Priest celebrates diversity

For a celibate Greek Orthodox monk, Father Makarios (Mannos) can sometimes surprise people when he uses words like "cool" or "man." But then again, this Utah-born Greek has never seen differences in people and in life as barriers.

The 60-year-old monk's life is a fascinating road that has taken him from the humble immigrant mining town of Bingham to spending 15 years in a monastery in the unforgiving Sinai Desert in Egypt. His life has also taken him through some of the more turbulent conflicts in recent history, which, he said, has taught him many important lessons.

Dressed in his austere gray cassock and sporting a bushy, salt-and-pepper beard, Makarios' image certainly speaks traditional Greek Orthodox, but speaking with him, his laid-back personality and hearty laugh put one at ease.

For Makarios, life is a balance of making choices combined with the influence of God's hand. Through his years of doing for others, Makarios said he also sees Americans making some very poor choices in their own lives. Doing good can come in many ways.

"I think one of the best examples is Frank Sinatra, when he sang 'I did it my way,' " Makarios said.

The fourth-generation son of Greek immigrants, Makarios said his father and his brother spent many years working in the copper mines in Bingham. Growing up among Chinese, French, German and other immigrant families, Makarios said his childhood was a big influence in his life.

"It was a very diverse place," he said. "The differences that exist between people are really insignificant, because we all live together."

But still, there were reminders that others hated diversity. "The Greeks were singled out in Utah," Makarios said. The story of a Greek man who was hung by members of the Ku Klux Klan and left in a tree in Price was still told to his family as a reminder of what minorities can face.

For the most part, Makarios said his childhood was fairly mainstream. When the mine closed, his family moved to Midvale, where he attended Jordan High School. High school band influenced his love for music, and after high school he attended the University of Utah, majoring in music. At the same time, a conflict in Asia was to touch almost every college-age man in the United States.

"Things were getting really hot in Vietnam in those days," he said. Just after he transferred to Westminster College, the draft caught up with him. By that time Makarios had already enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to an Army music school in Virginia. Makarios said his family's long tradition of serving the Greek Orthodox Church and his own personal beliefs caused him to worry that he might be forced to take lives if he was sent to Vietnam.