On 17 September, faculty and students welcomed the Very Revd Protopresbyter Chrysostomos Nassis (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) for the College's ongoing ‘Themes in Contemporary Theology’ series.

After an introduction from the Sub-Dean, Assoc. Prof. Philip Kariatlis, Fr Chrysostomos warmly thanked His Eminence Archbishop Makarios for the invitation before embarking on his fascinating topic entitled ‘Uncovering the Structural Components of the Byzantine Gospel Pericope System: The Inner Cohesion of Sundays 2-7 of Matthew.’

Fr Chrysostom deftly navigated the differences between the Hagiopolite (or Jerusalem) and Constantinopolitan lectionaries, tracing their respective developments back to the fourth century Codex Alexandrinus and the Eusebian Tables to demonstrate the ancient antecedents of the Orthodox Church’s use of pericopes from the Gospel of Matthew in the liturgical cycle. In so doing, he was able to bring to light the inherent connection in the Sunday Gospel readings.

This importantly provides indispensable insights into the theological significance of the readings. A robust Q&A followed with fascinating observations from faculty and students, all of which were deftly addressed by Fr Chrysostom.