In memory of a man of God

“But the righteous live forever.’’ (Wisdom of Solomon 5:15) Anyone who personally knew our Brother in Christ, Pheidias Kyriakides has no doubt that he lived and worked righteously to please the Lord and is worthily in His Kingdom.

By character, Brother Pheidias was a gentle, peaceful and sincere Christian. His outward appearance was of a man of reverence and dignity. His humility and virtues were evident in his conduct. He did not seek to promote himself nor did he insist on imposing his own opinion.

Blessed Pheidias was one of the first founders of the Greek Orthodox Christian Society, which commenced on 5 February 1955. Five to six people initially gathered, with the hope that others would come later. Growing the membership proved to be difficult but the blessed Pheidias was never discouraged by the small numbers. He would say that ‘‘God will show us’’ and indeed every difficulty that presented would always be followed by a solution.

Soon there were other young people, including immigrants from the homeland who had knowledge of Christian groups, who joined. Others came as a consequence of our encounters in selling books, which the blessed Pheidias ordered from Greece. The members of the Society increased rapidly to 20 in number. From then until now, the Lord has blessed our struggles so that we find ourselves today in a pleasant state.

In 1959, the blessed Pheidias returned to his hometown in Cyprus where he married, raised a family, and has one of his two sons now living in Sydney. Since then he has returned to Australia three times to see his children, his last visit being about two years ago.

The blessed Pheidias Kyriakides will remain indelibly in our memory as a dear brother, a sympathetic man and one of the pillars of the Society here in Sydney.

Unfortunately, his life ended unexpectedly, on the 11th June 2019, due to a medical incident and he departed to eternity.

May Brother Pheidias Kyriakides’ Memory be Eternal!

Source: Lychnos August/September 2019 edition