The Canon to St Sisoës the Great

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We celebrated the memory of St Sisoës the Great on 6/19 July, a few weeks ago. At that time I’d not formatted his canon, but having done so for personal use, I’ll share it here, as others might find it useful.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Canon, in Tone VIII

Ode I, Irmos: Let us chant unto the Lord, Who led His people through the Red Sea, for He alone hath gloriously been glorified.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

By thy prayers enliven me who am done to death by the passions, O father, interceding with great boldness now before the Life of the living.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Rejecting the love of the flesh, O father, with divine desire thou didst follow after Him Who crieth out to thee with love, O blessed Sisoës.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Receiving the immaterial radiance within thy heart, O father, thou wast illumined and didst drive away the gloom of all the passions.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O all-immaculate one who gavest birth unto the Saviour, the Peace of all: save me who am tempest-tossed by the storm of all the passions.

Ode III, Irmos: Thou art the confirmation of those who have recourse to Thee, O Lord; Thou art the light of the benighted; and my spirit doth hymn Thee.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Mightily didst thou subject thy flesh to thy mind, O venerable one, and didst show thy soul to be free of slavery to the passions.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

With thy pangs thou didst plough well the furrow of thy soul, O wise and venerable one, and didst grow the grain of dispassion and miracles.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou wast clad in the mortality of Christ, the Bestower of life, O venerable one, and didst follow in His steps. Wherefore, He giveth thee the grace to raise up the dead.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O pure one, we hymn thee as a place of sanctification and the noetic table which received Christ the Bread, the Life of all.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Sessional Hymn, Tone IV: Thou didst adorn thy life with abstinence; and having mortified thy members, didst triumph over the onslaughts of the passions, O blessed Sisoës, and didst pass over to everlasting life in God, as a worthy heir to His kingdom. Wherefore, cease thou never to pray that our souls be saved.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion: O pure Ever-virgin, thou fervent and invincible intercessor, renowned and unashamed hope, thou rampart, shelter and haven for those who have recourse unto thee: With the angels beseech thy Son and God, that He grant peace to the world, salvation and great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesdays and Fridays): By the Cross of thy Son, O thou who art full of the grace of God, the deception of idolatry hath been wholly put to shame, and the might of the demons hath been trampled down. Wherefore, as is meet, we, the faithful, ever hymn and bless thee; and confessing thee to be in truth the Theotokos, we magnify thee.

Ode IV, Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the mystery of Thy dispensation; I have understood Thy works, and have glorified Thy divinity.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

With the rain of grace, O father, thou hast poured forth rivers of wonders, cleansing from defilement those who with faith have recourse unto thee, O blessed one.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Having thoroughly cleansed thy soul with all-night entreaties and day-long standings, O venerable one, thou didst show it to be a dwelling-place of the Trinity.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

In flight thou didst betake thyself to the desert places, O father, waiting upon Him Who saved thee from faint-heartedness and affliction.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Habakkuk of old foresaw thee as an unquarried mountain, O all-immaculate one, whence God appeared Who hath renewed us who are corrupted.

Ode V, Irmos: Waking at dawn, we cry to Thee: Save us, O Lord! For Thou art our God, and we know none other than Thee.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

As a temple of the three-Sunned Godhead, thou didst cast down the passions of thy soul as though they were graven images.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Having slain the wisdom of thy flesh, O God-bearer, thou didst raise up the dead through the activity of the Spirit.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou wast shown to be a dispeller of unclean spirits, O father; for thou wast a pure abode of the Holy Spirit.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

As thou gavest birth unto the never-setting Sun, O Theotokos, enlighten me who am wholly darkened by the passions.

Ode VI, Irmos: Cleanse me, O Saviour, for many are my transgressions; and lead me up from the abyss of evils, I pray, for to Thee have I cried, and Thou hast hearkened to me, O God of my salvation.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Thou didst escape being destroyed by the noetic whale, O father, having acquired abstinence, prayer, unfeigned love, mighty humility and steadfast love for Christ.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Our mighty God directed thy steps toward Himself and manifestly gave thee the strength to trample down serpents and crush the heads of scorpions, O all-blessed God-bearer.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

By thine inclination towards God, thou wast manifestly deified, becoming light by thine all-embracing love for the Lord, O God-bearing father, thou earthly angel and heavenly man.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O Mary, thou pure vessel of ­virginity, cleanse thou my mind of the darkness of the passions, and fill my heart with grace and righteousness, O all-immaculate one.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Kontakion, in Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Thou hast appeared today…”: Having struggled, thou wast seen to be an angel on the earth, O venerable one, ever illumining the thoughts of the faithful with divine signs. Wherefore, we honour thee with faith, O Sisoës.

Ode VII, Irmos: In the furnace the Hebrew children boldly trod the flame underfoot and transformed the fire into dew, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

With a pure mind thou didst receive all the radiance of the Spirit, and didst become a beacon for those who cry out with faith: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever! 

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

With a pure mind thou didst receive all the radiance of the Spirit, and didst become a beacon for those who cry out with faith: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever! 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

With the divine fire of abstinence didst thou utterly consume the tinder of sin, and thou didst pass over into the noetic light, crying out: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O Mother of the Saviour, save me who am held fast in the abyss of transgressions, and rescue me from all the malice of the enemy, that, saved, I may magnify thine aid.

Ode VIII, Irmos: Madly did the Chaldæan tyrant heat the furnace sevenfold for the pious ones; but, beholding them saved by a higher Power, he cried out to the Creator and Deliverer: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Abiding in unceasing prayers and entreaties, thou didst drive the gloom of the passions from thy soul, and didst cleanse thy mind’s eye. Wherefore, thou wast vouchsafed to behold the future prophetically, O Sisoës, piously crying Aloud: Ye people, exalt the Lord supremely forever!

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Like an angel didst thou dwell in thy body, O venerable one and thou didst vanquish legions of the adversary. Wherefore, with gladness, O father, thou hast made thine abode in immaterial life, where the ranks of the angels dwell, and with them thou dost cry out: Hymn the Lord, ye priests; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

By thy sacred prayers unto God cleanse thou my soul, which hath dried up through the passions, and deliver me from the captivity which holdeth me fast, O God-bearing father, that I may cry out in a pure manner: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Sanctified by the Spirit, thou didst receive the Creator of human nature in thy womb, and didst ineffably give birth unto Him, O pure Maiden. Lauding Him unceasingly, we chant: Ye children, bless; ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!

Ode IX, Irmos: Every ear trembleth to hear of the ineffable condescension of God, for the Most High willingly came down even to the flesh, becoming man through the Virgin’s womb. Wherefore we, the faithful, magnify the all-pure Theotokos.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

An awesome wonder took place at the very moment of thy repose; for thy countenance shone forth more brightly than the sun, and choirs of angels arrived to receive thy soul and bear it to the three-Sunned Light.

Venerable Father, Sisoës, pray to God for us.

Delighting in divine beauties, and deified in partaking thereof, illumined with the radiant splendours which issue forth therefrom, O blessed one, by thine entreaties deliver from the dark destruction of the passions those who faithfully honour thy light-bearing memory, O wise one.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Abstaining from all evil, O father, thou wast righteous, blameless, venerable, guileless, and obedient unto God in thy holiness. Wherefore, the Trinity abode within thy heart, in Whom thou now dost radiantly delight, O right wondrous one.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

There is no salvation for me because of my deeds, O all-immaculate one; for, having trodden the wrong path, I have been filled with darkness. But as thou didst shine forth upon us light from the Light, enlighten and save me, and disdain me not who am grievously perishing.

Troparion, Tone I: A desert-dweller, an angel in the flesh and a wonderworker wast thou shown to be, O our God-bearing father Sisoës. For, having acquired heavenly gifts through fasting, vigilance and prayer, thou dost heal the infirm and the souls of those who have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him Who gave thee strength! Glory to Him Who hath crowned thee! Glory to Him Who worketh healings for all through thee!

 

Thanks and News: Monday 3 August.

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Dear brothers and sisters.

Despite fewness in numbers, Sunday saw was a great collaboration in Cardiff to keep parish life going over the quiet holiday period. Thanks to Joanna and Nataliya for their impressive preparation of trapéza on the trolley, given the lack of volunteers with certification to use the kitchen. It was an impressive shared lunch, and we are grateful for all who kindly made offerings.

After three trips to London over the past month, it was good to be back in Cardiff, having been in the cathedral for Kolya and Victoria’s wedding the previous weekend, and for the marriage of our former student Jelena and husband, Laurinas, a few weeks before. We congratulate the newly-weds and pray that God may grant them many, blessed years of married life, together.

The visits to London have allowed some very welcome time with Vladyka, and I am very pleased to announce that he has blessed us to be freed of the obligation to submit last year’s diocesan dues, allowing us to add £1,296 to our building fund, boosting it considerably. Additionally, in the last few days, Father Paul’s parish have donated 20% of a donation they received, adding another £300 to our steadily rising total, which now stands at £106,286: meaning that we have raised 89% of the total goal. This is an amazing achievement, and we are happily in the home-straight!

Please continue to spread the word, as we’re not there yet and still have a short distance to go, needing us all to promote the fundraiser and support it in any way possible.

Thanks are due to Joanna, Sasha and Joseph, who spent much of the feast of the Kazan Icon moving donated furniture and church equipment from Treherbert to Pontypridd, and were are indebted to the Pontypridd Methodists for storing things for us, even paying insurance. The kindness and generosity we have received, thus far, is humbling and truly inspiring.

Further to committee discussions, we have decided that in the current quiet summer season, with so many people away, we will concentrate our services around the feasts that fall in August.

As you will be aware, we face transport and accommodation costs each time we have back to back weekday services, and all obviously adds up. As with Sunday, the costs remain the same whether we have five people or forty people, and we need to balance pastoral provision and practicalities as we look forward to our new place of worship, and try to save funds to add to our moving costs.

As I have to travel to Warminster on Friday, we will have our usual 15:00 service in the Oratory, but there will be no Thursday evening service this week. Our Warminster Liturgy will be celebrated in the chapel of St Lawrence at 10:30 on Saturday morning.

As we are in such a quiet period, I will take annual leave from Monday 10th until Friday 14th August, though I will explore the possibility of a Liturgy for the feast of the All-Merciful Saviour in Father Luke’s chapel on the Friday. Father Luke will be away in Italy, so we ask your prayers for him and his family on their travels.

Father Sebastian is India and the moment, but I will ask for provisional use of the Lady Chapel in the Oratory Church for the Transfiguration on Wednesday 6/19 August and the Dormition on Friday 15/28 August. We will seek to celebrate vespers on the eves of these feasts.

Should our much-anticipated church move happen in the meantime, we will announce any necessary changes.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and for checking how things are going with my shoulder and arm. Praise God, all is improving very well, which I am sure is largely through the prayers of Saint Winefride. My left arm and shoulder remain very weak, so I am somewhat limited in movement and practical activities, for the moment, but with God’s help and exercises from the hospital, things will improve.

Given the constant movement of people and so much travelling at the moment, may I remind you all that we need to be spiritually prepared for our holidays, as well as being materially prepared. An icon, a prayerbook and a prayer-rope are just as important as our travel documents, clothing and holiday supplies. We need to plan in advance, realising that our usual prayer-rule may be a challenge, and we may need to prepare a spiritual contingency plan, so that our prayers and spiritual life continue, even if this necessitates some modification. We should check for local Orthodox parishes, if we are travelling somewhere with an Orthodox presence.

The crucial thing is that holidays are NOT an excuse to stop praying and being an observant Orthodox Christian. We need to do our best to maintain the spiritual life, even if we still fall short of what we would like to be doing. Whether at home or travelling, we must do our very best.

Asking your prayers, and forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

A Peaceful Haven of Prayer: a Tribute to the Little Oratory

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We are very blessed to be able to celebrate Small Compline in Nazareth House each week, but are rather swallowed up in its vastness. Now, with the return of Newman Hall to the loving care of the Oratorian Fathers, I hope and pray that the Little Oratory created by the provost, Father Sebastian from an ambulance garage, may once again become a place of weekday Orthodox prayer and worship, accessible to students and young people, once the parish has moved out of town to its much-anticipated new place of worship.

Father took a bare brick building, and with sensitivity and an eye for detail transformed it into a beautiful chapel, with an altarpiece made from repurposed fragments from a Victorian Catholic Church in Bridgend, with beautiful painted archangels enshrined within the gothic wooden tracery.

The seven lamps flickering above the altar, the candles burning on the votive stand, the icon of Our Lady of Walsingham with its votive lamp, and the flowers always adorning the Oratory, showed that this was a much loved place of constant prayer and devotion.

Through the kindness and support of the then chaplains, the Little Oratory became the hub for our own chaplaincy (not connected to the “University Interfaith Chaplaincy”!) for our student parishioners.

I was reflecting this morning on what an important place this little chapel occupied in our parish life from the time of our move from the Greek Church until the Oratorian Fathers left the chaplaincy.

Our first Cathays Liturgy was in the Little Oratory, before our move into the church, across the carpark, several weeks later, but despite the move, the Little Oratory continued to be a much loved place of prayer for us, actually becoming our parish base during the covid lockdown and the subsequent period, replete with icons on their analogia, and always smelling of beeswax and Greek incense!

The Kursk-Root icon of the Mother of God was received and venerated within its walls, and even when Sunday Liturgies were celebrated in the chaplaincy building, the services of the Hours and our feast day Liturgies were celebrated in the Little Oratory with the accompaniment of buzzing bees in the flower border outside the door, the scent of lavender and the sound of the much missed chickens – so loved by the children!

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas there, with Father Sebastian insisting that Christmas lunch must be in the refectory of Newman Hall, opposite, with its wonderfully traditional Christmas tree and candelabra on the tables – a candlelight trapeza to never be forgotten. Parishioners cherish memories of the summer and autumn great feasts with their early Liturgies in the Little Oratory, with the herbaceous borders heavy with dew, and a little nip in the air, as we went to have a parish breakfast in the library.

Fridays saw the celebration of Small Compline, and Saturdays the chanting of Great Vespers, followed by a shared supper, with Magnus lurking, ready to steal homemade bread during confessions. Such an odd feline!

I particularly appreciated the Little Oratory as a place of monastic prayer, especially vespers on Sunday afternoon, when quiet descended after a busy day, and at night, when Magnus would give me feline company until he got bored of Psalms and went away intending nighttime prey, rather than pray. 

For those of us who know and love Walsingham, the Little Oratory, with its brick walls and beautiful altarpiece reminded us of the Holy House.

Some Cardiff parishioners will remember the icon of Our Lady of Walsingham, commissioned by Dr Woolf, that previously faced the door. Though the icon moved to St Alban’s with the Oratorian Fathers, we look forward yo making the Walsingham Akathist to the Mother of God a constant prayer in the Little Oratory, once more, praying that it may once again become a Holy House to the Mother of God in Cardiff.

In sharing the news of the return of Newman Hall to Oratorian care, Father Sebastian titled the news ‘Second Spring at Newman’, and I was very much minded of the words from the Song of Solomon, the basis for a Psalm antiphon in the Latin Vespers of our Lady, especially given that the Little Oratory was so very obviously a place devoted to the Mother of God, of which the prophetic verses figuratively speak…

“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.”

When her sacred icon returns to the Little Oratory, we look forward to gazing upon the beauty of that countenance!

 

Make haste to follow the Lord, and lay aside all earthly cares

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A homily preached by Hieromonk Mark in the London Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the Gospel pericope for this eighth Sunday after Pentecost we encounter one of two miraculous feedings of the multitudes. Sadly, some antagonists mistakenly conclude that the differences in the two narratives are contradictions which somehow undermine the credibility of the Gospels, considering them to be nothing more than jumbled different versions of some figurative and symbolic storytelling, rather than miraculous, real and salvific events.

However, the Gospels are actually quite clear that these are separate miracles, and though they are loaded with layers of profound symbolism, they are not some sort of figurative myth or parable. The feeding of the five thousand recorded in all four Gospels, and the feeding of the four thousand, recorded in Matthew chapter 15, are separate, distinct, historic, miraculous events.

The fact that both centre on the common theme of the distribution of loaves and fishes, need not worry us or indicate any confusion of events, given that this was standard street food of the time, and we learn from St John’s record of this miracle that the loaves were barley loaves, cheap and rough peasant food, available on any street corner, carried as a packed lunch by ordinary people.

As we contemplate the events that unfold before us, it is often the case that we rush forward to the miracle itself. However, we can profit by spiritually contemplating the people themselves, and asking ourselves how we could and should be like them.

We should recognise that the inconvenience and the lack of preparedness and planning in this episode essentially stems from the fact that at the end of the day – quite literally – the physical hunger of the people was a consequence of their spiritual hunger in following the Lord into the wilderness to press Him to teach them, and be spiritually nourished by the Gospel, for though St Matthew speaks only of the healing miracles performed by the Lord, St Luke’s wrote that “He received them, and spake unto them of the Kingdom of God”, and St Mark is clear in recording that the Lord was teaching and instructing the multitude: feeding them spiritually, even as they began to grow weak, hungry and tired from lack of physical sustenance.

And, as the day went on and they began to hunger and grow weak, we might say that they were already fulfilling the Lord’s teaching, recorded by the Evangelist Matthew, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink… But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” To repeat, St Luke’s tells us before performing this great miracle, that He spoke to them of that very Kingdom.

In the lack of provisions and preparedness of those following and listening to Jesus, we might even say that they were already embracing the spirit of the Cherubic Hymn, in laying aside all earthly cares to encounter the King of All, and in doing so took no thought for bodily sustenance as they followed the Saviour into the wastes and wilds.

Even as the Lord was seeking solitude after the death of his kinsman, John the Baptist, the spiritually hungry crowds were seeking words of everlasting life, following him in great droves as news of his retreat into the desert spread rapidly by word of mouth.

They already knew the pressing news of the moment, that Herod had executed the Forerunner, and perhaps even sensed what the Church Fathers touch upon: that the Lord was escaping from Herod’s blood lust and paranoic fear, “because His hour was not yet come”.

Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid instructs us, “Jesus departed on account of Herod’s bloodthirstiness… For if Herod had seized Jesus, he would have attempted to kill Him…” and those who followed the Lord, must have been aware of this danger, knowing and understanding that Jesus was being watched and observed, suspected by the collaborationist Jewish powers, despised as a threat to the religious status quo, to the authority of the Sanhedrin and the Temple, and the authority of the Pharisees and the rabbis.

Already in the preceding chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, we have encountered the Saviour opposed by the Gerasenes after exorcising the demoniac man who lived in the tombs; accused of blasphemy for proclaiming the forgiveness of sins; attacked for healing on the sabbath; the accusation that the He cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub; and the fourth chapter of the Gospel has already set the scene, in telling us that already, “His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them. And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.”

Those who hungered at the end of the day, having listened to the Saviour’s preaching, and seen their loved ones healed, were part of this tide of humanity, and they most likely knew that not simply their association, but their determination in following Him into this desert place, to hear His teachings, could easily be considered heretical and seditious, but any associated danger did not put them off or dull their determination.

As St John Chrysostom comments, “but so the multitudes do not withdraw themselves from Him, but they follow, riveted to Him, and not even John’s tragic end alarmed them. So great a thing is earnest desire, so great a thing is love; in such wise does it overcome and dispel all dangers.”

Love and spiritual desire caused these crowds to forget all thought of food, all concern about hunger, all personal need.” They were already heeding the Saviour words, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? …for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” (Matthew 6:31, 33)

And, when we come to the miracle itself, the location of this wondrous act, far from settlements, markets, vendors and food would provide no occasion for accusation or doubt.

St John Chrysostom stresses that, “He leads them into the wilderness, that the miracle might be very far beyond suspicion, and that no one might think that any village lying near contributed ought to the meal.”

There is no easy answer to this hungry situation: no market sellers, no road-side food. The multitudes are totally reliant on the Lord’s intervention, through the self-same compassion which led the Him to heal those sick and possessed they brought to Him.

He was, of course, already well aware of the situation when the disciples came and said, “This is a desert place, and the time is now late; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.” And when He said to the disciples, “They need not depart; you give them to eat”, He was equally well aware that there was nothing more than five rough loaves, little more than bread rolls, and two small fish, possibly salted opsaria, a garnish of a few bites, little more than sprats.

What did the disciples and the crowds think as He gave instructions for the organised seating of the people, ready to be fed, in groups of hundreds and fifties, according to the Evangelist Luke?

They had already seen Him work miracles and heal the sick. Just in the preceding chapters of Matthew we have encountered the healings of the leper, of the centurion’s servant, of Peter’s mother-in-law; the calming of the storm on Lake Galilee; the restoration of two demon-possessed men; the forgiveness and healing of the paralyzed man; the raising of a sick girl; the healing of the woman with an issue of blood; and, the healing of a blind man and a mute.

All were ready for miracles, indeed, they had seen miracles that very day in the healing of their sick, but we might say that this present miracle stands out, looking both backwards and forwards, in as much as this it is one supremely manifested in sharing and fellowship, a sign of the New Covenant, even as it echoes the old.

The mention of the Passover season in St John’s account, gives us a hint of the exodus, and the Lord’s provision of heavenly manna to sustain the Israelites in the wilderness, just as the Lord feeds the multitude in this latter day wilderness, but in this shared meal with the ancient eucharistic symbols of bread and fish (the fish subsequently becoming a symbol of the Lord, Himself) the shared experience of grace points forward to the future sacred fellowship of the Church.

This miracle and all of the previous ones that had established the Lord’s reputation as a wonderworker, are signs of Him, not only as sustainer of all, but as Creator Who, “looking up to heaven, blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”, so that not only are people fed, but they are full, and not only are they full, but there are twelve baskets of leftovers. We should be neither uncomfortable in the face of sceptics, nor surprised, the Pre-Eternal Word, Who created heaven and earth and all that therein is, performed a great creative act in order to feed the people.

As in the history of creation, “in the beginning”, He could have performed this miracle, ex nihilo – from nothing – but the depth of the miracle’s meaning lies in the fact that the Lord performs this miraculous act using the ridiculously little that humanity had to offer in this isolated and deserted place.

When the Lord was in the wilderness, being tempted after His baptism, even the devil – in testing Who He was – suggested that He could make bread out of stones, but, here, the Lord performs the miracle using whatever little the people have to offer. As such, humanity is in its own tiny and almost ridiculous way a participator in the great wonder performed.

From an embarrassingly small offering the Lord created far more than was needed, and whilst not doubting the historicity of the miraculous event, this should encourage us to see a far broader spiritual depth and meaning in the Lord’s wondrous works, as we recognise and understand that whatever each of us has to bring the Lord in the offering of our lives may be seemingly unspectacular and lack-lustre, yet our Lord and Creator is able to make something truly wondrous and spiritual significant, if we offer ourselves and our gifts to Him in humility, in willingness, selflessness and faith. We, as poor chaff filled barley loaves, and small fry of little significance, can be transformed and created anew by the Lord, according to His plan, purpose and will.

But for this to become possible, reflecting on the Gospel of this wondrous miracle, we must be determined and fearless in our willingness to not only follow the Lord, but to pursue Him to ends of the earth and the end of our earthly days, ignoring all threats and dangers, overcoming all inconveniences and obstacles, zealous to hear His life-giving words, seeking to be made whole, to be touched by His Divine Grace, and in so doing be able to offer ourselves and all that we have into His hands as our Creator, Fashioner, and our God.

And when, every day, we pray, “give us this day our daily bread”, we must do so with total faith in the Lord’s power to give us everything we need, even to do what is seemingly impossible, never doubting His providence, mercy, and incomprehensible and immeasurable love, through which He gives far more than we could ever merit or deserve.

Amen.

Parish News

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Dear brothers and sisters,
 
A blessed and happy feast of Saints Peter and Fevronia to all of our married couples! Many, blessed years to you all, unto salvation and the Kingdom of Heaven! May the Holy Wonderworkers intercede for you in joy and sorrow, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, and be your spiritual protectors and companions to the gates of the Kingdom. С праздником!
 
Last Sunday in Tremorfa was a rather quiet, and thin on numbers, but it was a prayerful ending to a blessed few days that saw a group of parishioners make a pilgrimage to Wallasey and Holywell.
 
After the experience of Georgia, it was a joy to be on pilgrimage again, joining our brothers and sisters in Wallasey to celebrate the feast of St John the Wonderworker, and to have the blessing of a visit to Holywell, with the infectious energy of our young pilgrims making the slightly less young feel invigorated and a little more youthful. 
 
Many thanks to Father Paul and his community for such warm hospitality, and to our starosta, Joanna, for organising and coordinating such a wonderful visit.
 
May God have mercy upon us and bless us, through the prayers of our holy father, John the Wonderworker, of our Venerable Mother, Winefride, and of all the saints.
 
We will have our usual service of Small Compline in Nazareth House, at 18:00, tomorrow – the feast of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God – and I will be available to hear confessions before and after the service.
 
As Friday will give me the very rare opportunity to spend s little time with my nephew, there will be no afternoon service in the Oratory Church, as I will take advantage of the opportunity of a lift to Warminster, where our July Wessex Liturgy will be celebrated on Saturday in the Chapel of St Lawrence, at 10:30. Given the unveiling of one of a number of dinosaurs (that are gracing the town) on the chapel lawn, there may be a succession of little feet making their way to what the late Bishop Kallistos referred to as the “House of Comfort”, but I’m sure we can cope, and will be glad that there will be extra visitors being made aware of the lovely chapel.
 
As I have to be in London on Sunday, for the marriage of our former student, Jelena, Father Mark will be sole priest for Liturgy, so those who confessed in preparation for communion last Sunday are also blessed to commune this coming weekend.
 
As Sunday is the feast of St Peter and Paul, it is hoped that trapéza can be a festive lunch, and Joanna will be pleased to receive offers of food for the table as we break the fast (as Branka will also be away in London for the wedding).
 
We ask your prayers for the repose of the newly-departed handmaiden of God, Natalia, who reposed on Monday, in St Petersburg. A litia will be offered for her repose at the end of Sunday’s Liturgy.
 
Looking forward to Tuesday 21 July, it is my hope to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the summer feast of the Kazan Icon in the Oratory Church, though of necessity this will need to be in the Lady Chapel, as our usual side chapel is full of scaffolding during building work. Having discussed the Liturgy with Father Sebastian, I will share details with you.
 
Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
 
May God bless you.
 
Hieromonk Mark
 

 

Praying the Psalms According to the Traditions of the Church

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For many of us, the English language Psalms in our heads, are those from Holy Trinity Monastery’s “Psalter According to the Seventy” – and for many years, the Boston translation was the standard one in our ROCOR services. Despite some enigmatic and opaque verses, the “Boston Psalter” is part of the spiritual consciousness of many Orthodox people. However, one great frustration was that it did not contain the traditional troparia and prayers of the Slavonic Psalter, for prayer in the home or monastic cell, especially for keeping solitary vigil, or with one or two companions in prayer.
 
The Monastery of the Transfiguration, in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, had a booklet of the kathisma hymns and prayers, but for those of us used to traditional liturgical English texts, the language was a challenge. 
 
Zoom forward nearly four decades, and we are blessed with the “Psalter For Prayer”, based on the Coverdale translation, complete with the prayers before snd after reading the Psalms, the troparia of compunction, and Kathisma prayer at the end if each section. 
 
Whilst the default wording for many of us remains the old HTM translation, the wonderful Jordanville Psalter is a massive blessing in giving the traditional materials for reading the Psalms prayerfully in the home or monastic cell, making it one of the most important spiritual texts for a believer to have together with tgeir Bible and prayerbook.
 
I have been so glad that parishioners – particularly young ones – are so receptive to praying the Psalter, particularly during Great Lent and Advent, when the prayer-team reads the Psalter in its entirety every day, and encourage everyone to buy the Psalter for Prayer, with the traditional hymns and prayers for the Cell Rule, and the rule of the Twelve Psalms referred to in today’s earlier blog  post.
 
For those unfamiliar with the tradition, here are the prayers and hymn that follow the first kathisma of the Psalter: “Blessed is the man…”
After the First Kathisma, the Trisagion Prayers, and these troparia, in Tone I:
 
Conceived in iniquities, prodigal that I am, I dare not gaze upon the heights of heaven; yet, confident of Thy love for mankind, I cry: O God, cleanse me and save me, a sinner!
 
If the righteous man can hardly be saved, where shall I, a sinner, find myself? I have not borne the burdens and heat of the day; yet, number me among them that were hired at the eleventh hour, O God, and save me!
 
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
 
Make haste to open unto me Thy Fatherly embrace, for as the Prodigal I have wasted my life. In the unfailing wealth of Thy mercy, O Saviour, reject not my heart in its poverty, for with compunction I cry unto Thee, O Lord: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee.
 
Both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
 
O most holy Virgin, hope of Christians, with the heavenly hosts unceasingly entreat God, to Whom thou gavest birth in manner past understanding and recounting, that He grant remission of sins and amendment of life unto all of us who with faith and love ever honor thee.
 
Lord, have mercy. (40) 
 
And this Prayer: O Master, Almighty, Unapproachable, Origin of light, and Power beyond comprehension, Who art the Father of the hypostatic Word, and from Whom came forth the Spirit Who is one with Thee in power; Who, for the sake of the mercy of Thy loving-kindness and Thine ineffable goodness, hast not scorned human nature, which is held fast in the darkness of sin, but hast illumined the world with the divine beacons of Thy sacred teachings, the Law and the Prophets; Who in latter times wast well pleased for Thine only-begotten Son to shine forth upon us in the flesh and guide us to the effulgence of Thy glorious light, may Thine ears be attentive unto the voice of our supplication; and grant, O Lord, that we may pass the whole night of this present life with a vigilant and watchful heart, awaiting the coming of Thy Son and our God, the Judge of all. And may we, without having lain down to sleep, but keeping vigil and upright, enter together into His joy, where the voice is unending of them that behold the ineffable beauty of Thy face. For Thou art a good God and the Lover of mankind, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
 
There are different local traditions, with different texts, with the Cherubim Press having published the Psalter with the hymns and prayers according to the tradition of the Athonite monastery of Pantokrator. However, it’s not the greatest English for prayer purposes, though I may just find it jarring as a British man used to traditional liturgical English.
 
I hope that we might have some input here from brothers and sisters who use the St Tikhon’s Press Psalter, and share their experience. Please share with us!
 
Whichever texts we use, according to different local traditions and languages,  the hymns and prayers greatly enrich our chanting of the Psalter, and its place in our spiritual journeys of prayer and repentance.
 

 

 

 

A Relic of Ancient Monastic Worship Tucked Away in the Back of the Psalter

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If we were able to transport ourselves to the ancient monastic thebaïd of Egypt, many of us would be surprised, if not shocked by the austerity and “bareness” of those primitive monastic services – so different from our expectations, shaped by the subsequent development of Byzantine Liturgy.

Our current practices are very much a result of the fusion of monastic and cathedral rites, with the psalmody and primitive features of prayer supplemented by the hymnographic  riches that have developed in the ensuing centuries, with the development of troparia, kontakia, stichera and canons. But, before the centuries in which monastics were resistant to these “innovations”, there was a time when these riches did not even exist, and the sole hymnographic treasury was the Psalter.

It is odd to imagine vespers without the stichera we sing on “Lord, I have cried…” or matins without the canons, yet that was the reality.

When we look at compline or the hours, we can get a general idea of worship consisting almost solely of Psalms, with a minimum of supplementary hymnody. When we think about Great Compline, the ancient pattern is amplified in the stases of Psalms which are still more or less the totality of the service.

Whilst our Byzantine rite now has rich layers of hymnography, often interspersed with hymns, the Coptic rite still preserves a more primitive feamework, in which the Psalter – interspersed with hymns and prayers – IS the Horologion, with all 150 Psalms are chanted each day, more often than not in sets of twelve Psalms.

St John Cassian the Roman tells us that this order was revealed by an angel who appeared in the form of a venerable elder whilst monastics were disputing how many Psalms should be chanted during their synaxis of prayer. The “elder” started chanting Psalms and upon completing the twelfth, he chanted alleluia, and then vanished. The monks understood that this was a heavenly revelation, and twelve Psalm services became the pattern of celebration.

In Great Russian editions of both Old and New Rites we find a relic of this desert practice as a continued and approved part our living sacred tradition.

Towards the end of the Psalter, we find

“The Rite for Singing the Twelve Psalms, Which the venerable fathers of the desert were wont to sing day and night; concerning which, account is found in the books of the fathers and in the lives and sufferings of many saints. This rite was brought to Russia from the Holy Mountain by Dositheus, Archimandrite of the Kiev Caves.”

The said Dositheus was superior of the monastery from 1289 to 1292.

This ancient order, not mentioned in any liturgical typikon, still contained in the Psalter published by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, and it is not some extinct, dusty relic, but an important part of the living tradition of Orthodox prayer.

Coptic tradition continues to vary the Psalms between the different services of the day, but have become fixed in our order of the Twelve Psalms.

However, this order is still considered a valid aspect of prayer in sketes and hermitages, where stress is upon silence and inner-prayer, as well as in its use by pious lay-people and here we should be clear that the Twelve Psalms are offered as LITURGICAL prayer, in place of horologion services. Though the stress is on the Psalter, there are also troparia and other prayers, with the order divided into three stases.

Psalm 26, Psalm 31, Psalm 56

Psalm 33, Psalm 38, Psalm 40

Psalm 69, Psalm 70, Psalm 76

Psalm 101
Prayer of Manesseh, King of Judah
Small Doxology and Prayer of St Eustratius

Each stasis is followed by the Trisagion prayers and penitential troparia on the Lord’s Prayer, before “Lord, have mercy” thirty times (or forty times in Lent), and in some places “More honourable than the cherubim…” and the lesser dismissal at the end of each stasis, before “O come, let us worship…” and the next cycle of Psalms.

During fasts, the prayer of St Ephrem follows ‘More honourable…’, and according to local practice this might be in each stasis, or just in the final one, before the dismissal.

According to ancient Russian tradition, the Twelve Psalms may replace matins and vespers (changing the Doxology to pray for a sinless evening rather than day), and in chanting this ancient liturgical synaxis, we engage with the ancient ways of monastic prayer and world of the desert fathers and mothers.

So… if you have a Slavonic Psalter, or the Jordanville English language Psalter, check the index and explore the ancient service of the Twelve Psalms, which might become a valuable addition to our home prayers, bringing greater structure and depth. Together with our prayer rule and readings, the Twelve Psalms can greatly enrich and strengthen our lives of prayer.

Reflections and News: Monday 15th June

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Thanks to those who contributed to our Sunday worship, coming together in a relatively small congregation, in rather a stark contrast to our planned Sunday, with the expected attendance of American pilgrims, who sadly were sent elsewhere (after our considerable planning of hospitality) by their US organiser. However, we were blessed by a deeply prayerful, quiet and contemplative Liturgy for the Sunday of All Saints who have shone forth in the lands of Rus’, and I am thankful to the Lord for such a prayerful celebration after having been blessed with an equally quiet and prayerful Liturgy the previous day, in Warminster. Thanks to our Wessex brothers and sisters.

Such services remind us that Faith is not about being flashy and impressive, and true parish life is not a numbers-game. Golden domes, fancy vestments and a fine choir do not make for authentic Orthodoxy, as modern history and the struggles of persecuted and catacomb Orthodoxy so clearly remind us.

Throughout the dark years of anti-religious oppression, our Russian Church Abroad felt deep a deep connection and brotherhood with those whose resistance to state-controlled Church life lead them to exchange the carefully monitored life of beautifully adorned temples and legal parishes for whispered Liturgies in cellars, thickly curtained domestic rooms, forest clearings and even prison settings.

“The Russian Orthodox Church Underground, 1917-1970” by William C. Fletcher, presents some admittedly dry but interesting details from KGB files describing raided settings for the prayer and worship of unofficial catacomb Orthodox communities, and I encourage the faithful to familiarise themselves with the stark reality of spiritual life for so many believers in the Soviet Union.

Equally, yesterday, I encouraged a spiritual child to familiarise herself with the life of St Sebastian of Optina and Karaganda, whose exile to Kazakhstan became the opportunity for apostolic labour and pastoral service to those also exiled to the Kazakh steppe.

Against all refusals, resistance and opposition, St Sebastian established a fervent, devout and spiritually-strong community, whose members made their parish and temple a bastion of Faith through their labours, sweat and tears.

This sacrifice, labour and self-giving is the basis on which we will build our own Orthodox presence as we move into our future temple in the coming months, and the hard work will then begin. The transformation and progress towards our completed vision may well be slow.

It will take time, money, labour and self-sacrifice, and in the intervening years we must not be ashamed of poverty or bareness, reflecting on the destitution of the confessing Church in the catacombs and gulag.

In God’s time, we will transform our building, knowing that adornments will be secondary to everything that goes in in our temple, which – in the Eucharistic Mystery – will be the place in which the Saviour, Himself, Who is both Priest and Sacrifice, will come to us and call us to Himself at those words, ‘With the fear of God and Faith, draw near.

This does not require fine icons, murals and a polyphonic choir, but a community united in Faith, and repentant hearts open to the love of God, manifested in the Holy Mysteries.

We can learn so much from the confessing Church, and today I am reflecting on the holy new-martyr, St Maxim of Serpukhov, the first catacomb bishop, to whom I referred in my homily.

He described Holy Week and Pascha in the gulag, and I hope that as the Cardiff ROCOR parish (NOT to be confused with the local parish of the Paris-based former Russian exarchate) looks forward to life in its own temple, as yet a promising but bare and empty building, we might contemplate how little we actually need for authentic Orthodoxy and life in Christ.

Having posted this extract before, I make no aplogies for doing so yet again, given the joyful, inspiring example of this memorial of poverty and externally imposed non-possession. 

“At Solovki we had several secret Catacomb “churches,” but our “favorites” were two: the “Cathedral Church” of the Holy Trinity, and the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

“The first was a small clearing in the midst of a dense forest in the direction of the “Savvaty” Assignment Area. The dome of this church was the sky, The wails were the birch forest. The church of St. Nicholas was located in the deep forest towards the “Muksolm” Assignment Area, It was a thicket naturally formed by seven large spruces. Most frequently the secret services were conducted only in the summer, on great feasts and, with special solemnity, on the Day of Pentecost. But sometimes, depending on circumstances, doubly secret services were celebrated also in other places.

Thus, for example, on Great Thursday of 1929, the service of the reading of the Twelve Gospels was celebrated in our physicians’ cell in the 10th Company, Vladika Victor and Fr. Nicholas came to us as if for disinfection. Then, catacomb style, they served the church service with the door bolted.

On Great Friday an order was read in all Companies informing that for the next three days no one would be allowed to leave the Companies after 8 p.m. save in exceptional circumstances and by special written permit of the Camp Commandant.

At 7 p.m. on Friday, when we physicians had just returned to our cells after a 12-hour workday, Fr. Nicholas came to us and told us that a Plashchanitsa (burial shroud with the image of Christ) the size of one’s palm had been painted by the artist R. The service-the rite of burial–was to be held and would begin in an hour. “Where?” Vladika Maxim asked. “In the great box for drying fish which is closest to the forest, next to Camp N. The password: three knocks and then two. It’s better to come one at a time.”

In half an hour Vladika Maxim and I left our Company and started out for the indicated “address.” Twice patrols asked for our permits. We, as physicians, had them. But what about the others?–Vladika Victor, Vladika Ilarion, Vladika Nektary, and Fr. Nicholas? Vladika Victor worked as-a bookkeeper in the rope factory. Vladika Nektary was a fisherman; and the others weaved nets. Here was the edge of the forest. Here was the box, about nine yards long, without windows, the door scarcely noticeable.

Light twilight, the sky covered with dark clouds. We knock three times and then twice. Fr. Nicholas opens. Vladika Victor and Vladika Ilarion are already here… In a few minutes Vladika Nektary also comes. The interior of the box has been converted into a church. On the floor, on the wails, spruce branches. Several candles flickering. Small paper icons. The small Plashanitsa is buried in green branches. Ten people have come to pray. Later another four or five come, of whom two are monks. The service begins, in a whisper. It seemed that we had no bodies, but were only souls. Nothing distracted or interfered with prayer… I don’t remember how we went “home,” i.e., to our Companies. The Lord covered us!

The bright service of Pascha was assigned to our physicians’ cell. Towards midnight under various urgent pretexts arranged by the section, without any kind of written permit, all who intended to come gathered, about fifteen people in all. After the Matins and Liturgy, we sat down and broke the fast. On the table were Paschal cake and cheese, colored eggs, cold dishes, wine (liquid yeast with cranberry extract and sugar). About three o’clock we parted.

Control rounds of our Company were made by the Camp Commandant before and after the services, at 11 p.m. and  4 a.m. Finding us four physicians headed by Vladika Maxim, on his last round, the Commandant said: “What doctors, you’re not sleeping?” And immediately he added: “Such a night…and one doesn’t want to sleep!” And he left.

“Lord Jesus Christ! We thank Thee for the miracle of Thy mercy and power,” pronounced Vladika Maxim movingly, expressing our common feelings.

The white night of Solovki was nearing its end. The delicate, rose-colored Paschal morning of Solovki, the sun playing for joy, greeted the monastery-concentration camp, converting it into the invisible city of Kitezh and filling our free Souls with a quiet, unearthly joy.”

Let us all be encouraged by such an example of determined Orthodoxy, striving for Faith against all odds, and despite every obstacle!

News

Today, Panagiotis has departed for the summer in Greece and we pray for a safe journey, and an enjoyable vacation.

We will chant Small Compline in Nazareth House on Thursday at 18:00, with the litia for the departed after our evening office.

At our Friday service, in the Oratory Church at 15:00, we will chant the akathist to the Life-Giving Cross.

Saturday: Our Gloucester Mission Liturgy will be celebrated in Prestbury United Reformed Church at 10:00, and will be followed by our usual bring-and-share lunch. Given that this week we will celebrate the feast of Saints Mary and Martha, the sisters of St Lazarus of the Four Days, and devoted female disciples of the Lord, we will honour them in our Cheltenham Liturgy, given the devotion, generosity and love of our wonderful sisters.

Our Sunday service in Cardiff returns to the normal time of 09:00, and we will celebrate the Synaxis of all the Saints who have shone forth in the British Isles, with a litia to the saints at the end of Liturgy.

I will depart for Glastonbury after our service, and look forward to extending our Synaxis of the Saints of the British Isles with the celebration of the Hours and Divine Liturgy next Monday morning in the Heavenly Path Art Gallery and Glastonbury School of Art (46A High St. Glastonbury, BA6 9DX). Bishop Irenei has blessed the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the small sanctuary that has been created there, so that the Liturgy can be offered in an Orthodox setting, in a place of not only great sacred-significance, but also of spiritual darkness, given the pagan and occult significance of modern-day Glastonbury.

Later, in our Monday evening service in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminter, we will chant the canon of the Synaxis of the Saints of the British Isle’s in Small Compline.

The morning Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00 and the evening service at 18:30. After such a wonderful Warminster Liturgy last weekend, it will be wonderful to end the month will a double celebration in Wessex!

July sees a group of parishioners make a pilgrimage to the parish of St Elizabeth, in Wallasey, with car-shares taking the faithful to Wallasey on Friday 3 July. We greatly look forward to celebrating the feast of St John the Wonderworker on Saturday 4 July with Father Paul and his lovely community.

Friday 17 July is the feast of the Holy Royal-Martyrs – the altar-feast of the lower cathedral sanctuary and the second anniversary of Father Mark’s priestly ordination. A group of us will head to Chiswick to celebrate this important feast with our bishop and brothers and sisters from different parts of the diocese.

I very much hope that as many parishioners as possible can work together to car-share and be part of the celebration.

Finally, let’s keep up our fundraising momentum and spread the word! Unlike others, we haven’t had a benefactor stump up the money and buy us a church. We’ve raised everything through effort and the wonderful generosity and kindness of individual donors. Let’s keep things moving!

www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-buy-a-church-for-our-orthodox-parish

Asking your forgiveness and prayers.

May God bless you all!

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark 

 

Parish News – 7th Sunday of Pascha

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Dear brothers and sisters, happy feast and again, happy nameday to our Alexanders! S prazdnikom! 

By now Nataliya and Sveta are back from Georgia, having had a few extra days of blessing after Joanna and I returned for our Sunday service. 

Georgia made an immense impression on us, with its unique Orthodox culture and history of ancient Christianity. 

We visited so many – perhaps even an initial “too many” holy places… with Samtavro repeatedly calling us back, unexpectedly, during our blessed days of pilgrimage. 

We return feeling not only the blessing of St Nino and St Gabriel, but also of the the thirteen Assyrian holy fathers who preached the faith across the Georgian lands, having been blessed with the opportunity to venerate the relics of a number of them. 

It was our great joy and honour to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the St Alexander Nevsky Church in Tbilisi (a real home-from-home) and ancient monastery churches, and to chant services of supplication and Paschal hymns in each holy place. 

As we look forward to our new church, we asked the intercessions of the Mother of God, of the Holy Great-Martyr George, and all of the saints of the Georgian lands. 

We have returned deeply touched by the depth of love and generosity shown by the Georgian people, the wonderful welcome of clergy and monastics, and the spiritual joy even of passersby in the street… and – unexpectedly- with the blessing of His Holiness, Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III, elected on our first day. 

We entrust our parishioners and friends to the intercession of the Georgian saints, especially our exam-laden students, those who are unwell, and our young people preparing for marriage in July. 

May St Nino, St Gabriel, and all the Georgian God-pleasers pray for them before the Lord’s throne of glory. 

Despite missing being in Georgia, it was a joy to return to our Cardiff flock and share the celebration of the Divine Mysteries, even if the bank holiday made for another quiet week, with the much felt absence of Father Mark, matushka and the ever-energetic Yurchik! 

After a couple of weeks of celebrating the Divine Liturgy in ancient Georgian churches, yesterday’s Liturgy back in Cardiff was quite a constrast. 

Having only having to unfold vestments, vest and make proskomedia commemorations, we once again had the task of setting up from scratch, and packing everything away again. We very much look forward to this being a thing of the past. 

Though we were rather thin on the kliros, we appreciated having four adult servers, and it was a blessing to bring the newly-gifted carved icon of the Kazan Mother of God, so kindly and unexpectedly given to us on our first visit of the first day. 

Having prayed for the repose of the soul of our sister, Lyudmila at this time of the anniversary of her repose, we ask you to keep her in your prayers. 

We look forward to this week’s Thursday service at 18:00 in Nazareth House, and Friday service at 15:00 in the Oratory Church, before my brief visit to Lazarica to see Father Nenad and his wonderful flock, and give them a Bible study session about the day of Pentecost. 

Having returned for Trinity-Pentecost, we look forward to not only the Divine Liturgy, but also vespers with the kneeling prayers, so think about something on which to kneel! 

Given the double service, we will await Branka’s instruction as to whether we will limit refreshments to beverages and cake. 

Though I am the last one to proffer any health advice, I hope that we will all be careful and cautious during the current heatwave… which may test our endurance in Nazareth House on Thursday. 

May God bless you all. 

In Christ – our Ascended Saviour, God and Lord. 

Hieromonk Mark 

 

 

Parish News – Week of the Paralytic Man

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Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is Risen! Христос Воскресе! Hristos a înviat! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!

Many thanks to all who laboured for the Lord, not only in Sunday’s Liturgy, but also for our weekday services. 

Particular thanks to our first-time servers who stepped up despite never having done so before, and to Yuriy, for being extremely industrious and preemptive in his serving, despite his tender years. Most impressive!

Unfortunately, parishioners were less proactive than our servers when it was time to roll up their sleeves and chip in to pack away after Liturgy. The time for us to sit down or to chat is AFTER we’ve cleared and tidied the church and are ready to eat. Again… please do not wait to be asked, but show some resourcefulness and willingness, so that we can pack away as quickly and efficiently as possible. By the autumn, this will be a thing of the past, but for now, we still have labours before and after Liturgy.

Though our Sunday Liturgy was dented by the Bank Holiday weekend, our Thursday services have seen increased attendance in addition to our usual students and parish youth, who have continued to form the core of our Cathays services that grew out of our Orthodox chaplaincy presence, when I was very happily ensconced in Newman Hall. Despite the moves and changes over the past four or five years, it is a joy and blessing that our presence in the convent chapel in Column Road continues.

Though the academic year draws to an end for our university students, there are busy and challenging weeks ahead for our younger students, with school and college exams on the horizon. We ask your prayers for Tara, Stefan, Panagiotis and Jovana, as they revise and prepare for exams. 

This week will see our usual Thursday evening service in Nazareth House, at 18:00, when we will chant Small Compline, followed by a litia for the newly departed Dochița.

Our 15:00 service, in the Oratory Church on Friday, will be a moleben to St Mark the Evangelist as it will be his feast day: the name day of Father Mark the younger.

Given that I have to travel to Wiltshire after the service, it will be appreciated if confessions can be made on Thursday, and BEFORE the Friday moleben, if possible.

On Saturday, we shall belatedly mark St George’s Day (feast on Wednesday) with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Chapel of St Lawrence, at the usual time of 10:30.

After next Sunday’s Liturgy, a small group of us will be departing for our Georgian pilgrimage with Father Paul and Wallasey parishioners, so please try to make your confession if you are to commune in the next few weeks.

Father Mark will be the only priest serving on Sunday 17th May, and I will be serving without him on Sunday 24th May. We will endeavour to celebrate the proskomedia early, to allow for maximum confessions.

We congratulate David, who was admitted to the catechumenate, yesterday, after four months of solid attendance, during which he has been Joanna’s chief help in setting up St Philip’s for worship, week-in, week-out.

We ask your prayers for all who will be travelling to Georgia, and for Lilia, as she travels to Moldova.

Please make lists of intercessions for commemorations in Georgia.

May God bless you all!

Asking your forgiveness, for Christ’s sake.

Hieromonk Mark