Support continued to pour in from the Orthodox faithful for the Archbishop of Australia, His Eminence Makarios, following a series of recent malicious press reports and subsequent criticism dealing with the purchase of a property in Sydney by the Archdiocese.
The furor arose just days before the first anniversary of Makarios’ enthronement as Archbishop of Australia.
In a press release issued on its website, the Archdiocese categorically denied all the allegations and offered a detailed account of the purchase of the property, and the basis for its acquisition.
Among others, the Archdiocese noted that “…the Archdiocese does not possess a suitable residence for the Archbishop, and b) the Archbishop, together with some of the services provided by the Archdiocesan Central Offices in Redfern, are shortly to be relocated to allow for extensive renovations, various options were considered, including the possibility of renting a suitable property for this purpose. However, due to high and unfavourable rental prices in Sydney, the Consolidated Trust decided instead to proceed with the purchase of a property.
The Archdiocese added: “…Regrettably, certain persons, lacking both competency and any legal responsibility, are stirring up the issue relating to the purchase of the property in question, by publishing letters and promoting media articles, with a view to harming the good reputation of the Archdiocese and Archbishop Makarios.”