“We have many functions, social and cultural, and it’s important for the people to preserve their culture. The religion and the faith is a part of what they are.
“As we say to our students in the school, the soul has two sides. One is ethnic which is Greek and the other is religious side which is in our case the Orthodox, and they’ve got to find the balance and preserve both sides.”
In his 24 years as a church minister, Fr Salapatas has seen people leave the church only to come back, sometimes many years later, because they need the sense of community and the spiritual power for living that the church gives them.
He hopes the splendour of the building will catch the curiosity of passersby and encourage them to come in.
“We pray in all our services for those who are not in the church building. We do not forget the part of our community that is not here with us when we have our services,” he said.
“Through their lifetime, people will come and go from church. It’s like that all the time in all Christian denominations,” he added.
While Fr Salapatas may not be worried about statistics and church attendance, he is greatly concerned about the divisions within the body of Christ.
“I find it quite stressful especially living in a multicultural and multi-religious society. It is very hard, this experience of not being together and coming together from time to time only for a social event.
“We cannot concelebrate the priest, we cannot have holy communion from the same holy chalice.
“That is very hard and stressful but we are working on that and we have to acknowledge that in the last few decades much work has been done towards unity.
“It’s not going to be realised very soon or very easily but now we talk.”
The dialogue, he says, is necessary because members of the Greek Orthodox Church are marrying Christians from other denominations and confusion is arising.
He added: “We cannot stay divided and be happy about it. We are not and we are trying hard to make this dialogue and the aim is unification.”
On the web: panteleimongr.blogspot.com/
