On Friday, February 28, at the Holy Cathedral of the Annunciation in Sydney, a Doxology was performed by Archbishop Makarios of Australia to mark the graduation of the students of the Theological School of Apostle Andrew.
During the moving ceremony, the Archbishop also awarded certificates of completion to the students of the School of Byzantine Ecclesiastical Music, who successfully completed the four-year cycle of study.
At the request of the Archbishop, awards were also presented by Metropolitan Seraphim of Sebastia; Bishops Iakovos of Militoupolis and Christodoulos of Magnesia; the Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod, Archimandrite Christoforos Krikelis of the Ecumenical Throne; the Protosyncellus of the Holy Archdiocese; and Ioannis Mallikourtis, Consul General of Greece in Sydney.
The Associate Dean of the Theological School, Professor Philippos Kariatlis, was also present, along with members of the teaching staff, professors of the School of Byzantine Music, as well as relatives and friends of the graduates.
During his speech, the Archbishop proudly highlighted the work of the School of Byzantine Music, which he founded just a few months after his arrival in Australia, recognizing the great need to prepare those who will play a key role in the worship of the local Church, serving at the holy lecterns alongside the clergy and Bishops in all sacred services.
Then, addressing the graduates of the Theological School, he congratulated them on the successful completion of their studies and emphasized the crucial supporting role of the School’s teaching and administrative staff, as well as their families.
In addition, he expressed the Church’s hope that the knowledge and wisdom they acquired during their studies would guide them, illuminating the path to the joy and fullness of the Kingdom of God, both now and in the future.
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Finally, the Archbishop and Dean of the Theological School of Apostle Andrew reminded them that theology is not merely an academic pursuit.
“It is not just a ‘word’ about God, acquired exclusively through study and academic research, but rather something infinitely greater,” he stressed and continued: “The careful and critical study of the Bible, along with the study of the rich patristic and liturgical traditions, has clearly shown you that, in essence, theology is a gift ‘coming down from the Father of lights’ (James 1:17). Therefore, it brings us into the very presence of our Lord—that is, before the unfathomable mystery of the love of God.”
Indeed, this encounter with Christ, made possible through the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in the world, is the reason we say that theology is the very gift of God’s revelation. It was this revelation that was given to the Apostles of Christ.”
Elsewhere in his speech, the Archbishop reminded that theology, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, ultimately grants humanity a genuine and experiential knowledge of God.
“Theology is not only an informative but also a formative and, ultimately, a transformative experience,” he stressed.
He urged the graduates, in the context of the ministries they will undertake within the Church, to make it their primary concern to offer the faithful a living witness of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world and His future Kingdom.
Finally, Archbishop Makarios emphasized that for theology to remain genuine, “it must give us a foretaste of the sweet fragrance of the future reign of Christ in the present.”
Quoting an inspiring speech by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he warned that otherwise, theology “will remain a soulless and lifeless human invention, filling our libraries with intellectual treatises, which can be excellently supported, but can hardly inspire the human soul to the life-giving and saving love of God.”
