Patriarch Awa III heads to Australia for visit to Metropolitan See of Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia — After his inauguration as Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Patriarch Mar Awa III Royel paid his first visit to Sydney, Australia, accompanied by Mar Abres Youkhana, Bishop of Erbil and Kerkeslokh (Kirkuk) and Patriarchal Associate of the Church.

Patriarch Awa III was received at the Sydney Airport by Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East Mar Meelis Zaia, Bishop of New Zealand and the State of Melbourne Mar Benjamin Elijah, and a number of priests.

The Patriarch is scheduled to hold his first Mass on Sunday at St. Hurmizd Cathedral in Sydney. The visit will last throughout the month of May, during which the Patriarch will visit parishioners in Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand.

Patriarch Mar Awa III was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East on 13 September 2021.