The glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was celebrated in Sydney with ecclesiastical splendour and magnificence. The epicentre of the celebration was the Holy Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the suburb of Kogarah, where the Resurrection Service was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who was joined by Their Graces Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis and Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of Australia and Proistamenos of the celebrating Parish.
For another year, the attendance of the devout believers was massive and moving. Thousands of Greeks, as well as Orthodox Christians of other ethnic origins, flooded the beautiful Greek Orthodox Church, its precincts and the adjacent streets early in the evening. Holding candles and lambades in their hands, chanting the sacred hymns of the Resurrection and having their eyes turned to heaven, they waited patiently and reverently to hear the resurrection paean “Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling upon death…”. The excitement peaked at 12 midnight, when the Archbishop announced the joyful message of the triumph of life over death, and at the same time the countless flames from the candles of the faithful formed a luminous veil that covered the darkness of the night.
In this deeply reverent atmosphere, the Paschal Encyclical of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios was read, in Greek and English, by Their Graces Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, and Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia respectively. The Festal Divine Liturgy followed, presided over by the Archbishop, with the above-mentioned Bishops and the clergy of the celebrating Parish concelebrating.
The splendid celebration of the Resurrection in Kogarah was attended, among others, by the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, His Excellency Mr. Stavros Venizelos, and the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Mr. Ioannis Mallikourtis, both accompanied by their spouses, the Federal Liberal Party MP and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon. David Coleman MP, the State Minister for Multiculturalism of New South Wales, The Hon. Stephen Kamper MP, the State Member and Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism of NSW, Mr. Mark Coure, the Local Councillor for Georges River City Council, Ms. Ashvini Ambihaipahar, the Liberal Party MP candidate for the seat of Barton, Ms. Fiona Douskou, and the Archon of the Great Church of Christ. and Vice-President of the Archdiocesan Council, Mr. Theo Penklis.
