St Andrew’s Opening Doxology 2013

6/4/13

Thursday the 28th of February marked the official opening of the academic year at St Andrew’s GreekOrthodoxTheologicalCollege in Sydney. For the twenty-eighth consecutive year, the traditional Doxology Service was celebrated in the College Chapel of St John the Evangelist and Theologian by the Dean, His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia, in the presence of His Grace Bishop Seraphim of Apollonias, College Sub-Dean, as well as His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, amongst faculty members, staff, alumni, students and guests, including Mr Stan Palassis and Dr Theo Penklis (members of the College Council).

After welcoming everyone, His Eminence stressed that St Andrew’s is not a denominational College, but is charged with the sacred task to preserve and disseminate the common Christian inheritance of the undivided Church of the first millennium; in other words, Orthodoxy. In this welcoming spirit, he thanked not only the Orthodox faculty of St Andrew’s, but also the contributions made by faculty members from Roman Catholic and Protestant backgrounds; all of who continue to raise the College’s standards in terms of tertiary education and scholarship/research. His Eminence affirmed that at St Andrew’s, theology is not taught purely as a speculative discipline, but is driven by prayer, and he expressed wonder at advances in technology which made it possible for students to study through online distance education.

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