On Monday, August 24, on the day our Church celebrates the Translation of the Sacred Relics of St. Dionysios of Zakynthos, Archbishop Makarios of Australia officiated at the namesake Holy Temple in Mangrove, Gosford.
The speech of the Archbishop began with the assurance that he will support the Parish of Saint Dionysios, and for this reason he is going to appoint a new ecclesiastical committee, following a proposal by Fr. Georgios. Then, the Archbishop referred to the patron saint of the Parish, Saint Dionysios, but also to Cosmas of Aetolia, whose memory is honored on the same day.
Recalling that Saint Cosmas made many prophecies, he focused on one of them which highlights the value of ascetic wisdom in the present age. “The time will come when the devil will enter the houses and his horns will be on our tiles,” the Saint had said. This prophecy, as the Archbishop explained, is now known that was a reference to television. And this, children are educated mainly through television. “We leave the children in front of the television,” the Archbishop remarked, “and unfortunately they learn through television what religion is, what Christ is, what the Church is, what life is, what death is, what love is.” “We are also educated by television, without realizing it,” the Archbishop pointed out elsewhere.
He highlighted that nowadays the situation has worsened due to the excessive use of the internet, which “we do not only have in our homes, but also in our pockets.” “Twenty-four hours a day we have the internet with us,” he noted, “and this is a great temptation.”
“I do not live in a utopian world,” he added meaningfully, acknowledging that it is not possible for the Internet to come out of the life of modern man and especially of the life of young people. “There should be a good purpose in everything and above all there should be Christ in everything.” “Where Christ is,” he added, “there can be no sin.”