The new luxury residence of the Archbishop of Australia, Makarios, has caused intense quarrels within the Greek Orthodox community of Sydney, the Australian news website news.com.au reports in an exclusive article.

According to the report, the head of the Australian Archdiocese bought a luxury apartment with a number of amenities, such as a view of the Sydney Opera House and Bridge, heated indoor pool, gym and parking for two cars, worth AU$6.5 million, an amount sellers refused to disclose for months, despite rumours and discussions within the city’s Greek Orthodox community.”

But a luxury Sydney apartment, with stunning views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, a concierge and a heated indoor pool, is the new residence of the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia.

For months, the purchase remained shrouded in mystery, despite whispers in the Greek Orthodox community, with the vendors originally declining to reveal the sale price.

But the actual cost has sparked an unholy row within the tight-knit Greek Orthodox community and new revelations of the role of a Liberal senator in securing Australian residency for Archbishop Makarios, who had turned up for his new job on a tourist visa.

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Claims that the late Archbishop approved of the property purchase have been hotly denied by the nephew of Archbishop Stylianos, lawyer Nikolaos Kalliouras, in the Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos.

“It goes without saying that Archbishop Stylianos, judging from his personal path in life, would never use an apartment that was similar to the one purchased by the Consolidated Trust of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia nine months after his death, as his personal residence, the luxury of which he could not even imagine,’’ he said.

Property records confirm the 3-bedroom apartment was purchased for $6.5 million by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Consolidated Trust shortly before Christmas.

The stamp duty alone cost nearly $400,000, the cost of an actual apartment in some states of Australia.

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The strata fees for the apartment, which features a concierge, are an eye-watering $5600 a quarter, or over $20,000-a-year.

The Greek Orthodox Church of Australia purchased the apartment for the new Archbishop on December 20, 2019, after his predecessor spent years living an ascetic life in a small room at the Church’s Redfern headquarters.

more at news.com.au