Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church addresses large crowd in Melbourne
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has been welcomed in Melbourne by thousands of people, to celebrate the centenary of the archdiocese. Those young and old flocked into the city to see the patriarch for only the second time on our home soil.
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00:00Honouring a holy guest, thousands packed into Melbourne Park to welcome the ecumenical Patriarch
00:10Bartholomew.
00:11Like the Catholics have their Pope, we have our Patriarch, so it's really fantastic.
00:17It's bringing all the community together, the Orthodox community together.
00:22The visit coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
00:27Oh it's brilliant, his holiness is in town, we're just enjoying his presence here and
00:33enjoying everyone getting together.
00:35Some felt almost too excited.
00:37I don't know how to explain it, but there's like this nervous feeling too.
00:43The Patriarch walked side by side with the Prime Minister as school students paraded
00:48before them showcasing their traditional culture.
00:50Our next group of students have travelled from as far as Perth with them to Australia.
00:57The stadium here has transformed into a Greek cultural celebration to honour the Patriarch's
01:02arrival here in Melbourne.
01:04We love you Panayotete.
01:08The Patriarch is the spiritual leader of more than 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide
01:13and has a huge influence in Australia.
01:16You have become one of the most revered religious figures of our time.
01:22You were one of the first global spiritual leaders to raise awareness about climate change
01:28and environmental issues.
01:30Patriarch Bartholomew told the gathering he's been touched by the warmth and hospitality
01:34of the Australian people during his two week visit.
01:37Even though we might be geographically apart, nevertheless we are all bound together.
01:45A message felt in the hearts of the Orthodox community.