The Sunday church service took place at the Oakleigh Community Hall earlier today instead of the Sts Anargyri Church following the fire that broke out on Saturday morning.
“Attendance was impressive and moving,” Christos Diamatopoulos the president of the Oakleigh Greek Community, who spent Sunday talking to engineers and evaluating the extent of the damages, told Neos Kosmos.
“The damage is great but the main destruction was caused by the smoke,” he said, adding that liturgies will take place at the community hall until the church is safe to function again.
Even though the timeline of the repairs is not yet known, Mr Diamatopoulos said that the Greek Australian community’s response has been overwhelming.
“The people coming to see the church and offer help and assistance are many,” he said.
“Sts Anargyri has supported three generations of Greek Australians.”
Neos Kosmos has also received numerous messages expressing their grief and offering support.
Until Sunday afternoon, the cause of the fire remained unknown, however, according to the first findings by the police and fire department, unofficially, Mr Diamatopoulos believes it was suspicious.
“Authorities are conducting an investigation, but all the evidence point out towards foul play as the cause of the fire,” he explained, saying that it is thought to have started at the entrance of the church.
“Nothing has been officially confirmed, though.”
When speaking to Neos Kosmos on Saturday when the fire broke out, Mr Diamatopoulos was audibly in tears.
“They burned down our church at Christmas. They called me on Saturday morning to tell me that our church was on fire,” he said over the phone.
The Greek Orthodox Community of Oakleigh through the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia issued a statement signed by Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis, Father Stavros Kakavas and the Board of Management of the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of Sts. Anargiri Oakleigh advising the community that the scheduled services will be taking place at the hall following the fire at our beloved Sts Anargiri church.
The statement urged the parishioners to keep attending the liturgies and showing support through prayer and support.
“We look forward to your continued support, prayers, and participation in all services. Whilst this is a sad event it provides us with the opportunity to unite as one in Christ and move forward. We will continue to provide updates,” the statement said.
