Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia

Greek Orthodox Church.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. The mission of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia remains one and the same with that of the ancient Christian Church, namely, to give witness to, and make present the glorious reality of our Lord Jesus Christ both to the faithful and the Australian society more broadly; to gather the people in and around the Church, in which the redeeming presence of Christ continues to abide and dwell. Furthermore, and most importantly, in remaining steadfast and committed to incorporating the faithful into this new life in Christ—indeed, remaining firmly “rooted and built upon Him” (Col 2:7)—the Church is effectively enabled to unite her faithful to Him, and in so doing, to one another. The Archbishop reports to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

History

• Orthodox bishops trace the roots back to Christ and the Apostles As part of the Eastern Orthodox churches they believe that theirs is the oldest Christian denomination in the world a title also claimed by the Roman Catholic Church, (Indian) Malankara Orthodox Church ,Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Coptic Church.
• The Eastern Orthodox churches broke with the Roman Catholic Church following the Great Schism of 1054 Before 1054 both churches were known as the Catholic Christian Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches are self-governing but they are still united under the Patriarch of Constantinople as the Ecumenical Patriarch the first among equals; he also heads the Greek Orthodox church. Some the churches have their own Patriarch others are Autocephalous under the leadership of a Metropolitan.
• There are some Orthodox churches that are NOT part of the Eastern Orthodox churches examples include (Indian) Malankara Orthodox Church ,Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Coptic Church.
• In March 1924, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople—whose Primate is the ‘first among equals’ in the hierarchical structure of Orthodox Christianity—during the time of Gregory 7th (1923-1974), founded the Holy Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand. Its first Metropolitan, Christophoros Knitis, an Oxford doctoral graduate who had during the first world war “organised soup-kitchens which served meals to needy Greeks” and had “gathered orphans and refugees into an asylum,” was mistreated by the community in Sydney and hounded out of the country five years after his appointment. He returned to his home island of Samos in 1929. In 1967, New Zealand was separated from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, having been established as a Metropolis by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”

See also

• American Christianity
• Canadian Christianity
• Future of Christianity
• Christianity in Africa
• Christianity in Asia
• Christianity in Australia
• Christianity in Europe
• Christianity in North America
• Christianity in South America
• Christianity
• Infant baptism
• Essay: Water baptism cannot save, the Church cannot save, Born again by faith alone

External links

• Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia