On Thursday, August 14, Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who is paying a pastoral visit to Melbourne for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, presided over a Clergy Synaxis of priests serving in the Holy Dioceses of Melbourne and Chora. The gathering was hosted at the Archdiocesan Church of Saint Eustathios and attended by Metropolitan Ezekiel of Dervis, Bishops Kyriakos of Melbourne and Evmenios of Chora, and Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Christophoros Krikelis.
Archbishop Makarios delivered an insightful address on “Multiculturalism and Social Racism”, sharing reflections on the role Orthodoxy is called to play within the multicultural environment of contemporary society. Opening his remarks, he emphasized that religion constitutes the center of culture, and compared the characteristics of culturally homogeneous societies with those of multicultural ones.
Approaching the topic theologically, he noted that the Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians (Gal. 3:26–28), “reminds us that to be a Christian does not mean denying one’s otherness—national, social, or ethnic identity—but always remembering that within the Church all communities are in communion as a result of the faith and love we must have for one another. Therefore, recognizing the other’s diversity, as well as our unity with them, is a prerequisite for the broader unity of today’s pluralistic society. The multiculturalism of modern society challenges Orthodoxy to discover, through its own distinctiveness, the common points of identity with other communities that persist in their irreducible diversity, in order to coexist peacefully and justly in the same living space.”
Elsewhere in his address, the Archbishop stressed that “the Triune God we worship is the God of otherness and communion—a transcendent mystery of redemptive and crucified love, offered so that the world may live. The Holy Spirit, in its absolute freedom and unceasing salvific presence in the world, can surprise us with its work: ‘The Spirit blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going’ (John 3:8). Within this pneumatological framework, we should not exclude the possibility that the presence of others in our social space, and our communication with them, might be a divine challenge for a deeper understanding and fuller living of our faith.”
Concluding, Archbishop Makarios recalled that the very incarnation of the Divine Logos—God’s coming to earth, wherein the Uncreated God united and engaged with human nature and history—provides perhaps the most paradoxical example of tolerance, acceptance, and adaptation to the cultural particularity of the other. “Here we are speaking of a true establishment of multiculturalism and the abolition of social racism,” he underlined, adding: “Any comparison between created cultures remains overwhelmingly inferior to this absolutely unprecedented co-existence and communion. Christ spoke with the marginalized, the prostitutes, the tax collectors; He praised the Samaritan in the parable for tending to the foreigner; He associated with the uneducated, the fishermen, the shepherds; He dined with the wicked; He spoke about the neighbor and told us to love them as ourselves; He even spoke about our enemies and told us to love them even more, for that constitutes a transcendence.”
Following the address, a constructive exchange of views took place. The Clergy Synaxis concluded with discussion of practical and administrative matters, during which Archbishop Makarios offered appropriate guidance and directions.
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
