The Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord and the Vespers of Love in Brisbane
At midnight on Great and Holy Saturday, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, the newly appointed Archiepiscopal Vicar of Brisbane, His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis presided over the Service of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Church of the Dormition of Our Lady in Mt Gravatt, Brisbane.
After the reading of the Archbishop’s message for Holy Pascha, the Parish Priest, Father Nicholas Brown, officially welcomed Bishop Bartholomew, noting that he has known His Grace for many years and looks forward to working with him, contributing to his ministry.
Responding to this welcome, Bishop Bartholomew thanked Father Nicholas, as well as the assistant Parish Priest Father Panayiotis Simos, for their love and for the warm welcome he received at the Parish. His Grace expressed his anticipation for cooperation in a spirit of love and unity.
In addition, Bishop Bartholomew conveyed the love and paternal blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia the clergy, the President of the Parish, the ladies of the Philoptochos and to the entire congregation, while he emphasised the need to experience the Resurrection of Christ in our hearts regardless of the worldly challenges we face. “We must never forget that the Resurrection of Christ brings us hope, joy, consolation, strength and peace,” he noted, among other things.
Finally, His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis encouraged everyone to take time to think about and pray for the sick and suffering, for those being tested in war zones such as Ukraine and the Holy Land, as well as the Ecumenical Patriarchate and His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and for the Holy Archdiocese and for His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
Moreover, on the Sunday of Pascha, His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Charioupolis presided over the Vespers of Love held in the Church of Saint George in Brisbane, surrounded by all the clergy of the city.
At the end of the Vespers, His Grace conveyed to the clergy and the congregation the resurrection wishes of their Chief Shepherd, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, while he also offered them his own personal wishes for a blessed feast day. He also emphasised the importance of the Resurrection of the Lord as a passage from death to life, from darkness to light, from despair to hope and from sorrow to joy.
