Message from the Most Reverend Archbishop of Australia Mr. Makariou for the feast of March 25

My God-loving brothers and dear children,

“Today is the beginning of our salvation and the revelation of the eternal mystery”

Today we brilliantly celebrate the Mother of God feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, commemorating the joyous announcement, by the Archangel Gabriel, that the Virgin Mary will conceive and give birth to the Son and Word of God. This announcement was the beginning of our redemption! The acceptance of God’s will by the Graceful Daughter opened the way for the salvation of the human race, by freeing it from the bonds of original sin.

Centuries later, the enslaved Greeks, longing to be freed from the shackles of slavery and tyranny, fought and shed their blood “for the Holy Faith of Christ and the Freedom of the Fatherland”. Their struggles and sacrifices paved the way for national independence and the subsequent progress and prosperity of the Greek people.

With much emotion, we look back on these two great historical events, to which we owe our freedom, as people and as Greeks. An emotion which inevitably increases, if we consider that today’s double celebration coincides with another significant event for Orthodoxy and for Hellenism: It was days like this, in March of the year 1924, when the fifth continent received, like another Evangelization, the joyful news of the establishment of the then Holy Metropolis of Australia and New Zealand and then the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.

It was in these days, one hundred years ago, when the venerable Center of Orthodoxy, our Ecumenical Patriarchate, opened the way to pour out to its lost children the sanctifying, renovating and ultimately liberating grace of God, a precious resource to stand in their feet, to toil and toil in this blessed far land. Since then, the Mother Church has been the spiritual nurturer of Hellenism in the Antipodes and has played a pivotal role in its multifaceted progress and in the achievements that we are all blessed to be proud of today.

Three great events, then, with a common springboard of courageous attitude and trust in God. Three events from which, especially we here in Australia, are called to draw inspiration, so that we can meet the challenges of our time and walk with courage and faith in the new centenary of our Holy Archdiocese.

Go, my dear children!

Let us bear witness to our faith in Australian society with greater intensity! Let’s show that the blood of Saints and Heroes flows in our veins! Let’s pave the way for new golden pages of our local Church and Hellenism on the fifth continent!

Happy birthday to all, blessed, creative and life-saving!