On Sunday, December 26, the second day of Christmas and the feast of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos, Archbishop Makarios of Australia presided over the Divine Liturgy at the small church of Panagia Eleousa, located in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. For the Greek Orthodox flock of the wider area, the small church is traditionally the center of the celebration of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The Archbishop officiated Orthros and the Divine Liturgy, accompanied by the Archdiocesan Vicar of Melbourne and of Northcote, Bishops Kyriakos of Sozopol and Eumenios of Kerasounta.
In his sermon, he first praised the faithful for the fact that on such a day that people usually feel the need to sit at home and rest, they not only offered their willingness to attend service, but most traveled from other places to pay their respects to Panagia Eleousa at Bacchus Marsh. “That is why,” he stressed, “I praise God from the depths of my heart, and claim that your pilgrimage is worthy and blessed. May the new-born Christ give you much power and a great blessing in your life that you love the Church.”
Afterwards, the Archbishop referred to the value of the Sunday Divine Liturgy and the blessing that the faithful receive by participating in the service, as well as to the spiritual change that the great Despotic feast of Christmas brings to each person.
He also stressed that Christ is the true light, even if one has thousands of lights around him, and urged all present to set a goal for 2022 to draw closer to the Lord. Focusing on the adverse effects of the current pandemic and especially on the intense spiritual problem it has caused to many of our fellow human beings, he pointed out that “to solve this problem, we must go closer to Christ.”
Finally, Archbishop Makarios referred to the Mystery of Confession, urging the faithful to “offer their sins to God.” “God wants us to repent of our mistakes, to be aware of our situation and reality, and not to be afraid to ask for His mercy,” he said. “To open and cleanse our hearts,” he continued, “to transcend ourselves. “As we criticize and gossip and see the other’s mistakes, let us begin to see our own mistakes.”