Vladminit Borovikovsky (1757-1825)
St Luke the Evangelist
Icon from the the central iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburgh
This morning we celebrate the feast of St Luke the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel bearing his own name and also the Acts of the Apostles. In iconography, the evangelists often appear in portraits derived from classical tradition, and are also frequently represented by the symbols which originate from the four "living creatures" that draw the throne-chariot of God, the Merkabah, in the vision in the Book of Ezekiel (Chapter 1) reflected in the Book of Revelation (4:6–9ff), though neither source links the creatures to the Evangelists.
Images normally, but not invariably, appear with wings like angels When the symbols of the Four Evangelists appear together, it is called a Tetramorph, and is common in the Romanesque art of Europe, in church frescoes or mural paintings. In St Andrew’s, we have the three synoptic or narrative Gospels writers represented by rather scary depictions on the pulpit, and with St John on the lectern.
Three layers of meaning for the beasts, as representing firstly the Evangelists, secondly the nature of Christ, and thirdly the virtues required of a Christian for salvation: These animals may have originally been seen as representing the highest forms of the various types of animals, i.e., man, the king of creation as the image of the creator; the lion as the king of beasts of prey (meat-eating); the ox as the king of domesticated animals (grass-eating) and the eagle as the king of the birds.
St Luke the Evangelist, the author of the third gospel account (and also of the Acts of the Apostles), is symbolized by a winged ox or bull – a figure of sacrifice, service and strength. Luke's account begins with the duties of Zechariah in the temple; it represents Jesus's sacrifice in his Passion and Crucifixion, as well as Christ being high priest (this also represents Mary's obedience). The ox signifies that Christians should be prepared to sacrifice themselves in following Christ.
Michelle has introduced an Alpha course, in Chinese, on Fridays at 7.30pm – on-line - for those who which to learn more about Christianity.
Alpha is a parish tool for evangelisation based on hospitality, sharing and open conversation. The same Alpha content is run all over the world, by Christians of all traditions, and provides a common expression of proclamation, service and witness. Millions of people have tried Alpha all around the world in 112 languages.
Contact Michelle on 0403 642 178 if you would like join the weekly event – it runs for 8 weeks.
StAndrews@home
This week at St Andrew’s:
Sunday
10am - : Mattins : (in English) [join]
11am – Bi-lingual service [join]
Anytime – Video Eucharist [watch]
Monday
1.30pm – English Conversation Class [join]
Wednesday
10am – Morning Prayer (in Chinese) [join]
10.30am – Chat with the Vicar and friends [join]
Thursday
10am – Bible study (in English) ‘The ‘I AM’ statements in St John’s Gospel’ [join]
Friday
7.30pm – Alpha Course (in Chinese) [join]
To simplify entry to the Zoom meetings, the following links will apply:
For all Ian’s activities – Wednesday chat, Thursday bible study & Sunday @ 10am:
For all Michelle’s activities – Wednesday morning prayer, Friday bible study & Sunday @ 11:
‘Nothing to see here’
I’m not expecting Sunday’s announcement by the Premier to afford any changes to the lockdown situation for churches. However, I remain somewhat confident that we are still on target to open again towards the end of November.
However, the stage 4 lockdown has brought many people out into the church grounds but not always in a good way. The police have been here several times about rowdy behaviour of boys on bikes, and there is plenty of rubbish left strewn around as evidence of their lunch or dinner, sex in the cloister, and small parties elsewhere too. So be careful if you are walking around the back near the parish office, because there are cyclists and skateboarders cutting corners.
However, it is good to see the grounds being used.
主任牧师寄语 18/10/2020
Vladminit Borovikovsky (1757-1825)
福音传教士圣路加
来自圣彼得堡喀山大教堂中央圣像龛皇家大门的图标
今天早上，我们为福音传道者圣路加(St Luke)庆祝，他以自己的名字命名了《路加福音》，他也是《使徒行传》的作者。在肖像学中，福音书作者经常出现在源自古典传统的肖像中，并且经常通过源自拉着上帝宝座战车的四“活物”的符号来代表，这四个“活物”在《以西结书》(第1章)的异象中提到，也在《启示录》(4:6-9ff)中出现，尽管没有资源证明可以把这四个活物和福音书作者联系起来。
当四位布道家的图像一起出现时，图像通常(但并非总是)像天使一样长着翅膀，这被称为“四人天使”，在欧洲的罗马艺术中，在教堂壁画或壁画中很常见。在我们的圣安德烈教堂，三位福类福音书的作者，他们在正道台上被刻画成为比较可怕的样子，圣约翰是在读经台上。
关于这些兽，有三层含义：首先代表福音书作者们； 其次代表着基督的本性， 最后，代表着得到救恩后的基督徒的美德。这些动物可能最初被视为代表最高形式的各种类型的被造物。如人作为被造物之王， 是以造物主形象被造的；狮子是猛兽之王(食肉)；牛被称为家畜之王(食草动物)，鹰被称为鸟类之王。
传道者路加是第三部福音书的作者(也是使徒行传的作者)，他的象征是一只长着翅膀的牛或公牛——象征着祭祀、侍奉和力量。路加的叙述开始于撒迦利亚在殿中的职责; 他描述了耶稣在受难和十字架上的牺牲，以及基督是大祭司(这也代表马利亚的顺服)。牛表示基督徒应该为跟随基督而献上自己。
Michelle已于星期五晚上七点半在网上为那些想要了解基督信仰的慕道友或更新基督信仰的基督徒开始了Alpha启发课程。
Alpha启发课程是一个以接待、分享和开放对话为基础的教会福音传播工具。Alpha启发课程被世界各地的教会使用，为不同的基督信仰传统提供了一个共同的基督信仰的宣告、侍奉和见证的表达。启发课程被翻译成112种语言，全世界数以百万计的人尝试过Alpha。
如果你想参加启发课程，请致电0403 642 178联系Michelle,该课程将持续8周。
本周StAndrews@home:
周日
10am: 晨祷 (英文)[点击进入]
上午11时-双语崇拜[点击进入]
随时-线上圣餐[观看]
周三
上午10点-晨祷(中文)[ 点击进入]
上午10:30 -与牧师和朋友聊天[点击进入]
周四
上午10点-圣经学习(英文) 关于约翰福音经文中“我是”( 点击进入)
星期五
晚上7:30 -中文圣经研习[点击进入]
进入Zoom会议，可用通过以下链接:
所有Ian牧师的活动-周三聊天，周四圣经学习和周日上午10点的晨祷:
Michelle的活动——星期三晨祷，星期五查经班和星期日@ 11:的双语崇拜
“这里没什么更新内容。”
我不指望总理周日的声明中会对教堂的现状有所变动。不过，我仍然有信心，我们仍有望在11月底重新开始面对会众。