The Small Supplicatory Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, on Friday evening, 8 August 2025, at the Church of St. Paraskevi, St. John the Merciful and St. Barbara, in the suburb of St. Albans, Melbourne. This local Bishop, His Grace Bishop Evmenios of Chora, and His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Melbourne, were also present at the Service, joined in prayer.
During his sermon, His Eminence focused on the closeness in time of the Feast Day of the Transfiguration of Christ the Saviour and that of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, through which, as he pointed out, the constant and inseparable coexistence of the persons of Christ and the Virgin Mary is demonstrated. “There could not be a more beautiful combination in the period we are going through,” he observed, “because through the Virgin Mary within the Church, the human person is transformed. Their “good alteration” occurs and they become different, they become better, they rise above their own nature.”
“This ‘good alteration’”, he was quick to proclaim, “does not only concern us, but also how we deal with the people around us”. Noting that in modern society people easily reject and marginalise their neighbour, especially when they consider that they does not possess gifts or has some defect, he emphatically countered that “everyone has a place in the Church”. His Eminence referred, indicatively, to the harlot of the Gospel, the Prodigal Son, the tax collector and the thief, and underlined that “we all have a place in the Church when we believe in Christ”. “And, not only do we all have a place”, he added, “but we can all be useful and be put to good use”.
In conclusion, the Archbishop implored the faithful to cooperate in the “good alteration” of their fellow human beings, whoever they are, whatever their strengths or weaknesses. He urged them in a paternal manner to treat their neighbour with love, understanding and leniency, and to provide them with opportunities to become better and contribute to society as a whole.
Finally, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios congratulated and thanked the Parish Priest, Fr. Demosthenes Nicolaou for his ministry, while he also congratulated the Parish Council and the President of the Parish, Mr. Marios Kalogiannis, Archon of the Great Church of Christ. “Amid the many challenges of this Parish, you are making a blessed effort,” he acknowledged and concluded with the prayer: “All of you together, under the inspired guidance of the Bishop of Chora, may you move forward united and strong.”
Present, among others, among the congregation was the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Ms. Dimitra Georgantzoglou.
