Archbishop Makarios of Australia stepped into the small Greek Orthodox church that stands at the heart of Bendigo, Victoria for the first time to officiate a liturgy.
The church is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, and it has been a haven for Greek immigrants in the city.
Greeks had settled in Bendigo as early as the late 19th century, with many families hailing from the island of Lemnos.
While the Greek community’s population in Bendigo has seen significant decline in recent decades, every year during the period of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Greek Orthodox church comes alive, welcoming pilgrims from various parts of Victoria and especially from Melbourne, some 130 kilometres away.
This year, the historic significance of the pilgrimage was enhanced by the presence of Archbishop Makarios, marking the first time an archbishop of Australia has visited and conducted services at the church in Bendigo.
Makarios presided over the Orthros service and led the pre-festive divine liturgy on the occasion of the Dormition of the Theotokos joined by Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis and Bishop Evmenios of Kerasountos.
Reflecting on the city’s history, Archbishop Makarios began his speech by expressing gratitude to the Greeks who settled in this corner of Australia, worked diligently, endured hardships, and successfully progressed while upholding “the honour of our faith and nation. This is why I decided to come here today, to say ‘eternal be their memory’ for all those who worked and toiled here, those whom we do not want history to forget.”
Archbishop Makarios stressed the unity of the church as “an indivisible assembly of clergy and laity, with Jesus Christ as its head”.
He said, “We do not say ‘we are going to the temple,’ but ‘we are going to the church.’ The temple is the building; the church is not the building but you, the priests, the bishops, and the archbishop. Together, we constitute the body of the church, and there can be no church with only the archbishop, only the clergy, or only the faithful. This demonstrates how essential it is for us to remain united.”
In closing, he directed the attention of the faithful to the honoured figure of the Theotokos, expressing the gratitude owed by all of humanity.
“Because if it weren’t for the Panagia,” he said, “there would be no salvation for humanity today. If it weren’t for the Panagia, there would be no Christ, no church, no paradise. If it weren’t for the Panagia, this joy that Orthodox Christians have, despite difficulties and trials, would not exist.”
