The return of young people back to the Church was raised by Archbishop Makarios of Australia, in an interview with pontosnews.gr.
As Makarios commented, young people “are the future of both the expatriate community and Australia. This is our concern. To bring them together. Not to forget their origins, to show them who we are, what we do.”
And he stresses that the role of the hierarchs, the Archbishops, is primarily religious, “that’s what we have to do.”
He also stresses that today there is a form of secularization, “and that is why we stress that the primary word of the Archbishop is soteriological”.
“Also,” he points out, “our role is national. We must help people not to forget where they come from, not to forget the richness of the language that is very important for the diaspora.”
As a way of preserving language in the diaspora, the Archbishop of Australia stresses that it is the Church. “It is the liturgies, the Sunday school, the schools and the activities of the Church.” Equally important, he believes, is the preservation of the faith.
The Archbishop of Australia even spoke about the “plague” of Australia, which is the issue of unity.
“It is something that saddens me, it makes me sad. Hellenism in Australia at the moment is not 100% united. There are some schismatic communities, very few thankfully now. Some communities have returned. I believe with God’s grace, little by little, they will all return.”
He expressed his satisfaction with the participation of people in the activities of the Church in Australia.
“We don’t have empty churches in Australia, our churches are filling up. Hellenism in Australia is not indifferent to church affairs. It has had this tradition and continues to congregate, to attend the events of the archdiocese with enthusiasm and joy.”
“I am wont to say and I will repeat it and I ask the good brother Archpriests who will listen to me not to misunderstand me. But I say that the best flock, the best homogeneous community, the best Greek diaspora that exists in the world right now, I believe is the one that exists in Australia. And I rejoice and thank God for this people that he has given me. And then I thank God and I am grateful and thankful to our Ecumenical Patriarch for having merited me to take on this very important and great office of our Ecumenical Patriarchate.”