His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas with the help of His Grace Bishop Maximus led the Holy Service at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew, Birmingham, on Sunday 17th August, which was attended by over 300 parishioners.
At the end of the service Archbishop Nikitas wanted to name and honour two worthy persons, Mr Demetrios Markou and Mr Christoforos Stathakis.
These two worked very closely, supporting each other, and with the help of other fellow trustees, to lay strong foundations to ensure the long term viability of the church and community.
A plaque of appreciation was awarded to each by Archbishop Nikitas on behalf of the Trustees and the Community.
In response Mr Markou thanked The Archbishop for honouring him and gave an undertaking to serve him, the Archdiocese and his church to the best of his ability for as long as he lived. He thanked his friend and long term co-worker in Christ, Mr Stathaki, for his enormous contribution to the prosperity of the church and community. He also thanked all those that attended to honour him with a special thank you to his close friends and colleagues from Coventry.
Mr Stathakis thanked Archbishop Nikitas for the honour bestowed upon him. He also thanked his colleague and friend Mr Markou for his continuous help and support over the years, to achieve what they have achieved.
Other invited attendees to honour Mr Markou and Mr Stathakis were:
The Honorary Consul, Dr Nikolaos Batis, the previous Honorary Consul Mr Philippides, The Chairman of the Association of the Greek Orthodox Communities Mr Louis Loizou, Mr Marios Minaides, (Chairman of St Barnabas, Wood Green) Mr George Solomonides (Chairman of Saint Eleftherios, Mr Andreas Makris , Mr Jason Nearchou and Mr A Papageorgi.
After the service there followed a reception in the grounds of the church where the traditional souvlakia were served followed by lokoumades and mahalebi. A very big thank you to Father Christodoulos, the Chairman Georgios Georgiou, the Philoptochos and all those who helped to make it a very special day for Demetris and Christoforos.
Best wishes,
Louis Loizou,
President.
