Public Lecture

On 8 May 2025, our Faculty Member, Dr Andrew Mellas, presented a guest lecture as part of the ‘Byzantine Month’ at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Resurrection (Kogarah) on how the hymns of Byzantium portrayed the journey of the Myrrhbearing Women to the Holy Tomb of Christ. Dr Mellas explored a number of Byzantine hymns and homilies on this topic, but he focused on St Romanos the Melodist's hymn on the Resurrection (part of which we still sing today during Pascha). Although this hymn begins with the triumph and joy of Pascha, it then takes us back to the interlude of grief between Crucifixion and Resurrection, situating the faithful in the liminal space between the absence and presence of Christ’s body. In doing so, it invites one to experience the interplay between the beginning of salvation history and the end of all things, weaving together the fallenness of the congregation with the promise of rebirth. At the heart of this hymn are the tears of St Romanos’ protagonist, St Mary Magdalen, who was “conquered by weeping” but overcome by the “fire of love.” Mary experiences a metamorphosis of grief into joy in the hymn and, for the Byzantine faithful who sang this hymn and yearned to feel these emotions, they could share in this transformation of feeling through the mystagogy of liturgy.

The Byzantine Month at Kogarah continues this Thursday evening (15 May at 7:30pm) with a guest lecture by our Faculty Member, Fr Anastasios Bozikis, who will reflect on the legacy of the First Ecumenical Council.