On the evening of Great and Holy Friday, April 10, crowds of faithful gathered at the Church of Saint Haralambos in Templestowe, Melbourne, to pai their respects to the Body of Christ in the flower-adorned Epitaphios and to participate in the solemn Epitaphios Lamentation Service, presided over by Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
He was joined by Bishop Kyriakos of Melbourne and Bishop Evmenios of Chora, as well as clergy of the city of Melbourne.
In an atmosphere of deep emotion, the Lamentations and the Evlogitaria of the Resurrection were chanted, followed by a grand procession of the Epitaphios through central streets of the Templestowe area.
Among those present were the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Dimitra Georgantzoglou, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Marios Kalogiannis and Antonios Tsourdalakis, and the Mayor of Manningham, Dimitrios Grivokostopoulos.
In his message to the faithful, Archbishop Makarios emphasized that the sacrifice of Christ marked the beginning of the abolition of death through His glorious Resurrection. He also thanked all those present for their devotion to the Orthodox faith and tradition.
On the occasion of his visit to the Parish of Saint Haralambos, the Archbishop also commemorated with gratitude the late Fr. Ilias Kentrotis, founder of the parish, who served it for 37 consecutive years.
He prayed that God grant him rest among the saints and the righteous, and encouraged his spiritual children to continue working with unity and obedience for the progress of the parish, alongside the new Parish Priest, Fr. Dimitrios Katrineis. He concluded by wishing Fr. Dimitrios health and strength to continue the work entrusted to him.
