April 27, 2013
He survived the tragedy in Tembe, in which 21 students were killed, and to thank God he became a deacon and took the name Makarios.
April 13, 2003 - "Black" Sunday - 21 innocent souls aboard a bus were "lost". On the same bus rode a young man who for his good fortune managed to survive.
It is a day that has scarred his soul. The years passed and the student grew.
Today this young man was ordained a hierodeacon by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Beroia, who celebrates his name day, taking the name Makarios. It is an act of gratitude to God and an offering for the life he continued after that fateful afternoon.
The ordination took place at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Beroia, where a hierarchical Divine Liturgy took place for the feast of Saint Panteleimon.
Translated by John Sanidopoulos
For more on the bus crash, read the news report from The Sydney Morning Herald on April 15, 2003 titled "21 teenagers killed in school bus crash".
