Archbishop Makarios of Australia: “Love in the Orthodox Church is interpreted only in light of the Cross”

The Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, the day on which the Church presents to us the Precious and Life-giving Cross of our Lord to strengthen our spiritual struggle during the Holy and Great Lent, was celebrated with due ecclesiastical splendour at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady, in Sydney, and was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.

His Eminence was accompanied by the Chancellor of the Holy Archdiocese and Dean of the Cathedral, Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Christophoros Krikelis, Assistant Parish Priest, Archimandrite Stephanos Tinikasvili, and other clergy. Among the large congregation were the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, His Excellency Mr. Stavros Venizelos, the High Commissioner of Cyprus to Australia, His Excellency Mr. Antonios Sammoutis, the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Mr. Ioannis Mallikourtis, the Members of Parliament, members of the delegation of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Stavros Keletsis, Mr. Athanasios Papathanasis, Mr. Stephanos Parastatidis and Mr. Miltiadis Zamparas, Archon of the Great Church of Christ and Vice-President of the Archdiocesan Council, Mr. Theo Penklis, among others.

Before the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Makarios spoke didactically about the significance of the feast of the Veneration of the Cross for the Orthodox Church, while summarising his message to the faithful in four words, as many as the beams of the Cross: Love – Death – Judgment – ​​Eternity. Delving into the content of the word “love”, he initially noted that it is used by many and with great frequency in our time. “When someone uses the word “love””, he clarified, “they must first and foremost clarify within themselves whether they love themselves more than the person opposite them”. “Love in the Orthodox Church is interpreted only in light of the Cross,” he then emphasised and pointed out: “Seeing the Cross, we can understand that love is accompanied by humility and emptiness. Love means that I abolish myself, as Christ did when he ascended the Cross. I empty myself and set myself aside, so that there is room in my heart for the other.”

Concluding and, after offering paternal wishes to everyone for the remainder of Holy and Great Lent, His Eminence welcomed into the church the four Members of Parliament from Greece, who are visiting Australia, in order to celebrate with the Greeks of the fifth continent the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos and the National Anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821. “The bridge that exists between the Motherland, Greece, and the fifth continent, is a bridge that we walk on and that has not become overgrown,” he characteristically emphasised during his address to the Members of Parliament, while thanking them for the effort in making the journey, and he asked them to convey to the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek Government and the Greek Parliament, the love and respect of the Greek community in Australia.