VOLUME XXXIII No 7 20th May, 2016
DATES TO REMEMBER
EASTER
The Resurrection of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ is the greatest event in the course of history. Each year, Easter teaches us that Christ's love for us could not be destroyed. The message which our Lord shared could not be silenced on the Cross. The large stone could not contain Him, the author of life, in the darkness of the tomb. Christ surrenders His body to crucifixion in order to destroy the laws of death and corruption, offering us all eternal life. In contemplating this Paschal mystery, St. John Chrysostom with great joy proclaims: “Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice, Christ is risen and life reigns, Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave…” (Paschal Sermon) Jesus Christ rose from the dead and together with Him, there arose every hope that we have for everlasting life. In contemplating the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection, St Nicholas Cabasilas teaches us that Christ had to eliminate three key obstacles that separated humankind from God: the barrier of nature by His birth, the barrier of sin by His death, and the barrier of death by His Resurrection. Firstly, in His birth, Christ became a human in order to make human beings holy. Secondly, Christ offers Himself upon the Cross as a ransom for the sins of the world, and by doing so, has released humanity from the eternal consequences of sin. Thirdly, Christ surrenders His human body to crucifixion in order to destroy the laws of death and corruption offering us all eternal life. In light of this, the recitation of the triumphal Paschal hymn or the “Christos Anesti” serves not as a mere reminder of events that have occurred in the past, but events that we, as Orthodox Christians live daily – as a Church, as a College Community and as a family.
MAY Senior School Photos
24th
Divine Liturgy Years 7-12
26th
Junior School Photos
27th
Year 11 Half Yearly Exams begin
30th
JUNE K-6 Divine Liturgy
2nd
Junior School Athletics Carnival
3rd
Careers Expo Years 11 and 12 Parish Trip to Greece departs
11th
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
13th
School closed CIS Xcountry JS
16th
Half Yearly Reports to Parents JS
17th
Term ends for staff and students
24th
Half Yearly reports posted
JULY Parish Trip to Greece returns
16th
Staff Development Day
18th
Students return
19th
Athletics Carnival SS
26th
Australia Mathematic Comp JS
28th
Easter is a sacred time during which the events of Christ’s passion and resurrection become present in the services and the sacraments of our Church, and in the practices of our College community and our families, passed down to us by the apostles, our forefathers and mothers, our parents and teachers in the faith. Holy Week, with Pascha at its peak, is a period in which the life-giving events in the saving ministry of Jesus Christ become real for each and every one of us. It is during this period that Christ invites us to dedicate our own individual struggle in faith, obedience and humility to God, and to share with Him in the great victory over death which He has won for us all. Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!
AUGUST HSC Trials begin Dormition of the Theotokos
1st 15th
School closed Trial HSC ends
HOMILY
16th
Mr A. Picardi
PASCHAL HOMILY 2016
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