To whom it may concern

The ABC recently published an article titled “Greek Orthodox Church took tens of millions in rent from aged care home at centre of deadliest COVID outbreak“. The article contains numerous inaccuracies connecting the rental paid by St Basil’s in Melbourne with the so called “lavish lifestyle” of our Primate, Archbishop Makarios.

It then seeks to place the responsibility for the tragic deaths of residents at St Basil’s Nursing Home in Faulkner with His Eminence. No proof is provided or required to make these allegations – and no denial from His Eminence would be sufficient to refute the allegations.

The damage is done by making the allegations and it appears that this is what is intended – whether by the reporter in question or by the people who have provided information to her for their own ends and purposes.

The damage is not only done to the person of His Eminence, who, as the leader of our Church, has given his life to the service of the Church and its members. The greater damage is done to the body of the Church, the ordinary, hardworking, faithful members of Church.

A serious reporter would be expected to consider the consequences of what they write and, in a situation where this is likely to cause great damage, carefully check and re-check the accuracy of everything they write and at the same time apply a great deal of care, restraint and sensitivity in their writing.

This obviously did not happen in this case as can be seen from even a cursory examination of what is alleged in the article. This includes the following errors or omissions:

1. The failure to point out that the rents referred to were set years before the arrival of Archbishop Makarios.
2. The article sets out the opinion of an unnamed commercial real estate agent that the rents paid were double the market value. It is not clear whether the agent has any expertise in the valuation of Care Facility or Nursing Home rents. Since the article is silent in this regard, it can only be assumed that the agent had no such expertise.
3. The alleged cost of renovations to the Millers Point Apartment. No source or background information is provided in the article for the alleged costs, and nothing is stated regarding what the renovations consisted of.
4. The fact that the Holden Caprice vehicle referred to was at least 7 years old and was used by the previous Archbishop.
5. The allegations pertaining to the Archbishop’s vestments reveal the lack of credibility of the sources relied upon and the lack of true investigative reporting as outside of his liturgical duties, the Archbishop wears simple black garments. In Church services, the Archbishop wears vestments which are reflective of the glories of the Kingdom of Heaven, just as did the previous Archbishop and just as every Orthodox Hierarch does.

In writing these words we in no way play down the great tragedy and suffering that came upon so many people since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Over 40 of the residents at St Basil’s in Faulkner had their lives cut short.

There will be enquiries and reports will be handed down and hopefully Governments, Authorities, Regulators, Institutions, both secular and church based and we each as members of this society will learn from the errors of the past and change our ways of doing things.

Nevertheless, what is necessary is for the ABC to acknowledge the errors made in the article in question and to apologise to Archbishop Makarios and to the members of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia.

Greek Orthodox Christian Society of NSW
22 April 2021