Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood and Eastern Suburbs

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (17:28): I move:

That this council—

1. Congratulates the Greek Orthodox Community and Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood and Eastern Suburbs for reaching the special milestone of their 65^th anniversary in 2024, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia on achieving their 100-year anniversary in 2024;

2. Recognises that the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood is the oldest Greek Orthodox Parish in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide, and has been servicing the Greek Orthodox community from the same church since its establishment;

3. Acknowledges that the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood has been the convenor of the successful Annual Norwood Greek Festival since 2011;

4. Appreciates the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood for their charity programs and philanthropic endeavours, particularly their compassionate fundraising and volunteering efforts to assist the poor and elderly;

5. Commends the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood for preserving traditional Greek culture through their Greek Language School, the Official Dancing Group of Prophet Elias and by hosting various feast days of patron saints; and

6. Reflects on the many achievements of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese over the past 100 years and the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood over the past 65 years and their contributions to enrich multicultural South Australia.

It is a great honour to recognise in parliament today the 65^th anniversary of the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood and Eastern Suburbs, one of the oldest Greek Orthodox parishes in South Australia. This year also coincides with the 100^th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, making this a major year of celebration for the Greek Orthodox community of Adelaide's eastern suburbs and the Greek community around Australia.

The parish is the oldest Greek Orthodox parish in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide and has faithfully served the Greek Orthodox community from the same church in Norwood since it was established by the first executive committee in 1959. I know the former Premier of South Australia, former member for Dunstan the Hon. Steven Marshall, holds the parish of Prophet Elias Norwood with deep fondness and in highest regard. He absolutely loves the parish and the community that was so generous to him when he served as the local member for more than a decade.

I want to recognise and thank all the parish priests, presidents and committee members over these 65 years who have served and greatly contributed to the parish and to our state. The parish is currently led by Father Ioannis Choraitis, known affectionately as Father John. Father John took the long journey from Greece to Australia in 2012, when he arrived in Adelaide and first began serving as the priest of the Parish and Community of the Nativity of Christ, Port Adelaide. In 2022, he transferred to the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood. In his time with the parish, he has quickly become the beloved leader of the community and is well known for serving with zeal, devotion, love and humility.

Father John also works collaboratively with the executive committee to further grow their strong community with the support of the parishioners. The executive committee is made up solely of selfless volunteers who assist in administrative work related to the church and community activities. I would like to pay tribute to the committee. It consists of president Mr George Morias, treasurer Mrs Andriana Karagiannis, secretary Mrs Maria Morias, and the other committee members are Stelios Drakoulis, Spiros Dimas, Alexios Papakostas, Poppy Kotzias, Maria Dimas and Christine Papanicolas.

The foundations of the community were first laid by the founding members from the first executive committee, all the way back in 1959. It is really important that I pay tribute to those founding members: founding president Anthony Kiosoglous, vice-president Emmanuel Stouppos, secretary Demosthenes Axarlis, treasurer Stylianos Langanis, John Kapetas, Anthony Patsalos, Savvas Mastrosavvas and Dimitrios Glavas.

Of course, community leadership is the foundation rock for success. I would like to also acknowledge and pay tribute to past presidents, including Anthony Patsalos, John Kapetas, Markos Milios, John Kiosoglous, Theodoros Langanis, Andreas Orphanou and Basil Taliangis. John Kiosoglous MBE, as many honourable members may know, has been a great community leader. He is recognised by many across multicultural communities because he served for 25 years as the chair of the Ethnic Schools Board. In 2016, I believe many parliamentarians actually honoured him in this place for his 25 years of service.

These incredible leaders, their devoted families and the community worked passionately alongside the parish priest, Reverend Myltiadis Chryssavgis to ensure that the establishment of the community and parish in the eastern suburbs became a reality. In order to convince the Archbishop Ezekiel that approval for the new parish be granted, over 1,500 signatures were collected from the Greek Orthodox faithful residents in the eastern suburbs of Norwood, Kent Town, St Peters, Kensington, Stepney, Rose Park, Maylands, Beulah Park, Magill, Stonyfell and Wattle Park.

On 24 July 1959, the archbishop visited Adelaide and met with the executive committee and others at the residence of the treasurer, where the archbishop gave verbal approval for the establishment of the community and parish. On 11 August 1959, the executive committee resolved that the church to be erected would honour and have as its patron Prophet Elias of Thesvis. Although the construction of the church would not be completed until the following year, the first liturgy service was held on 8 November 1959 in the Norwood Scout troop hall.

On 12 June 1960, the parish was able to hold its first service at the newly constructed church at 87 Beulah Road, Norwood, where the church still stands and serves the community to this day. As well as the church hall, the site also provides facilities for the Sunday school and Greek language community school, making it an important community hub and meeting place of both religious and cultural significance.

As part of their religious and cultural celebrations, the parish celebrates the feast of Prophet Elias each year on 20 July. This is a special day for the community, marked by a special liturgy service and procession with their holy icon of the Prophet Elias around the grounds of the church. The parish is also the convenor of the now famous and popular Norwood Greek Festival, which has become one of the largest Greek cultural festivals in the state. The festival was first established in 2011 by then parish priest Father Stavros Psaromatis and is based on the traditional Paniyiri festival in Greece.

A special tribute to Father Stavros, whom I have had the pleasure to have known well and worked with very closely. He certainly is one of the most significant, most generous and distinguished leaders, who has earned respect from the wider community of South Australia and also received many, many awards from political leaders of all persuasions.

In addition to the religious and cultural festivities, the parish is also well-known for their charitable work, as well as organising many fundraising activities. The parish is also a registered charity under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Their charity programs include visits to hospitals to see the sick, and retirement homes to support the elderly; the provision of a library facility and service for the local community by providing Greek and English books; teaching the Greek language from reception to year 12, including SACE stage 1 and 2; and the maintenance, preservation and improvement of the first Australian Hellenic Museum in Australia.

The parish also assists the community through the provision of information regarding Greek history, culture, language and dance to enhance knowledge, understanding and skills within the Greek and other cultural communities, as well as providing information regarding equitable access to government services. In addition to the community at large, there are two subgroups within the parish community that play a significant role in the charitable activities of the church. These are the ladies auxiliary, known as Philoptochos, and the youth group Norwood's Ark.

The parish also plays an important role in the preservation of traditional Greek culture through their Greek language school and the official dancing group of Prophet Elias. The mission of their Greek language school is to promote the Greek language and create a feeling of love for their culture and, most importantly, to generate a sense of pride for the Orthodox Christian faith and Hellenic heritage.

The school has classes for all year levels from reception to year 12 and is accredited for SACE stage 1 and 2 in Modern Greek Beginners and Continuers. With their highly qualified and experienced language teachers, the school provides small classes in each year level to ensure the success of interaction between students and teachers, and help students to develop an understanding that learning the Greek language helps them communicate, live and work successfully as linguistically and culturally aware citizens of the world.

In addition to the Greek language school, the parish also offers free lessons for traditional Greek dancing. The dancing lessons, serving the dissemination of Greek heritage, gives students the opportunity to experience a tradition through its three axes: dance, music and costumes. Students can also join the official dancing group of Prophet Elias where they practice more advanced dances and participate in festivals wearing the unique handmade Greek traditional costumes collected from various Greek regions. With great respect to the traditional values and cultural heritage of Greece, the Greek dancing school bridges the gap between the past and the future.

Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the hardworking members of the executive committee, and the parishioners who volunteer their time and efforts to making the church a religious and cultural hub for the community. Places of worship like the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood serve an important role in bringing together the community, teaching young people about their cultural traditions, their values, heritage and stories, and providing assistance and support to those in the community like the elderly, and those who need it most.

In conclusion, it is truly a great honour today to move this motion, and to reflect on the many achievements of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the past 100 years and, of course, the Parish of Prophet Elias Norwood over the past 65 years, and their marvellous contributions to enrich multicultural South Australia. With those words, I commend the motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.