“I came to see my brother…”
It was a profoundly emotional moment when the iconic priest of Australia, Papa Lefteris Tatsis, stood before the grave of the late Great Archbishop Stylianos, after a family of his spiritual children invited him to bless their home with the service of Holy Water. Taking the opportunity, he also went to perform a Trisagion memorial service at the grave of Stylianos.
But this Trisagion was not merely a formal ecclesiastical act. It was an outpouring of the soul. A pilgrimage of the heart. A farewell that, in truth, was never fully spoken. Nothing in this life lasts forever, yet our memories remain forever engraved upon our hearts.
Standing before the grave of the great Hierarch, Fr. Lefteris broke down with emotion as he remembered the shared years of struggle, sacrifice, hardship, and creation beside the man who shaped the course of the Greek Orthodox Church on the fifth continent. Fr. Lefteris aptly described Stylianos as “the architect of the Archdiocese of Australia,” and rightly so. For Stylianos inherited dirt roads and left behind avenues. He also left an indelible mark upon our theological letters and thought.
“I came to see my Archbishop… my brother,” he says in a trembling voice in the video that has since gone viral, moving all who watch it.
His words are not diplomatic phrases. They are lived words. Raw. Human. He describes Stylianos Harkianakis as a spiritual giant who carried the Hellenism of the Diaspora upon his shoulders — a Hierarch who often fought alone, yet left behind an enduring legacy from which others would later reap the fruits.
Fr. Lefteris recalls their shared journeys, the difficult years of the Greek community abroad, their anxieties for the Church and Hellenism, but also the human side of an Archbishop who — behind his stern exterior — concealed sensitivity, cultivation, empathy, and deep love for humanity.
The image of the now elderly priest standing alone before the grave, speaking to the “Great Stylianos” as though he were still present, sends chills through the soul.
And perhaps this moment carries even greater weight when one considers Fr. Lefteris’ present position. A priest who served the Archdiocese of Australia for decades, yet ultimately found himself removed from the priesthood following his defrocking by the current Archbishop Makarios, as the two sides were never able to walk the same path. One carried away by the chariot of ego, the other insistent on continuing his work at all costs, without outside interference or imposed changes.
Nevertheless, even far from offices and official titles, Fr. Lefteris demonstrates that he remains deeply connected to the history he served. His relationship with Archbishop Stylianos Harkianakis was not administrative. It was existential. It was a relationship of life itself.
This Trisagion was not simply offered for a departed Archbishop. It was a memorial for an entire era of Orthodoxy in Australia — an era that those who lived through it can hardly forget. And certainly, through this act, Fr. Lefteris honored his mission. Surely the souls of his parents rejoice — especially his priestly father, the legendary Fr. Michalis Tatsis, as well as his fighter brother, Captain Stelios Tatsis — a personal friend of mine during my beautiful student years in New York — who recently passed away in Greece on the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary and was buried by his children, Irene and Michalis, in New York beside his beloved wife Nina.
The emotional presence of Fr. Lefteris before the grave of the Great Archbishop of Australia Stylianos, along with the words he spoke, has stirred intense emotion throughout the Greek diaspora and across social media, where the video continues to circulate widely.
Worthy indeed, Fr. Lefteris! And know that Chians all around the world are proud of you. Stay strong and do not be discouraged by the dwarfs. Small as they are, when they are gone they will quickly be forgotten — because they will have made nothing more than a hole in the water.
— A Chian
Whatever one’s ecclesiastical tradition, there is something deeply moving about seeing an elderly priest return to pray at the grave of a bishop with whom he shared decades of ministry. Such moments remind us that the Church is built not only through institutions and offices, but through relationships, sacrifice, and faithful service over many years.
May the memory of Archbishop Stylianos be eternal, and may God grant comfort and strength to all who continue the work entrusted to them.