“The Church teaches us how to defeat death”, underlines His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, in his encyclical message for Easter 2024. “The person who does not believe in the Resurrection of Christ fears death and believes that, with death, the lights switch off, and everything is lost”, His Eminence notes, among other things, and continues: “A person who believes in the Resurrection of Christ considers that whilst the lights may switch off with death, this is not because all things have ended and become lost. Rather, the sweetness of a new dawn has arrived and something beautiful is about to commence.”
In closing His Eminence exhorts: “Live the joy of the Resurrection in communion and unity with the Resurrected Christ, without fear, despair, self-pity, and misery; but with courage, optimism, and faith in His Word: “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).”
The following is the Paschal encyclical of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia as well as his video message:
MAKARIOS
by God’s mercy, Archbishop of the Most Holy Archdiocese of Australia, Primate and Exarch of All Oceania, to the God-loving Bishops, the gracious clergy, the monastic communities, to the Presidents of the honorable Ecclesiastical Committees and the Philoptochos Associations, to the teachers and students in the Schools, to those who work in the philanthropic institutions and to all the Christ-loving plenitude of the Orthodox Church in Australia, grace and peace from Christ our Saviour who gloriously rose..
Most Honourable Fellow Bishops and my beloved children,
In a world which experiences change on a daily basis and is shaken by “wars and rumours of wars” (Mt 24:6), in a world of technology and progress, the contemporary human person still endeavours to provide a solution to the great and insurmountable problem of death, and everything that is related to it.
The Orthodox Church answers this timeless question with the Resurrection of Christ, which is not a sentimental or psychological invention by some clergy, but rather a historical reality, which can only be understood by way of experience. The person who does not believe in the Resurrection of Christ fears death and believes that, with death, the lights switch off, and everything is lost. On the contrary, the person who believes in the Resurrection of Christ sees death approaching and is taught by this. Death teaches us to love one other as a matter of urgency, so as not to leave this life embittered with one other. A person who believes in the Resurrection of Christ considers that whilst the lights may switch off with death, this is not because all things have ended and become lost. Rather, the sweetness of a new dawn has arrived and something beautiful is about to commence. The Church, therefore, does not teach us how to become good and ethical people, but rather how to defeat death.
I invite you all to this way of life, informed by the Resurrection. Live and experience the joy of the Resurrection. Do not be afraid to be filled with joy, because where there is a lack of joy, Christ is absent. Live the joy of the Resurrection in communion and unity with the Resurrected Christ, without fear, despair, self-pity, and misery; but with courage, optimism, and faith in His Word: “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33),
Christ is Risen! May He grant you all many years!
In Sydney, on the Sunday of Pascha, the 5th of May 2024,
The Archbishop
† Makarios of Australia
