St Andrew's Blog - Theology & Life

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

As we all know, the love of Christ, and by extension the love of our Trinitarian God, captures the very essence of the Christian Gospel. “God is love [ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν]” (1Jn 4:8) we read, rather simply yet most profoundly, in the first letter of St John the beloved Apostle. God’s love is founded on sacrifice, on compassion and forgiveness; indeed, it is a love so powerful, that it alone is capable of transcending human weakness and societal divisions. It alone is capable of disrupting the cycle of hatred and violence; love alone finds solutions and ways forward when human beings solely see irresolvable and immovable impasses. Ultimately, it is this love of God, that we behold personified in the person of Jesus Christ, which alone has the ability to sprout forth the gift of enduring life out of the finality of death...

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

Without doubt in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, “our glorious Lady Theotokos”, has a pre-eminent place in the life of the Orthodox Church. The month of August, for example, is dedicated to the Virgin Mother, not to mention other great feasts that are celebrated throughout the entire liturgical year. Not only do we celebrate the Dormition (or Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos [1] in August, but there are Supplication Services which are held every day in the first two weeks of this month leading to the great feast, as well as the designated period of fasting which the Church has prescribed. This betrays both the great devotion attributed to the blessed Mother personally by the faithful of the Church throughout the ages—and rightly so, since we read in the Gospel according to St Luke: “Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48)—and the extent to which her person has infused Orthodox spirituality...