The Archbishop officiated at the Service of the Epitaph Lament, while leading the Epitaph Procession through the streets of Thomastown, attended by approximately 10,000 worshipers
In a climate of deep emotion and religious reverence, the Greek Orthodox Christians of the fifth continent flocked by the thousands on Good Friday to the local Holy Temples of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, to worship the flower-adorned Epitaphs and to sing in an overwhelming atmosphere the Praises: “Life in I’m burying…”, “Ai geneai passai…”, “Oh my sweet Ear…”.
In the “Greek-prestigious” Melbourne, where the expatriates had the pleasure of welcoming their Pastor, His Eminence the Archbishop of Australia, Mr. Makarios, the focus of M. Paraskevi’s religious events was the Holy Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, in the suburb of Thomastown. The Archbishop officiated at the Service of the Epitaph of Lament, while he led the Epitaph’s procession through the streets of Thomastown, surrounded by the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Derbi, Mr. Ezekiel, the Theophilest Bishops of Sozopolis, Mr. Kyriakos and Mr. Kerasundos, and the holy Clergy, with the participation of about 10,000 believers.
At the end of the Mass, His Holiness addressed those present with emotion, sending a message of hope and encouragement in view of the Resurrection of the God-Man. “Don’t forget that in order to reach Holy Saturday and say ‘Christ is Risen’, we have to go through Holy Thursday and Holy Friday,” he underlined in quotation marks and added: “There is no Resurrection without crucifixion. Keep this in your mind and never lose hope, never lose courage, never lose faith. This is what we Orthodox Greeks are. We have faith in God and we have Christ before us. We follow him and from him we get strength to face the difficulties of everyday life”.
Concluding his speech, the Archbishop Mr. Makarios implored the expatriates to preserve the faith, customs and traditions of their ancestors, pointing out with emphasis: “Don’t forget that we are Greek Orthodox Christians and we should keep this not only for ourselves, but to bequeath it and to pass on as a precious legacy to our children”. Finally, he wished everyone a happy and blessed Resurrection.
Source :Skai
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