On the 5th Sunday of Lent, 21 April, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia visited the Parish-Community of Saint Savvas the New of Kalymnos in the suburb of Banksia in Sydney, and liturgised on the occasion of the feast day of Saint Mary of Egypt and the finding of the relics of the Patron Saint of the Parish-Community. Among the believers who attended the church service were the Councillor of the Bayside Council Cr. Paul Sedrak, representing the Mayor Cr. Bill Saravinovski.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence spoke to the large congregation about the virtues of the two honoured Saints of the day, recalling that Saint Savvas the New was the spiritual child of another recent Saint of the Orthodox Church, Saint Nektarios Bishop of Pentapolis, and also Saint Mary of Egypt, explaining that she was distinguished for her holy zeal, the intensity of her spiritual struggle and her total dedication to God.
“Let us follow her example and give everything for what we believe in. Because what we believe is the revealed truth of God”, His Eminence underlined, among other things, in his reference to the great ascetic of the desert, who transformed her life from when she followed Christ with a burning heart.
Concluding, the Archbishop thanked the Parish Priest Father Sava Pizanias for the invitation, whom he congratulated for his ministry in the Parish – Community of Saint Savvas the New, as well as for his dedication to the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. His Eminence also wished everyone well for the upcoming Holy and Great Week and for the feast of Holy Pascha.
For his part, Father Sava first conveyed to His Eminence the filial love of his parishioners and expressed everyone’s gratitude for the paternal care and affection they receive from their Chief Shepherd and Archbishop. In addition, he described the work of Archbishop Makarios as regenerating and saving in the Orthodox Church of the fifth continent, focusing especially on the unifying spirit that characterises him, also his patience and perseverance, as well as his immense love for the flock entrusted to him by God. “It gives us a lot of strength and joy, the fact that we have a proper Shepherd, a humble Shepherd, who for us is truly a gift from God”, concluded the Parish Priest of the Church of Saint Savvas the New of Kalymnos.
