Archbishop Makarios of Australia is currently conducting a Pastoral Visit to the Archdiocesan District of Adelaide in order to celebrate with the orthodox flock of South Australia the Great Feast of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit.
On Friday, 2 June 2023, Archbishop Makarios arrived at Adelaide Airport and was warmly welcomed by a delegation of clergy and faithful, led by Bishop Silouan of Sinope, Archiepiscopal Vicar of Adelaide.
This was followed by the Clergy Synaxis of the clergy of Adelaide, during which Archbishop Makarios spoke on and developed the theme of respect for the human person, analyzing the 102nd Canon of the Quinisext Ecumenical Council. Specifically, he emphasized, among other things: “The object of the Christian Ethos is not the ethos per se, as is the case in any moral teaching, but the human person. The Human person is studied as a single psychosomatic entity, with all the peculiarities that can characterize it, which differ from case to case and from person to person. Because the disease of sin is quite complex and multifaceted, this is precisely why the Orthodox Church studies each human case separately and specifically, with the aim of salvation.
There is, moreover, the 102nd Canon of the Quinisext Ecumenical Council, in which the discernment that the spiritual father must have, regarding the peace of the confessee, is emphasized. This discernment does not refer to compromises or excessive strictness, but to the judgment that ensures “the salvation of the person”, according to the holy Canon. Judgment has value when it saves and when it can distinguish what is right and useful for each individual soul and what is the best and holiest solution to the emerging challenges and choices we are called to make in our daily lives. Accordingly, the participating priests had the opportunity to share with their Shepherd the anxieties and problems that concern them, regarding modern man and society.
On the evening of the same day, in the hall of the Holy Monastery of Saint Nectarios, a dinner was held in honor of the Archbishop, offered by the Central Philoptochos Association of the Archdiocesan District of Adelaide. The members of the ecclesiastical councils of all the Parishes of the Archdiocesan District attended the dinner, who received the wishes and blessings of their Shepherd, while they were the recipients of warm thanks for their valuable contribution to the local Church.
“You are the “heart of the administration” of the Orthodox Church in Adelaide,” said Archbishop Makarios, addressing the members of the parish councils with paternal words, and urged everyone to continue with the same zeal to offer the good witness of the Orthodox Faith in the community of South Australia.
Previous to this, Archbishop Makarios was appropriately addressed by Bishop Silouan of Sinope, Archiepiscopal Vicar of Adelaide, while the beautiful evening ended with church hymns and traditional dances, which were perfectly presented by the Byzantine Choir of “St. John of Damascus” and the dance group of the Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia, respectively.
