National Director Murray Overton was delighted to return an ecumenical emblem, discovered in the CWS archives, to His Eminence Metropolitan Myron, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in New Zealand and Oceania, this week.  The emblem recognised the beginning of a dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches on Patmos Island in 1980 and had been given to the Conference of Churches of Aotearoa New Zealand by Archbishop Dionysios Psiachas in 1988.

For Murray it was a valued opportunity to meet the Metropolitan and resume a dialogue with the Greek Orthodox Church which has a long history in the ecumenical movement.  He says it was a productive meeting to return the emblem and discuss the work of CWS and the Orthodox Church in the Pacific.

Metropolitan Myron, originally from the island of Crete in Greece, was accompanied by Eleni Ioannou who is the secretary of the Greek Orthodox Church Community in Christchurch.

22 February 2022