St Andrew's Blog - Theology & Life

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

At the heart of Holy and Great Lent, the Church offers the faithful an opportunity to venerate the precious and life-giving Cross of Christ—to honour and embrace it wholeheartedly and with fervour in their daily lives. On this, the third Sunday of our Lenten journey, we pause to contemplate the mystery and transformative power of the Cross. We do so not only to find strength and encouragement as we strive to complete the forty-day pilgrimage but also to deepen our appreciation of its centrality—not just for Lent, but for our daily existence. Indeed, as we will come to realise, when even the faintest spark emanating from the Cross is rekindled within us, our entire being is transfigured...

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

The Presentation of the Lord, also known as the Feast of Hypapante [Ὑπαπαντή], is a significant event in the Christian tradition, commemorating the moment when the infant Jesus was brought into the Temple in Jerusalem by His mother, Mary and Joseph, in accordance with Jewish law. The term Hypapante means “reception”, signifying the encounter between the Messiah with both the righteous Simeon and the prophetess Anna in the Temple—both of whom had been waiting for this moment for their entire lives. Dating back to the early centuries of the Church, the commemoration of this feast in the Eastern Orthodox tradition is considered one of the Twelve Great Feasts...