St Andrew’s Sub-Dean Presents at National Research Symposium

The Sub-Dean of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College, Associate Professor Philip Kariatlis, was invited to present at a research symposium titled “Ancient Answers to Modern Questions”, held on 15–16 August 2025. The event was jointly organised by Alphacrucis University College and Gospel Conversations and focused on the continuing relevance of the early Christian tradition.

A/Prof. Kariatlis delivered a paper titled “The Theology of St Isaac the Syrian: A Lasting Answer to ‘the One Thing Needful’”. His presentation highlighted the profound witness of St Isaac of Nineveh, a 7th-century ascetical writer whose vision of the spiritual life remains strikingly pertinent today.

Drawing from St Isaac’s writings, A/Prof. Kariatlis emphasised three recurring themes: the importance of interiority as the ground of transcending human finitude; the dialectic of joy and renunciation; and the triadic ascent of love, humility, and suffering. Central to St Isaac’s theology, he noted, is the conviction that death is not humanity’s final horizon but the very site where divine grace is revealed, leading the believer into the “eternal well-being” of God’s inexhaustible love.

In resisting the reduction of faith to mere moralism or therapeutic well-being, St Isaac directs attention to the “one thing needful” (Lk 10:42): the continual orientation of the mind and heart toward God. A/Prof. Kariatlis concluded that St Isaac’s ascetical corpus offers a timeless response to humanity’s deepest existential questions, calling Christians to embrace humility and suffering as the path to joy, and to live in the radiant hope of the Resurrection.