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The Feast Day of Palm Sunday

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

On the feast day of Palm Sunday, the Church celebrates the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem seated on a colt of a donkey before his impending Passion, death and resurrection. It is a feast day replete with paradox, majesty and profound spiritual meaning. As indicated by the assigned Gospel reading for the day (Jn 12:1-18), it is a festal event which Jesus himself instigated both in fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah—“Do not be afraid, daughter of Sion: look your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt” (Zech 9:9)—but also so as to offer himself freely as the Passover lamb, as “a ransom for all”...

St Mary of Egypt: An Icon of Repentance and Great Hope for all the World

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

On the 5th Sunday of Holy and Great Lent, the Church presents before us, for reflection, a remarkably important and deeply revered saint in the history of the early Christian Church—St Mary of Egypt (5th century AD). Her life was radically changed and profoundly transformed through her encounter with the life-giving Cross of our Lord. She continues to be remembered and venerated today as one of the most striking icons of repentance, a living testimony to the transforming power of God’s grace, and an enduring confirmation of Christ’s immeasurable love for all people throughout all time...

The Akathist Hymn

By Dr Andrew Mellas (Senior Lecturer in Church History and Liturgical Studies)

The Akathist Hymn, which is a masterpiece of Byzantine hymnography dedicated to the Mother of God, is a song close to the hearts of the Orthodox faithful. It is called ‘Akathist’ (which means ‘not sitting’) because during a vigil held in thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary, who delivered Constantinople from invasion in the seventh century, the Byzantines chanted the Akathist Hymn and everyone remained standing during this vigil. According to the sources, during the Avar siege of Constantinople in 626 AD, the King of the Avars looked up at the walls of the city while his fleet was being destroyed and saw a woman in shining garments with a face full of light. And, of course, that woman was the Theotokos...

St John Climacus: Some Cursory Reflections on the Ladder of Divine Ascent

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

The Fourth Sunday of Holy and Great Lent is dedicated to St John of the Ladder, an ascetic saint of great eminence in the life of the early Church (6th-7th centuries), and author of one of the greatest classics of Christian spirituality, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It is a work which is not only read in monasteries today but is equally loved and has been embraced by the Orthodox faithful throughout the world more broadly, and indeed throughout all time—a work most relevant for all those seeking to personally encounter the love of Christ in their life...

The Cross: Our Entry into 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...

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