“All generations offer these hymns, O Christ my Saviour, to honour Your entombment”… Thousands of faithful Christians of all ages, both of Greek origin and beyond, gathered on the afternoon of Good Friday at the Archdiocesan Church of the Virgin Mary “Axion Esti” in Northcote, Melbourne, the seat of the Holy Diocese of Chora. They came to pray with their Shepherd, Archbishop Makarios of Australia, and to chant the revered Lamentations of the Epitaphios, moved by feelings of deep devotion and emotion.
The Archbishop was joined by Bishops Kyriakos of Chora and Melbourne, as well as numerous clergy from across the State of Victoria. Also present at the service was Metropolitan Ezekiel of Derby.
Distinguished guests included the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Dimitra Georgantzoglou, Federal MP Maria Vamvakinou, State Minister Stavros Dimopoulos, and a delegation of students from the Greek Orthodox College of St. John in Preston.
The atmosphere reached its emotional peak during the procession of the beautifully adorned Epitaphios in the grounds surrounding the historic Holy Monastery of “Axion Esti.” The solemn procession, led by Archbishop Makarios, paused at the statue of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, where a prayer was chanted for the Ecumenical Patriarch’s health.
Upon returning to the church, the Archbishop expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the many faithful who, despite the physical demands of the day, came to pay their respects to the Epitaphios and honor a sacred tradition handed down through generations—from parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
“Of course, today is not only a tradition, but also an opportunity for reflection and spiritual contemplation,” the Archbishop emphasized, and continued: “In this context, I ask all of you to seriously consider the reality of God’s death. Why was Christ crucified? Why was He sacrificed? We all say that Christ was crucified to save us.
But He could have chosen another way to save humanity. Yet, He chose the Cross and death precisely because He wanted to show us how much He loves us. He did not choose the easy path, but the path of sacrifice. And this love of God should give us strength, but at the same time, it must also humble us, because too often we prove ourselves unworthy of His love.”
Subsequently, the Archbishop focused on the meaning and value of the “memory of death”—the awareness that each of us, at some point, will leave this life. “Modern man forgets the love of God,” he observed, “but he also forgets this most basic reality, which is death.”
“Many of us,” he pointed out, “live and go about our daily lives as if the next life does not exist, as if we are not going to die. And our spiritual lives would be very different if we lived with the memory of death. If we truly contemplated death, our lives, our decisions, and our choices would be different. For example, think about how our lives would change if we knew that tomorrow morning we had to go to the hospital to begin chemotherapy.”
Concluding his speech—imbued with paternal concern and love—Archbishop Makarios stressed: “I am not saying this to frighten or discourage you. But I want to help you understand how important it is to think differently—to think with Christ present in our lives and to remember that although we live in this world, our destination and perspective are oriented toward the world to come. Humanity is created for eternity.”
Finally, he wished everyone a joyful Resurrection and God’s abundant blessings upon their lives and families.
