Catechism

Fr Gerasimos Koutsouras

Parish Priest of St George Church Rose Bay

Fr Gerasimos Koutsouras is a graduate of Sydney University, a Historian and Byzantine Musician. He is currently the Orthodox Christian Chaplain at Sydney University and Parish Priest of St George Church Rose Bay.

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Born and bred in Sydney, Fr Gerasimo completed studies at the universities of Sydney and Thessalonica specialising in Byzantine History from the 13th to the 15th centuries. He has written two theses, one on the Council of Florence and the second on Natural Disasters in Late Byzantium. He was a lecturer for sixteen years in Church History at St Andrew’s Theological College, specialising in the Byzantine and post Byzantine periods. After tutelage in Byzantine Music under the late Demetrios Sourlantzis, Archon Music Teacher of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he was appointed protopsaltis of the Church of St Theodora in Thessalonica. On his return to Australia, he co-founded the School of Byzantine Music (2005-9) under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Four years of school teaching at All Saints Grammar, Belmore, were followed in 2007 by ordination to the diaconate and then to the priesthood. Married with three children, he serves as the parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Church of St George, Rose Bay. He is the Greek Orthodox Chaplain at Sydney University and St Vincent’s Hospital.

• Academic Classification: Lecturer
• M.Th. (Thessalonica, 2005)
• DipByzMus (Thessalonica, 2002)
• M.A. (Sydney, 2000)
• B.A. (Sydney, 1998)

Fr Asterios Zouriakas

Parish Priest of St Raphael Church Liverpool

Born in Melbourne, Father Asterios Zouriakas learned at a young age, the art of Byzantine Chanting from his father Apostolos Zouriakas who currently serves as a Protopsalti (head chanter). Father Asterios moved to Sydney at the age of 18 to study at St Andrews Greek Orthodox Theological College in Redfern and complete his Diploma of Education at the University of Sydney.

Father Asterios was then appointed as the Protopsalti at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Redfern, Sydney in 2001, where he served for a further 20 years. He continued with his study of Byzantine chanting and became a member, and then Choir Master of the Australian Byzantine Choir.

Professionally, Father Asterios worked as a high school teacher for many years, including St Euphemia Greek Orthodox School in Sydney.

On the 26th December 2021, Father Asterios was ordained to the Holy Diaconate, and then to the Priesthood on the 10th January 2022, where he served Saints Constantine & Helen in Newtown and then the Parish Priest of Saints Raphael, Nicholas & Irene Church in Liverpool on the 11th April 2022. Father Asterios humbly serves the Parish and Community of Liverpool, along with his wife Presvytera Panayiota Zouriakas and their 4 children.

Testimonials from our past students are a great way to get a sense of the impact the course can have. Our students have shared their experiences with us, and we are proud to share these with you. Read on to see what they have to say about the experience.

Dave & Anastasia

From Dave:

I wanted to thank you for the catechism course. I thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and I found them very insightful. I did not grow up around religion, and as a result, I wasn’t able to appreciate or understand how the teachings and customs were relevant in modern society. My view on this has now changed after completion of this course. The message of peace and forgiveness that Orthodox Christianity teaches is very relevant in todays’ world.

I thoroughly enjoyed your engaging teaching style and the way you spoke with such passion & enthusiasm for the Orthodox faith. I was captivated by your interpretation of the Adam & Eve story from the last lesson, where the Orthodox Fathers interpret it allegorically and not just literally. I also took comfort in learning that the Orthodox faith is a peaceful religion, where the priests cannot engage in acts of war or violence. I did not previously understand that the Crusades and other acts of violence throughout history associated with Christianity were more aligned with Catholicism rather than Orthodoxy.

I found learning about the origins of the Church incredibly interesting and how the good message was spread from there onwards. I also resonated with the teachings of spirituality & meditation that you spoke of in the fourth lesson and how opening yourself up to feel God allows you to feel inner peace.

This course has inspired me to continue my learning path into the Orthodox faith and spirituality in general. It has also helped me to understand and connect with the customs of Anastasia’s family in a much deeper way than before.

From Anastasia:

I attended the lessons alongside Dave and just wanted to add my thanks to his message above. I have grown up in a Greek Orthodox family where we discuss religion and observe traditions. I also attended an Anglican school and it wasn’t until doing this course that I realised just how much of my understanding of Christianity (and importantly those factors that are different to Orthodoxy) had been influenced by this. I now have a much better understanding of the Orthodox faith that is built on love, faith and forgiveness.

I did not previously realise that the original New Testament was originally written in Greek or just how the culture and history of the time is intertwined as a result.  I appreciated your “common sense” approach where you acknowledged that the Bible is not always literal and that it is not for each individual to just interpret in their own way. Especially where you discussed the difference between faith, rituals and religion.

It was nice being able to introduce Dave into our religion and culture through this course.  I also have, and will continue to forward the videos on. It is such a great way to spread the information and open up topics for further discussion amongst friends and family.

Athena 

I wanted to start off by saying a big thank you for the lessons you have provided. You are so thorough and so insightful and I genuinely maintained interest in every lesson that was given to us to do – my notebook is FULL of your words and knowledge.

There are many things I have learnt over the past weeks which I have in turn shared with Joseph and my family. Coming from a Catholic background, I feel as though I was always just a Catholic because I was born into a Catholic family and baptised. Besides the fact that Joseph and I are planning to get married soon, I wholeheartedly and personally choose and want to be baptised as a Greek Orthodox Christian. I did not want to just want to partake in the lessons simply to just sign the paperwork, I wanted to take it seriously and fully immerse myself in the teachings which is what I feel like I did.

Taking this journey on as an adult has opened my eyes so much more to understanding the history and the way of life according to Jesus, things that I would not have understood as a child. I am excited for the next step to be baptised and this journey I am partaking. Thanking you again for this experience and the knowledge you have shared.

Giselle 

As I have been on this journey, I have noticed a big change in how I see myself and others. Letting go of the artificial world and shedding of my ego and pride in the last year has given me great peace and I just pray and wish the rest of the world could let go of these prideful and materialists things.

I see many things going on in the world that are in the Bible. I know there is a spiritual war going on. Learning how to survive in the world is a challenge. Seems like faith is the only way out.

Just a little bit about me and how I came to the church. I have always had a relationship with God. Even from a young age I knew he was there and had blessed me with a talent which I would then turn into a career. Long story short… I was in a very dark place in my life… I then prayed to God for help. And he showed up through a friend of mine. He led me to this faith and the church has become a hospital for me. Putting my faith in Jesus and our God’s hands has been lifesaving and changing for me. A year later I am still on this journey much healed and learning everyday more and more. Awaiting my baptism.

So, thank you for these lessons. So much more to learn. I really did enjoy the tour of the church the most. I have felt like a fish out of water sometimes in the Church because I haven’t really had this presentation. I found this really insightful…