ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE
TO HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS OF AUSTRALIA The Role of the Bishop in the Life of the Church
At the threshold of the first anniversary of our Archbishop Makarios’
enthronement as Primate of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, I take
this opportunity to offer some brief reflections on the role of the
bishop in the life of the Church. TO HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS OF AUSTRALIA The Role of the Bishop in the Life of the Church
In the theology of the Orthodox Church the bishop holds the highest and
most sacred office within the life of the Church. Already within the
writings of St Ignatius of Antioch (d. 108AD), we have a clear depiction
of the bishop. In one of his letters, this early saint of the Church
writes: “where the bishop is, there also let the people be; similarly,
where Jesus Christ is, there too is the Church.”
This ancient Christian passage highlights at least two significant aspects concerning the role of the bishop. Firstly, we can see here an intimate connection between the bishop and the faithful. Indeed, the bishop is the one who is called to unite the faithful into ‘one body’—namely the one body of Christ, which is the Church. In this sense, it is the bishop who expresses, who manifests and who preserves the unity of the people of God. This unity is most perfectly realised within the context of the Eucharist, where the faithful are united to one another and to Christ.
This leads to the second important point that St Ignatius is making in the above quote. Here, a clear analogy is made between the bishop and Jesus Christ. Elsewhere, he writes that the bishop is “in the type and place of Christ [εἰς τύπον καὶ τόπον Χριστοῦ]”. In this sense, the bishop not only exemplifies and models Christ, but also makes the glorious reality of Christ present to his people. In brief, the bishop unites the faithful to Christ, and in so doing unites them to each other, and most importantly and indeed crucially makes Christ present to the faithful.
Clearly, in the case of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, his daily and unwavering example during the one year that the Church of Australia has been fortunate to have him, is that he is a man of God, ardently filled with the love of Christ—concerned incomparably more for the plight of the Orthodox Church and the faithful here in the Antipodes than himself—and in so doing, he has brought this joy-filled, Christ-like and unitive love to the Church and for this we are profoundly grateful.
This ancient Christian passage highlights at least two significant aspects concerning the role of the bishop. Firstly, we can see here an intimate connection between the bishop and the faithful. Indeed, the bishop is the one who is called to unite the faithful into ‘one body’—namely the one body of Christ, which is the Church. In this sense, it is the bishop who expresses, who manifests and who preserves the unity of the people of God. This unity is most perfectly realised within the context of the Eucharist, where the faithful are united to one another and to Christ.
This leads to the second important point that St Ignatius is making in the above quote. Here, a clear analogy is made between the bishop and Jesus Christ. Elsewhere, he writes that the bishop is “in the type and place of Christ [εἰς τύπον καὶ τόπον Χριστοῦ]”. In this sense, the bishop not only exemplifies and models Christ, but also makes the glorious reality of Christ present to his people. In brief, the bishop unites the faithful to Christ, and in so doing unites them to each other, and most importantly and indeed crucially makes Christ present to the faithful.
Clearly, in the case of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, his daily and unwavering example during the one year that the Church of Australia has been fortunate to have him, is that he is a man of God, ardently filled with the love of Christ—concerned incomparably more for the plight of the Orthodox Church and the faithful here in the Antipodes than himself—and in so doing, he has brought this joy-filled, Christ-like and unitive love to the Church and for this we are profoundly grateful.