Archbishop Makarikos paid a visit to the Parish of Panagia Kamariani, praising the work of its priest and stressing the importance of not deviating from the truth of the Church.
Archbishop Makarios attended the church in Red Hill on Sunday 10 August, celebrating Mass with the local Bishop of Melbourne, Kyriakos, and the Bishop of Chora, Evmenios.
The church was packed out with numerous attendees, including the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Dimitra Georgantzoglou, the Federal Member of Parliament, Zoe McKenzie, the Archons of the Great Church of Christ, Tony Tsourdalakis and Marios Kalogiannis, Presidents of Parishes and Communities and representatives of Greek community organisations.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence ordained two young members of the Parish, Ioannis Kozis and Ioannis Lam, as Readers, while he awarded the Medal of the Order of the Christ-Loving to Antonios Antoniou and Maria Sakoula, recognising their valuable contribution to the Parish of Panagia Kamariani and the local Church.
The Parish Priest, Archimandrite Irinaios Koikas, welcomed and addressed the Archbishop with warm words, conveying to him the filial love and respect of all the pious parishioners.
Father Irinaios briefly mentioned the current actions and initiatives of the Parish, which include the implementation of extensive renovations of its facilities and the establishment and operation of a Greek School section, under the auspices of Aetolian College.
In addition, he referred to the organisation of five events during the current year, which, as he pointed out, “after the suffering of the coronavirus, brought the Greek community back to our Parish.”
He also made special reference to the planning of anniversary events for 2027, which will be the 50th anniversary of the founding of the church, while he also announced the unanimous decision of the Board of Directors to name the new Spiritual Centre of the Parish “Archbishop Makarios of Australia”, where various activities for youth, the elderly, etc. will be hosted.
Archbishop Makarios expressed his fatherly joy for the large attendance of the faithful and for the spirit of unity that distinguishes them, founded on the sound teaching of Christ.
“The ministry of the Archbishop is not always pleasant,” he said in his introduction before saying:
“He has the ability, through the Mysteries of the Church, to direct people towards sanctification and salvation, but he also has the responsibility to keep the Church united and pure. Not only united, but also pure. That is, united in truth, not in lies. That is why the work of the Archbishop is often arduous.
And I say all this because this Parish went through an adventure and for many years was essentially living a lie. For many years you heard teachings that had nothing to do with the essence of our faith. For many years you have been listening to sermons that were aimed at personal promotion and not the glory of Christ.
Therefore, now I am glad to see you all here and I thank you for realizing what the truth of the Church is and how much a person benefits when he listens to the canonical Church, not when he follows persons who are deceived and deceived. After all, it is not the persons within the Church that have value, but the Church itself. We all have value only when we are within the Church.
When we move away from the truth of the Church and from the canonical Church, we wither spiritually and disappear. Because the grace of God, the truth of our faith, the Apostolic succession and the ecclesiastical canonicality are what give value and life.”
The Archbishop concluded his speech by addressing heartfelt fatherly wishes to the congregation and warm praise to Father Irinaios.
Highlighting the many gifts he possesses, he pointed out that “if he gives them to the Church, for the glory of Christ, he will literally work miracles.”
“We have already seen this,” he added, “because in the one year he has served here, he has truly revitalized the Parish and the place.”
