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Sydney: Dimitra Michopoulou was honored by the Sovereign Hospital Order of St. John of Jerusalemtranslated

July 5, 2026 · 1 min read

In a moving ceremony which took place in the Catholic Church of St. Mary's, in the suburb of Concord, Sydney, the Vice President of the Lyceum of Greek Girls of Sydney, Mrs. Dimitra Michopoulos, was named a "Dame" of the Sovereign Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, in recognition of her long-term philanthropic and social action and contribution to the wider community. Mrs. Michopoulou, a distinguished member of the Greek Community, originally from Kalamata, has many years of recognized social contribution in Australia, through her participation in parishes, organizations, institutions of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and other charitable and cultural organizations.

In particular, Ms. Michopoulou's daily life is intertwined with volunteering, which spans nearly six decades and geographically in Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle, New South Wales, as well as on the island of Tasmania.

Her career has been linked, among others, to: a) the Greek Orthodox College of Agios Spyridon in Sydney, in which she was a founding member and vice-president of the Governing Committee, b)...

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

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Тамара Морозова

Congratulations Dimitra! Sixty years of volunteering from Sydney to Tasmania is serious. It is especially interesting that she was among the founders of St. Spyridon College; my nephew studied there a couple of years ago.

Георгий Иванов

Congratulations, Tamara, it’s good that my nephew studied there. I know that St. Spyridon College to this day relies largely on volunteers like Dimitra. Did she also manage to help in Tasmania?

Jelena Pavlović

Congratulations, Dimitra! Six decades of volunteering from Sydney to Tasmania is the real deal. I am glad that she was among the founders of the College of St. Spyridon, because even today it is based on such people, as George says.

Sophia Walker

Congratulations, Dimitra. Sixty years of volunteering from Sydney out to Wollongong, Newcastle and even Tasmania is no small thing. Nice to see the St Spyridon College connection mentioned; my friend’s daughter went there and still talks about the strong community feel.

Aleksandar Stojanović

Congratulations, Dimitra. Six decades from Kalamata to Tasmania, and especially being among the founders of St Spyridon's College - that's something that really sticks. My sister worked there as a teacher in the nineties and always talked about how important the volunteers were.

Daniel Wilson

That's a solid stretch of service—six decades covering that much ground is impressive. My wife and I have driven down to Wollongong a few times for church events and always noticed how tight the Greek community stays there. Did your friend's daughter board at St Spyridon or just attend during the day?

Hana Dvořáková

Congratulations Dimitra, sixty years of volunteering from Sydney to Wollongong to Tasmania is quite a lifetime. I was happy to read that she was at the foundation of St. Spiridon's College, the community there still relies on such people.

ميرنا حداد

Πόσο ωραία που τιμήθηκε η Δήμητρα Μιχοπούλου. Εξήντα Σίδνεϊ μέχρι την Τασμανία και το Wollongong I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know Αγίου Σπυρίδωνος. Εδώ που τα λέμε, τέτοιοι άνθρωποι κρατάνε ακόμα τις κοινότητές μας.

Sarah Evans

It really is a lifetime of quiet work, isn't it. My own girls went to St Spyridon for a couple of years and the sense of community stayed with them long after we moved suburbs. Did your friend’s daughter keep any Greek language or folk dancing from her time there?

Katherine Brown

Yes, six decades is a long haul — she started helping out right after she arrived from Kalamata in the late 60s. My son went to St Spyridon as a day student only, never boarded. Have you been to any of their festivals down in Wollongong?

Rebecca Parker

Yes, six decades really adds up when you start that young. My older daughter boarded at St Spyridon for two years in the early 2000s and the community support there made all the difference. Have you ever joined one of the Greek festivals in Newcastle?

Lucie Nováková

I agree, Hana, sixty years is really a long time. I knew people from the Greek community in Sydney and I know how much Saint Spiridon counts there - without such founders the school would not even function. What interested you most about the article?

Veronika Dvořáková

I agree Lucie, sixty years of volunteer work in Sydney, Wollongong and Tasmania is truly admirable. I was most interested in the fact that she was a founding member of the committee at St. Spiridon - without such people, the Greek school would not have been created at all. Do you know someone similar from our community here in Olomouc?

Helen Baker

Yes, starting that young really does stack up—Demetra was only a teenager when she first got involved back in Kalamata before moving here. I remember dropping my own daughter off at St Spyridon a few times in the mid-2000s and being struck by how many of the same volunteers were still there from the founding days. The Greek festival in Newcastle is lovely; we usually go every year for the food stalls and the dancing—have you tried the loukoumades there?