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The Service of Holy and Great Tuesday Evening

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

The service of Holy and Great Tuesday evening—liturgically the Orthros service of Wednesday morning—commemorates a harlot woman whose profound repentance led her before the feet of Christ. There, she sought to anoint them not only with costly fragrant myrrh but also with the tears of her own contrite heart. Our Lord’s boundless love towards her—and by extension to all of us as well—brought about the remission of her former sinful ways. Indeed, within the Service, her decisive turn away from a life of sin and her deep renewal in Christ are rendered...

When Eternity Draws Near: Mary and the Mystery of Beauty

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

The haunting opening lines of Rainer Maria Rilke’s ‘Duino Elegies’ portray divine beauty as an encounter with eternity—one that draws us in even as it destabilises the fragile fixities of human existence: “Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angelic orders? And even if one of them pressed me suddenly to his heart: I’d be consumed in his more potent being. For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we can still barely endure...”. There is a disquieting paradox at the heart of divine encounter...

The Ladder Hidden in the Cross: A Lenten Reflection

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

We are all aware that this coming Sunday—the Fourth Sunday of Holy and Great Lent—is dedicated to the memory of Saint John of the Ladder. Yet have we paused to consider how last Sunday’s feast of the Cross relates to this commemoration? This brief reflection seeks to suggest the deeper organic connection between them. Last Sunday’s liturgical celebration of ‘the Precious and Life-Giving Cross’ offered us a profound opportunity to contemplate the depth of God’s love revealed in the great mystery of the Cross. The hymns of the day made it clear that the Cross stands as the supreme symbol of divine love and—even, paradoxically, of joy—for...

Humility as Doxological Contrition: The Foundation of the Christian Life

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

The profound beauty and richness of the Orthodox tradition lies in the fact that it not only sheds light on the correct meaning of the Christian faith—‘Orthodoxy’ literally means ‘correct belief’—but in that it also provides the means by which the faithful may attain the ultimate goal: a living and intimate experience of Christ. The Church does not simply impart knowledge about God, but she provides all the necessary ‘spiritual tools’ through which our Lord may be encountered.  In all her wisdom, the Church guides and equips the faithful so that they may ascend the...

St Romanos the Melodist's Hymns on the Passion of Christ

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

At the precipice of Holy Week, the death of Lazarus and the tears of those who mourn his passing make for one of the most emotive biblical stories.Even Jesus, who eventually commands Lazarus to rise up from Hades, weeps when he sees the tears of Mary and groans in the spirit.As the Son of God, Jesus’ tears represented a complex phenomenon, bespeaking a mysterious interaction of divine and human natures, and leaving many a church father and mother perplexed...

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