On Tuesday, November 11, a ceremony was held in Larissa with great solemnity and splendor to confer an honorary doctorate from the Department of Medicine at the School of Health Sciences at the University of Thessaly upon Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
The ceremony took place in the “Hippocrates” auditorium of the Department of Medicine and was attended by numerous ecclesiastical and civil dignitaries. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was represented by Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki, and the Holy Archdiocesan Synod of Australia was represented by Bishop Athenagoras of Canberra. Also present were Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larissa and Tyrnavos, as well as many Metropolitans and Bishops. The Metropolitans, Ignatios of Demetrias and Almyros, Gregorios of Cameroon, Georgios of Kitros, Katerini, and Platamon; Chariton of Elassona; Timotheos of Thessaliotis and Fanariofersala; Ioustinos of Nea Krini and Kalamaria; Chrysostomos of Trikki, Gardiki, and Pyli; and Symeon of Fthiotida. Also present were the Bishops Epiphanios of Olbia; Nikiforos of Amorion; Prodromos of Toliara and Southern Madagascar; and Isaak of Bujumbura and Burundi.
Of particular note was the presence of the Greek Minister of Culture, Ms. Lina Mendoni; the Member of Parliament for Larissa, Mr. Christos Kapetanos; the Thessaly Regional Governor, Mr. Dimitrios Koureta; the Mayor of Larissa, Mr. Athanasios Mamakos; the Thessaly–Central Greece Decentralized Administration Secretary, Ms. Eirini Karalarioti; the Rectors of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Professor Kyriakos Anastasiadis; and the University of Ioannina, Professor Anna Batistatou; the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Vice-Rector, Professor Christos Karagiannis; the Theology Faculty Dean, Professor Emmanouil Karageorgoudis; and professors and students from the University of Thessaly. Also present were representatives from the Armed Forces and Security Services, among others.
The ceremony began with a welcome address to the honoree by the Rector of the University of Thessaly, Professor Charalambos Billinis. Professor Billinis emphasized that Archbishop Makarios “is among those personalities who have contributed to the support and promotion of the University of Thessaly and have left their mark upon the scientific community.” He noted that “for many years, Archbishop Makarios offered a fine testimony, teaching in the postgraduate programs as a visiting professor and leaving an excellent impression on both the postgraduate students and his fellow professors.”
Professor of Vascular Surgery Athanasios Giannoukas delivered the formal eulogy for the honoree, describing him as “a man whose life and example constitute a model of spiritual cultivation, scientific integrity, and selfless love for his fellow human beings.” Focusing on the Archbishop’s contributions to the University of Thessaly, Professor Giannoukas highlighted that they “have been invaluable in nurturing the scientific conscience and moral responsibility of young scientists, demonstrating that medical knowledge must always be accompanied by humanity, respect, and a sense of the sacredness of life.”
“This honor today,” Professor Giannoukas noted, “is not merely bestowed upon an ecclesiastical leader but upon a minister of love and light who, through his example, bridges faith with knowledge, theology with science, and the church with society.” Medicine relieves the pain of the body, while the Church consoles and cares for the soul. In Archbishop Makarios, these two paths meet and journey together with a common destination: serving humanity and glorifying God.”
Next, the resolution and act of conferment were read, and the diploma and insignia of the Department of Medicine were presented. Then, the honoree was vested with the academic gown by the head of the department, Professor Aristeidis Zibis.
The ceremony concluded with an inspiring address by His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who spoke on the topic: “I Seek a Man on the Highways of the Internet: Relationships and Dependencies in the Digital Age.”
In his introduction, the archbishop first expressed his heartfelt gratitude for being named an honorary doctor. He then remarked that “it may seem paradoxical for a theologian and clergyman to be deemed worthy of such an honor from a school of natural sciences, since, at first glance, there appears to be a divergence of purpose and method between medicine and pastoral care.” However, he pointed out that “perhaps the distance separating medicine and the pastoral art of the Church is not so great, for both serve the human being — albeit under different premises — yet always with a salvific and healing perspective.”
In the main part of his address, Archbishop Makarios briefly outlined the Orthodox understanding of the human person. He emphasized that faith in God is a lived experience of a loving relationship with God through one’s fellow human beings. Linking the philosopher Diogenes’s “I seek a man” with the words of the paralytic at Bethesda, “I have no man,” he demonstrated that a true relationship between human beings cannot exist apart from God.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
