On Thursday, 21 July 2022 with the blessing of Archbishop Makarios and under the guidance of Bishop Kyriakos, the Holy Church of Saint Catherine’s in Malvern East hosted Saint Andrew’s Theological Graduate Vasili Le Couillard who spoke about Exploring the Christian Identity.
In his speech, Le Couillard spoke about the meaning of the Christian Identity from the early second-century Christian work titled the Letter to Diognetus. The letter is a formal defense of Christianity in a time when Christianity was considered a new phenomenon. Indeed, during the early Christian period, the audience learned that Christians were considered alternatives to the Jews. The Romans perceived Christians as misfits who practiced virtue, and self-control, to love their enemies, and worshipped the Trinitarian God. Le Couillard explained how through this early Christian text we still find edification and spiritual nourishment despite being written almost more than two millenniums ago.
The author who is anonymous describes himself as a disciple of Christ. He explains how Christians interact in a world by using the analogy of the soul and body. “What the soul is in the body the Christian is in the world. The soul is dispersed through all members of the body and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body yet it is not of the body and Christians dwell in the world yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body and Christians are known indeed to be in the world but their godliness remains invisible.”
In his closing remarks to the audience, Le Couillard asserted that Christians need spiritual discernment, especially in the ongoing spiritual warfare that exists. Indeed, it is through constant Christian struggle that has a great impact on the world in developing virtue and subsequent eternal salvation.
Following the conclusion of the talk, the audience was treated to light refreshments in the hall.
