ^ Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand. OrthodoxWiki. Retrieved on 2013-08-21.
  10. ^ Official archdiocesan website.
  11. ^ "Encyclical Of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios Of Australia". The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia - Church of Evangelismos - "The Annunciation of Our Lady". November 6, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2023. Evangelismos.com.au website.
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Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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