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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...

Salutations Services During Holy & Great Lent

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

During the Lenten season leading to Holy Week and the feast of the Resurrection, the Church in all her wisdom, has included a Friday evening Service known as the ‘Salutations’—in Greek Χαιρετισμοί—a reference to the Akathist Hymn sung to the Theotokos. On the first four Fridays, the faithful will sing only a portion of the Akathist hymn, whilst on the fifth Friday of Great Lent the entire Service is chanted. This hymn consists of 24 stanzas arranged alphabetically celebrating the role of the Theotokos in God’s salvific plan for the world. A refrain, “Rejoice o unwedded Bride” is repeatedly chanted, highlighting her distinct role in God’s saving plan. This gives us a clue as to the meaning behind this special service...

The Presentation of the Lord: A Brief Theological Reflection

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...

Christmas Wishes

By Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis (Sub-Dean)

During this festive season of Christ, where heaven and earth are literally overflowing with an excess of resplendent joy and happiness at the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ upon earth, let us seek to re-orientate our lives to Him, the “true Light of Wisdom”, the “true Light [of] the World” (Jn 1:9).

In doing so, together with the Church, let us joyfully proclaim, with grateful hearts, the song of thanksgiving on Christmas day: “Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ comes from heaven, let us go and meet Him! Christ is on earth, be uplifted!”...

Christian Love: the Antidote to Death

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...

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