The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has announced the passing of Nun Makrina, a devoted monastic known for her humility, prayerful life and service to the faithful.
Born in Australia in 1941 as Gwendoline Valerie Eve, the late nun was raised in the Anglican faith before embracing Orthodoxy later in life. In 1988, following catechism by the Very Reverend Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne, Fr Miltiadis Chryssavgis – then parish priest at the Church of Saint George in Rose Bay, Sydney – she was received into the Orthodox Church through the sacrament of Holy Chrism, taking the name Anna.
Her spiritual journey deepened in the years that followed. In 1992, she was tonsured a nun and given the name Makrina by His Grace Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis. She later received the Great Schema in 1998 from the same hierarch, marking the highest level of monastic commitment in the Orthodox tradition.
Nun Makrina was closely associated with the monastic community at the Panagia Gorgoepikoos Monastery in Geelong, Victoria where she became known for her quiet devotion and her care for both the Sisterhood and the many pilgrims who visited the monastery.
His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia paid tribute to her life, describing her as “a humble and devout soul, dedicated to prayer and distinguished by her boundless love for the Sisterhood and for the pilgrims who visited her monastery in Geelong.”
“The gentleness of her countenance and the peace of her heart bore witness to the presence of Christ within her,” he said, adding: “May the Lord, through the intercessions of His Most Holy Mother – whom she so deeply loved and served – grant rest to her soul in the land of the living.”
The funeral service for Nun Makrina will be held on Holy Tuesday, 7 April 2026, at 11am at the Holy Monastery of the Precious Cross in Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales. Burial will follow at the monastery’s cemetery.
