Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, April 2, 2024
Photo: vema.com.au
The faithful of St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Adelaide, South Australia, celebrated Matins and the Divine Liturgy outside on Sunday, March 31, after their church suffered severe fire damage.
The blaze occurred the evening before, the Archdiocese of Australia announced, reports vema.com.au.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and managed to extinguish the flames quickly, though the church nevertheless suffered considerable damage. Investigators do not believe the fire was intentional. “The parishioners of the Parish of Saint Andrew are devastated, but at the same time determined to help each in their own way to repair the damage.”
Photo: vema.com.au
Bishop Silouan of Sinope, Vicar of Adelaide, offered his condolences:
Tragedies are always unwanted and unexpected, even if, with God’s help, they are accepted. During this sacred period of Great Lent our thoughts and prayers are intensified, while being immersed in even more compunction. The Church will be rebuilt because the Church is Christ. The Church is never destroyed because it is crucified and glorified, humbled and exalted. The Church is forever excelling in brilliance through the radiance of its perpetual resurrection.
The parish faithful “are unwavering in their determination to soon restore their church to its former beauty and glory and to beautify it even more for the glory of God.”
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