On Friday, May 10, at noon, the new Archbishop Makarios of Australia presented himself in front of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy Synod, so as to accept his election with the small Message.
“It is a great joy to announce that you were unanimously elected Archbishop of Australia”, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said in his address to the new Archbishop of Australia, emphasizing the paradigmatic love and devotion that the elected Archbishop has expressed all these years towards Mother Church.
As Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized, Australia is a great and beautiful country, with many expatriates who see Makarios as “their new loving and affectionate father and caring shepherd”.
In his response, the new Archbishop of Australia expressed his gratitude for his election to the Ecumenical Patriarch and the members of the Holy and Sacred Synod.
In particular, Makarios said to Bartholomew: “You send me as the successor of late Archbishop Stylianos, in one of the most powerful regions of the Ecumenical Throne, with hundreds thousands of faithful congregation. I promise not only to preserve what I receive, but also to multiply these gifts”.
Next, the new Archbishop of Australia officiated the Liturgy of the Great Message at St. George’s Patriarchal Church, during which his election was announced, in the presence of the Synodal Archpriests.
Earlier, Ecumenical Patriarch, in a special ceremony at Virgin Mary’s Church, at the Patriarchate, honored five expatriates, with high official posts, who serve the Archdiocese of Australia and who came to cooperate with Bartholomew and the members of the Holy Synod.