With the blessing of the College Dean, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, an Open Day as held yesterday evening in order to raise awareness and provide information about the work of the College and to encourage and welcome enrolments. The event was attended in person by more than 100 people in addition to a similar number of registered attendees via Zoom. Present were His Eminence Archbishop Makarios, His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Sebasteia, His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, His Grace Bishop Emilianos of Meloa, and Archimandrite Fr Prochoros Anastasiadis (Vicar for ACT and Tasmania). Attending via Zoom were Their Graces Bishop Elpidios of Kyaneon and Bishop Silouan of Sinope. Also notably present was Archimandrite Fr Eusebios Pantanassiotis, Abbot of Pantanassa Monastery, as well as a contingent young people from the Greek Orthodox Christian Society in Sydney.

The event’s proceedings were guided by the Very Revd Fr Anastasios Bozikis, Lecturer in Church History. The Archbishop delivered an addressed which made the connection between theology and love in Christ. Among other things he said that "... theology is not only learnt, but also lived and more so, loved! Indeed, for St John the Evangelist, to whom our College Chapel is dedicated – also known as St John the ‘Theologian’ – this intimate link between ‘love’ and ‘theology’ is self evident. In one of the hymns that we sing on the saint’s feast day – more specifically, in the Doxastikon of the Vespers Service we exclaim: “For you [namely St John], being filled with love, also became filled with theology.” The event also featured brief reflections on the importance of studying theology and its relevance to our everyday lives by Metropolitan Seraphim, Bishop Iakovos, and Bishop Emilianos.

The Sub-Dean, Assoc. Prof. Philip Kariatlis, delivered an inspiring talk on ‘The Transformative Power of Theology,’ whilst students Eleni Mavrolefteros and Nicholas Haridemos shared their personal testimonies of life at St Andrew’s. The Registrar, Mr Anastasios Kalogerakis, described the College’s course offerings and study opportunities. The evening was interspersed with a short recital of byzantine hymns and insightful video clips produced by the I.T. Officer, Dn Irenaeus Triantis, that featured faculty members Dr Margaret Beirne, Mrs Sophia Theodoratos, Fr Anastasios Bozikis and Dr Mario Baghos addressing their respective teaching disciplines. A copy of St Basil’s short treatise, Address to Youth: On How They Might Benefit from Classical Greek Literature, published by St Andrew’s Orthodox Press, was distributed to all who attended as a gift on the night.