In his Easter message for 2025, Archbishop Makarios of Australia focused on a deeply resonant issue for our time—loneliness—describing it as one of the most pressing afflictions of the modern age.
Speaking during the solemn Good Friday service at the Church of Saints Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene in Bentleigh, Melbourne, Archbishop Makarios urged the faithful to look toward the Resurrection of Christ as a source of comfort, meaning, and inner peace in the face of isolation.
“The harshest form of loneliness is when one lives daily life without God,” the Archbishop said, adding that “loneliness without the victorious and triumphant Risen Christ is truly the most painful.”
Contrasting this, he explained that when one lives in faith and belief in the Resurrection, “everything changes and is imbued with meaning”.
“In such a state, loneliness is no longer destructive. “It becomes a peaceful and quiet state that does not disturb, disappoint, or depress,” he wrote.
“With faith in the Risen Christ, one is freed from the fleeting, external influences of this world and can instead experience the imperishable.”
In his official Easter Encyclical, addressed to bishops, clergy, monastics, educators, and the Orthodox faithful across Australia and Oceania, Archbishop Makarios elaborated on the many faces of loneliness—loneliness amid crowds, in relationships, and in silent suffering.
“Loneliness is not simply being alone,” he noted.
“It’s when you’re among many and still feel invisible. When you cannot speak freely with someone beside you, or when you say ‘I’m fine’ just to avoid deeper questions.”
Yet, the Archbishop emphasised, belief in the Resurrection offers a way out of despair. “I invite all of you to live your loneliness with Christ,” he said.
“Live this resurrected way of life. Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!”
