On Thursday, 12 December, at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Sydney, the official Doxology Service was held upon the reception of His Eminence Metropolitan Prodromos of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, who is visiting Australia in order to bring fragments of the holy relics of the Four Holy New Martyrs of Rethymno, Manuel, Angelos, George and Nicholas.
Metropolitan Prodromos, as well as the accompanying Archimandrites Very Rev. Father Vasilios Papadakis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Anastasia of Rome in Rethymno, and Very Rev. Father Theologos Papalevyzakis, Spiritual Councillor of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Arkadi, were welcomed with cordial, fraternal words by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, on behalf of the Holy Eparchial Synod, the holy clergy and the pious plenitude of the local Church. His Eminence also conveyed to them the blessings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Then, with deep emotion and looking back on his many years of acquaintance and spiritual connection with the Metropolitan of Rethymno, the Archbishop spoke of a charismatic ecclesiastical personality, with many virtues and with infinite love for the Church and the people of God. He distinguished, as one of his special gifts, the unifying and peacemaking spirit that he possesses. “One of the promises we make, when we become Bishops, is to ensure peace within the Church,” he observed and, addressing the Hierarch of the Church of Crete, Archbishop Makarios emphasised that “this calling that all Bishops have received, you follow to the highest degree.” “Your testimony and your ministry,” he added, “could constitute a model of a unifying Bishop.”
His Eminence concluded his address with the assurance: “Consider Australia your second home,” noting that “the Archdiocese of Australia is an open and spacious place, which accommodates everyone, embraces everyone, and loves everyone.”
During his response, Metropolitan Prodromos, who is visiting Australia for the second time, following his participation in the Clerical-Laity Congress of the Holy Archdiocese in September 2023, expressed his feelings of gratitude to God, who made him worthy to meet and associate with the Christian plenitude of the local Church. “Returning from my first visit, I referred to Australia dozens of times, praising everything we experienced here,” he noted characteristically.
Furthermore, he expressed warm thanks to everyone, on behalf of his entourage, for the cordial welcome they received during the current visit, speaking of “blessed and unique moments.” “The moments of our lives are made blessed and unique by the people with whom we encounter,” he pointed out and continued: “If we look back at such moments, we will see that they are all connected to people we have met in the course of our lives and we praise God, because many times we have seen these people take on the role of angels, bringing God’s message to the evangelisation of our own souls.
“That is why I praise God who has made me worthy to be in this blessed place, so that we may bring what is most precious to us as the Church of Rethymno, the fragments of the holy relics of the Four Holy New Martyrs, which we will bring to Melbourne, to the Holy Diocese of Chora, at the request of the Cretans there. A request which was first submitted seventeen years ago.”
Subsequently, the Metropolitan of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, after referring to the blessed coincidence of the anniversaries of the centenary of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and the 200 years since the martyrdom of the Four Holy New Martyrs of Rethymno, offered commemorative and symbolic gifts to Archbishop Makarios, as a culmination of the spiritual connection of the two Churches, Australia and Rethymno, but most importantly, he offered a reliquary with a fragment of the holy relics of the Four Holy New Martyrs, asking His Eminence to place them at the headquarters of the Holy Archdiocese, in the Holy Cathedral of Sydney, “to bless your struggle, your holy Clergy and your Christ-loving people.”
The Archbishop warmly thanked and wished the distinguished guests a pleasant and spiritually beneficial stay in Australia.
