With the blessing and presence of His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios, the Antiochian Orthodox Stewards (AOS) of Victoria held their first performance on Sunday the 22nd of December 2019 at St George’s Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, Thornbury. The mission of the AOS is to preserve, practice and proclaim the Orthodox Christian faith in order to glorify God through the Stewardship program.
The event was led by Metropolitan Basilios, along with parish priests Fr. George Nasr, and Fr. Jack Lutfi – the appointed spiritual guide of the AOS in Victoria. Over 300 parishioners from the congregation gathered to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the 55 Stewards over the past 9 months since the launch of the AOS Victoria Program.
The performance began proceeding the Divine Liturgy, where the Stewards stood outside in anticipation to begin. Metropolitan Basilios and the attending clergy were gifted with AOS scarfs before the performance began. All the families in attendance were overjoyed and in awe by the harmonic performance. The hard work by the young boys and girls over the past 9 months received thundering ovations after each score, smiles on everyone’s faces could be seen.
Following the performance, the Stewards led His Eminence and the parish priests into the community centre for a commemorative cutting of the cake proceeding this special event. The Stewards performed a composition as the cake was cut, and group photos were taken with His Eminence.
Many thanks to His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios for giving the Stewards his blessing today and joining us during the Christmas season. Earlier, during the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence’s sermon focused on the future of the youth and youth programs. It is programs, such as AOS, that give our youth an opportunity to grow their faith and actively participate in the life of the Church for generations to come.
Also, a special thanks to Very Rev. Fr George Nasr, Rev. Fr Jack Lutfi and the Parish Council for their continued support of the AOS Program. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the families who attended and supported this blessed day. May God continue to bless the Stewards and grant them the strength to continue this journey!
