On Cheesefare Sunday, 2 March 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia visited All Saints Church, in the Sydney suburb of Belmore, and presided over the Divine Liturgy joined by the Parish Priest, Father Dimitrios Papaikonomou, his predecessor, Father Christ Triantafyllou, Father John Kapetas and his brother, Hieromonk from Mount Athos, Fr. Christodoulos Kapetas. Among the large number of faithful who attended the Divine Liturgy was the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Mr. Ioannis Mallikourtis.
During the Divine Liturgy, the Catechetical Homily of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was read, in Greek and English, on the beginning of Holy and Great Lent.
At the end, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios held a Memorial Service for the repose of the souls of the heroes who fought and sacrificed themselves for the liberation of the city of Ioannina and all of Epirus. The Memorial Service marked the beginning of an anniversary event, which was organized by the Panipirotiki Enosis of New South Wales on the occasion of the recent completion of 112 years since the liberation of Ioannina.
During his short address, the Archbishop underlined the deep connection between patriotism and faith in Christ. “We must not forget that faith and country go together,” he stressed, adding: “And if today there is a free homeland called Greece, we owe this mainly to faith and to Christ who inspired our heroes to fight and even give their lives.” His Eminence pointed out that over time the people of Epirus have proven their deep faith and piety, while he also made special mention of the Benefactors from Epirus. He even mentioned with gratitude the brothers Manthos and Georgios Rizaris, who founded the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School in Athens, where he himself had the blessing of studying theology.
The Archbishop then welcomed the Athonite Hieromonk Fr. Christodoulos Kapetas, who had lived and ministered in Australia for nine years. Initially, he spoke with emotion about his personal connection with the Kapetas family, as during his stay in the USA he had the opportunity to meet the sister of Father John and Father Christodoulos, Nafsika. “The Kapetas family is an “ecumenical” family,” he characteristically observed, while noting that Fr. Christodoulos is one of the very spiritual and blessed hieromonks of Mount Athos. He described it as an honour and blessing for the Holy Archdiocese of Australia that he will remain on the fifth continent throughout the period of Holy and Great Lent, visiting parishes of the local Church, hearing confessions from the faithful and communicating spiritually with them.
Father Christodoulos then paid his respects to the Archbishop of Australia and asked for His Eminence’s blessing and wishes in light of the beginning of the important ministry he is undertaking, the conducting of the Sacrament of Holy Confession. Then, in his message to the faithful, the Athonite Hieromonk addressed the following: “When we fast, let us not be gloomy, but let us be joyful, and also let us not be hypocrites.” Making special mention of the patron of the Holy Archdiocese and Australia, Saint Paisios the Athonite, whom he was blessed to know as a student of the Athonite Academy, he pointed out that he was a man of prayer and fasting, but he was always joyful. “Even though he was fasting, he was cheerful and happy,” he emphasised, “and he always spoke to us about Christ, telling us to strive and place Christ into our soul. Because, as he said, if Christ enters our soul, then he will be the helmsman of our life.” In conclusion, Father Christodoulos urged everyone to forgive their fellow human beings, as a prerequisite for their own sins to be forgiven by God.
