Recent Gathering of the NSW Heads of Churches 

The NSW Ecumenical Council Heads of Church meeting met at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Australia in Surrey Hill. The theme focused on “Post COVID: Future Visions for the Church in Australia”.

The meeting had three sessions.  First session: A Spectrum: Vision for the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia was led by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios who gave an insightful – depth, width, and height – vision of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia. The Greek Orthodox Church was formally established by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1924 – approaching the Centurion Anniversary in 2024. His Eminence Archbishop Makarios spoke of the ecumenical spirit, using the words of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, “come, let us look one another in the eyes, and let us then see what we have to say to one another”. This set an aura in the room and gave an underlying understanding of the Orthodox view on ecumenism where he noted the importance of unity and dialogue as ‘hallmarks of the Orthodox Church” His Eminence Archbishop Makarios directed the attention of the Heads of Churches to a document titled, “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian World”. The second part of the talk focused on the vision of the church in five different aspects and domains: pastoral; social; educational; cultural and spiritual. In each domain, His Eminence gave a thoughtful insight into the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia. The third part of the talk focused on the future aspirations and strategic planning of the Greek Orthodox Church and the master plan for the community in Australia. The final part – is the future vision for the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia.  His Eminence used the terms – language, culture, spirituality, and identity – as a focus to serve the people as best as possible in the land of immigration, in the land away from home. Archbishop Makarios was very grateful to Australia for allowing the opportunity for the Church to instill the Greek and Hellenic identity through language, culture, and the life of the church to her people. He was also thankful to note that “every community has its place” in Australian society. Finally, the Archbishop raised concern about some sectors of society’s attitude toward Christianity in general. His Eminence’s choice of words was encouraging, the church prepares for the best…the church is dealing with non-ecclesial people who may run the church tomorrow. Q

The second session focused on the spectrum of “Post COVID – Visions and future for your church”. The Round Table discussion allowed for participants to have a heartfelt share in the discussion, which was fruitful and encouraging. The positive feature of COVID19 did bring the introduction of online services through social media. 

The third session was by the Council’s Project Officer, Deacon Oliver Slewa, who spoke on “The Declaration of Unity to Stand against Domestic Violence”. Deacon Oliver Slewa focused on vulnerable victims – children, the elderly, and people with disability. Some statistics were shared – 1 in 3 women experience violence and 1in 3 women is killed each week. This year alone, statistics up to 13/6/22, there were 23 women and 21 children killed by men that they knew. Deacon Oliver shared the stats related to reporting incidents on domestic violence incidents in NSW – 32,188 over the past year. The Project Officer suggested strongly clergy needs to be involved to learn the importance of referral service and network. It’s the mission of the clergy to stand against domestic violence. Deacon Oliver shared the importance for all Heads of Churches and Church leaders to sign the “Declaration of Unity against Domestic Violence”. The Community needs to see their leader supporting a declaration against domestic violence. 

Overall, a successful gathering of Heads of Churches and church leaders