Graduation of Elder Nikolaos Lilimbakis of the Holy Archdiocese of Australiatranslated

The Holy Archdiocese of Australia, after deep emotion and human sorrow, announces the excommunication of Elder Nikolaos Lilimbakis, who fell asleep on Saturday, September 13, 2026. The blessed cleric was born in the village of Sitanos in the prefecture of Lasithi, in Crete, in the year 1939. He studied for four years at the Ecclesiastical School of Crete, in Chania, while in 1964 he immigrated to Australia with his wife, Anna, with whom he had three children, Stylianos, Maria and Nektaria.

He entered the priesthood in 1977, ordained as a Deacon at the Holy Church of St. Eustathius in Melbourne, while the following year he was ordained as an Elder. Shortly afterwards, he undertook the mission of establishing and organizing a new Parish in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Thomastown area. He worked tirelessly to fulfill this mission and was a pioneer in the construction of the surrounding Church of the Transfiguration of Christ the Saviour.

He served for a number of years as Priestly Head of the Parish of Thomastown, contributing decisively to its multi-level development. When for health reasons he was unable to continue his ministry uninterruptedly, he went for a…