His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew arrived tonight at 8 p.m. at Sydney Airport. He immediately held a media conference, where he addressed the waiting media. See the video below.
Government representatives attended the conference, including Mark Thistlethwaite, Federal Member for Kingsford Smith, and the Hon. Sophie Cotsis, MP, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Canterbury and Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Work Health and Safety, representing the Australian Labor Party.
Following the conference, the Patriarch was greeted outside by a crowd of over 2,000 admirers who had patiently waited for over two hours to catch a glimpse of his holiness and a large group of priests and bishops from various parishes around Australia.
Patriarch Bartholomew is visiting Australia at the invitation of Archbishop Makarios of Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The visit marks the celebration of the centenary of the founding of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.
Official Itinerary
The official reception in Sydney will take place on Saturday, October 5, at 10:30 a.m., where the Patriarch will be greeted by Margaret Beazley, Governor of New South Wales; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese; Archbishop Makarios; the Holy Eparchial Synod; other dignitaries; clergy; and faithful of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia. Following the reception, the Patriarch will inaugurate the renovated Holy Cathedral of the Annunciation, followed by a Doxology to honour the Patriarchal visit and the Archdiocese’s centenary.
At noon, Patriarch Bartholomew will meet privately with the Prime Minister at the official residence in Sydney. Later that afternoon, he will attend a ceremony at the University of Sydney’s Central Auditorium, where he will receive an honorary doctorate from the Theological School of St. Andrew and participate in an event organized by the Christian Youth Association of the Archdiocese.
On Sunday, October 6, the Patriarch will preside over the Divine Liturgy at the International Convention Centre (ICC). After the service, he will present the new Constitution of the Holy Archdiocese to Archbishop Makarios and the Holy Eparchial Synod. In the afternoon, he will attend the first festive session of the Holy Eparchial Synod.
During his stay in Sydney, Patriarch Bartholomew will visit parishes and institutions, meet with the brotherhoods of the Holy Monasteries, and perform a Trisagion service at the graves of the late Archbishops Theophylactos and Stylianos of Australia. He will also be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Notre Dame as part of an honorary event hosted by the Archdiocese of Sydney. Additionally, he will hold meetings with leaders of the Christian Churches in Australia, visit Governor General Sam Mostyn, and meet with the Turkish Ambassador and the Greek Consul General in Sydney, as well as members of the Imbrian Association of Sydney.
On Saturday, October 12, Patriarch Bartholomew will travel to Melbourne aboard the Prime Minister’s aircraft. On Sunday, he will preside over the Divine Liturgy, after which a parade of the Greek community will be held in his honour, attended by the Prime Minister. While in Melbourne, he will visit the Holy Dioceses of Melbourne and Chora offices, local parishes, institutions, and schools. He will also meet with Victoria Governor Jacinta Allan and visit the Greek Consulate and the Greek Museum of Melbourne. The Patriarch will also reconnect with his family, including his brother Nikolaos Archontonis, who resides in the city.
Accompanying the Patriarch on this visit are Metropolitans Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos, Philotheos of Thessaloniki, Grand Protosyncellus Gregory, Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios, and other esteemed clergy and lay leaders. During his absence, Patriarch Bartholomew was seen off at the airport by Elder Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi and Metropolitan Andreas of Forty Churches, who were appointed Patriarchal Commissioner and Protosyncellus.
