Akathist to St Dismas, the Good Thief on the Cross

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*To be prayed continually for someone or for yourself in order to obtain repentance and conversion to Christ before you or that person dies. Also to be prayed for souls who departed this world without being part of Christ’s True Church or people who died without repentance in sins so that they may eventually be spared from Hell.*

Kontakion 1: God the Father was pleased to have thee nailed to the cross on the right hand of the Saviour, Who didst bring down enmity, didst strengthen peace, and didst open the treasury of countless blessings; and coming to a true knowledge of sin, humility, and mercy, O Holy Dismas, thou wast reconciled with Him and from being a stranger to His Kingdom thou didst become a friend of eternal joys. For this reason, as one sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, hear these words of prayer and intercede for us who honour thee: Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Ikos 1: Where there is the Cross, there is sacrifice, and where there is sacrifice, there is the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with the Lord, celebration, and joy. And thou, O Holy Dismas, didst ascend the cross in pain and iniquity, but although thy body didst descend afterwards, thy soul didst ascend first into Heaven, where the cherubim sang to thee thus:

Rejoice, thou who wast crucified for sins and saved because of faith;

Rejoice, good and wise thief.

Rejoice, for the sword of the cherubim didst not touch thee in Heaven;

Rejoice, for at the command of the Lord, it bowed down before thee.

Rejoice, for the Kingdom of God was thy salvation;

Rejoice, for death lost its sting through thy repentance.

Rejoice, Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 2: Thou wast a man of iniquity, O Holy Dismas, living thy whole life alongside thieves and robbers, despising honest work and family, being a loner of evil deeds, living at a time when our Lord Jesus Christ was preaching the Word of the Father in Jerusalem: Alleluia!

Ikos 2: But the Heavenly Father didst ordain that thou shouldst be judged in the same days as His Son Jesus Christ, and being condemned to death by crucifixion, thou wast nailed to a cross on the right hand of the Saviour, and thus we pray with tears:

Rejoice, for thou hath received the good part of life;

Rejoice, for thus the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Jeremiah wast fulfilled.

Rejoice, for he said that “Jesus was counted among the lawless”;

Rejoice, for thoue bringest the fulfillment of the times.

Rejoice, for thou hath known the True Way;

Rejoice, for thine erroneous journey through the world hath come to an end;

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 3: Christ didst sacrifice Himself for us on the high Cross, upon the new altar, just as the sacrifice is new and glorious, and we no longer dwell outside the King’s courts because we have found the Door; we no longer fear the devil because we have found the Source of Victory; we no longer fear the wolf because we have the Good Shepherd, and we are no longer alone because we have found the Bridegroom: Alleluia!

Ikos 3: When Jesus Christ didst come to earth, He didst plant in the arid fields of our hearts the seed of divine grace that bearest fruit even in the driest depths, boldly digging into the rock of our hardened hearts and making room for the King of Life, the King whom thou didst adore on the cross, O Holy Dismas:

Rejoice, for through the cross thou hath known the Power of the Lord;

Rejoice, for on the cross He hath shown His Lordship;

Rejoice, for thine evil mind hath been changed by the One who is full of goodness;

Rejoice, for the sword of the Holy Spirit hath penetrated thy conscience;

Rejoice, for He hath broken sin from thee and given birth to repentance;

Rejoice, for the enemy, the devil, hath been put to shame, having lost his servant;

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 4: Upon the high Cross, the Lamb wast slain, not covered over, so that He might cleanse the air, being under the open sky, and cleansing also the earth, for His Blood didst fall upon it, becoming a common Sacrifice for all nations, that every place on earth might become a place of prayer and worship: Alleluia!

Ikos 4: The greater the sacrifice, so greater the holiness, for behold! from lawlessness didst the Lord save thee, O Holy Dismas, and from being crucified and nailed with spikes, He had mercy upon thee, and didst take thee out of the sorrow of suffering and didst make thee to know the nature of the Cross, not as wood of condemnation but as the Power of Him, the Crucified One, Who upon the Cross performed the miracle that we all praise:

Rejoice, for Heaven hath been honoured with such a Master;

Rejoice, for He hath brought thee with Him, the thief on the cross.

Rejoice, for He hath shown thee worthy of the delight of eternity;

Rejoice, for He healsest incurable wounds.

Rejoice, for thou hast made thyself worthy of the feast in heaven;

Rejoice, for thou teachest us to bow our hearts to Him with humility.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 5: Jesus didst not raise any dead man on the Cross, nor didst He rebuke the sea and the winds, nor didst He cast out His beloved ones, but being crucified, nailed, reviled, and mocked, He was able to change thy mind, O Holy Dismas, who wast shrouded in sins and thieving thoughts, so that thoue mightest see His Power on both sides: Alleluia!

Ikos 5: The Saviour didst shake all creation, splitting the rocks and drawing thy soul, which was more insensitive than stone, unto Him and elevating thee, O Saint, saying, “Today, thou wilt be with Me in Paradise,” and we rejoice and sing:

Rejoice, for tho art our teacher, O Saint;

Rejoice, for thou teachest us to cry out loudly.

Rejoice, for at the last moment, our cry is heard;

Rejoice, for thou makest the truth to shine forth.

Rejoice, for thou helpest us to grow despite all obstacles;

Rejoice, ladder to the Kingdom of heavenly blessings.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 6: The whole world is divided between one thief and the other thief, both standing on the cross, both living a robber’s life, both comitting evil, sinning, and indulging in the passions, but only one has thee, O Holy Dismas, for thou placest him on the right side of the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and, breaking the stone of the spiritual conscience, thou showest him repentance in his last hour, that he may inherit Heaven: Alleluia!

Ikos 6: All of humanity gathered at the foot of the Cross, for one criminal reviled, the other worshipped, one blasphemed, the other blessed and rebuked the lost one: “Dost thou not fear God?… for we receive what we deserve according to our deeds.” and we, appropriating for ourselves thy boldness, O Holy Dismas, honour thee thus:

Rejoice, for thou didst take heed of thyself;

Rejoice, for thou didst didst leave thine own, even though thou wast dying in agony.

Rejoice, for thou didst care for the Saviour;

Rejoice, for thou knewest that He suffered without sin.

Rejoice, for thou didst no longer feel thine own pain, but His;

Rejoice, for thy mind wast enlightened;

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 7: Thy salvation, O Holy Dismas, was a manifestation of the glory of God revealed in the very crucifixion of the Lord, for His sacrifice meant first of all thy salvation and then the deliverance of the whole world, for on the cross thou didst know Him, and the injustice done to Him moved thy heart to redemption, being the first man to enter Paradise: Alleluia!

Ikos 7: Thou didst cry out from the cross for heaven and earth to hear: “This man hath done no wrong!”, testifying that Jesus Christ was the sinless Man Who didst receive the nails of the Cross as seals of forgiveness for our sins, and fearing God, thou didst weep under the condemnation of human judgment, but thou wast then comforted by the mercy of God’s judgment, thus ascending to the heights:

Rejoice, for thou didst not judge and wast not judged;

Rejoice, for from the Cross thou didst leap into Heaven.

Rejoice, for thy mercy for the Lord cleansed thee of all iniquity;

Rejoice, for thou didst weep for Him and not for thyself.

Rejoice, for thou didst find justice in thy condemnation;

Rejoice, for the injustice of His death was thy greatest pain;

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 8: Thou didst hear Jesus Christ speaking from the Cross all His words of farewell to those who didst crucify Him, O Holy Dismas, beseeching the Father for forgiveness because the Romans knew not what they did, with the Holy Longinus the Centurion as a witness, who also watched with sorrow as Life was put to death, but who wast later deemed worthy to be the first witness of the Lord’s Resurrection: Alleluia!

Ikos 8: On that day of the terrible Cross, thou wast among the three who brought comfort to the Lord on the Way of the Cross, O Holy Dismas, for Saint Simon of Cyrene carried His Cross for a while, Saint Veronica wiped His face of blood and sweat, and thou, O Holy Dismas, didst comfort the One who comfortest all souls, saying words of comfort and justification of His innocence, and we praise thee thus:

Rejoice, because for this the Lord hath shown thee mercy;

Rejoice, for thy love hath opened Heaven.

Rejoice, for thy care for Him hath lifted thee above iniquity;

Rejoice, for thou hast gladdened the King of Joy.

Rejoice, for thou art our way to Heaven;

Rejoice, for thou openst the doors of the soul to confession.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 9: No one didst teach thee repentance, O Holy Dismas, and no one hath shown thee what sin means, but just as a sheep knows its Shepherd and recognises His Voice calling it from wherever it may be, so thou didst awake as if from a deep sleep and, hanging on the cross with thy body, thou didst find thy soul in the flock of the Lord God: Alleluia!

Ikos 9: Our Shepherd is good, loving, and forgiving, and doth constantly seek a shred of repentance in us, that He may have the opportunity to join us with those already saved, and thou, O Holy Dismas, art a skilled teacher in the mystery of confession, for thou showest us what and how to confess, that, freed from the weight of our hearts, we may call thee thus:

Rejoice, for on the cross thou didst strip thyself of sins;

Rejoice, for thou didst see thyself void of any good deed.

Rejoice, for thou didst confess as thou wast;

Rejoice, for thou didst reveal thyself in thy whole being.

Rejoice, for no one didst force thee, nor urge thee;

Rejoice, for sin hath lost its power.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 10: Through thy confession, didst thou open Heaven, O Holy Dismas, and with the boldness of thy confession, thou didst directly beseech the Kingdom, for though the nails and the cross are visible, the Cross itself is the sign of the Kingdom, wherewith Jesus Christ is called “King” because we see Him crucified as a Master Who didst give His life for His subjects, Who descended into hell from whence He didst raise souls to Heaven and didst then appear risen on the third day: Alleluia!

Ikos 10: The Cross is the reflection of the Kingdom of God, for the Saviour didst not leave it on earth but didst take it and raise it up to Heaven, for with it He will come at His second and glorious coming, so that those who crucified Him may know their sin. Leave us not prey unto deception, O Holy Dismas, that we may know the times and bear fruits of humility and meekness, lest the Saviour say to us, “I know thee not,” but that we may also be chosen among those who will stand at the right hand of the Lord:

Rejoice, and help us to grow in prayer;

Rejoice, putting the voice of the seraphim in us.

Rejoice, for thou bringest us the joy of glorifying God;

Rejoice, for thou showest us what meanest it to love our enemies.

Rejoice, for thou deliverest us from the agony of suffering;

Rejoice, for thou stoppest pain, bringing heavenly comfort.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 11: From robbery and wickedness hast thou passed in an instant to humility, O Holy Dismas, and praying to the One on thy left, “Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom,” the heavens shook, the angels sang, the earth quaked, for the first of the wicked didst become the first of those who entered the realm of Heaven: Alleluia!

Ikos 11: And the Lord, accepting the repentance of the one who, though he had been foolish all his life, didst become wise in an instant, said unto him: “Truly, I say to thee, today, thou wilt be with Me in Paradise!” And Heaven opened, Light flashed, Love conquered, and shaken by all this, we pray:

Rejoice, thou who didst proclaim to us the joy of salvation;

Rejoice, thou who runnest after the lost sheep.

Rejoice, thou who bringest stray souls into the fold;

Rejoice, thou who awakenest in us mercy and righteous judgment.

Rejoice, for on the cross the dominion of the enemy was destroyed;

Rejoice, thou who conquerest the oppression of the devil even also for us.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 12: Through food wast Adam cast out of Paradise, but through the wood of the Cross wast thou saved, O Holy Dismas, for Adam didst taste and didst reject the commandment of the One who created him, but thou, crucified together with the Lord, didst confess Him who wast hidden: Alleluia!

Ikos 12: He who didst willingly ascend the Cross and didst destroy the power of death, erasing the record that was against us, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, didst erase the tablet of thy sins and, destroying the enemy’s plot, didst open Heaven to thee, and we pray to thee thus:

Rejoice, thou who, though tormented, wast able to show compassion;

Rejoice, thou who, though living in sin, knew how to repent.

Rejoice, protector of those who seek the forgiveness of the Lord;

Rejoice, for thou givest us the remembrance of our transgressions;

Rejoice, thou who guidest the lost to confession;

Rejoice, for thou breakest the past from us, for the eternal joys of Heaven;

Rejoice, Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 13: Thou who didst see the Lord Jesus Christ preaching the mystery of love, obedience, and patience on the Way of the Cross, Who then, being crucified on the Cross, changed thy heart into a burning fire for God, O Holy Dismas, look with mercy upon us sinners and sow repentance in us, that we may be received at the right hand of the Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven, where thou, O Saint, wast the first to enter among men: Alleluia!

(This Kontakion is said 3 times)

Ikos 1: Where there is the Cross, there is sacrifice, and where there is sacrifice, there is the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with the Lord, celebration, and joy. And thou, O Holy Dismas, didst ascend the cross in pain and iniquity, but though thy body didst descend afterwards, thy soul didst ascend first into Heaven, where the cherubim sang to thee thus:

Rejoice, thou who wast crucified for sins and saved because of faith;

Rejoice, good and wise thief.

Rejoice, for the sword of the cherubim didst not touch thee in Heaven;

Rejoice, for at the command of the Lord, it bowed down before thee.

Rejoice, for the Kingdom of God was thy salvation;

Rejoice, for death lost its sting through thy repentance.

Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Kontakion 1: God the Father was pleased to have thee nailed to the cross on the right hand of the Saviour, Who didst bring down enmity, didst strengthen peace, and didst open the treasury of countless blessings; and coming to a true knowledge of sin, humility, and mercy, O Holy Dismas, thou wast reconciled with Him and from being a stranger to His Kingdom thou didst become a friend of eternal joys. For this reason, as one sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, hear these words of prayer and intercede for us who honour thee: Rejoice, O Holy Dismas, for thou givest us the gift of repentance and faith in God!

Prayer to Saint Dismas the Good Thief on the Cross: O Holy Dismas, thou wast crucified next to the Lord; thou didst see Him telling the women not to weep for Him, but for themselves; thou didst hear Him asking His Father to forgive His tormentors because they knew not what they were doing, and from His lips thou didst read the entire Gospel. Standing at His right hand on the cross, thou didst understand the whole mystery of salvation, and His blessed Face did penetrate thee beyond all thy transgressions, for He looked deeply into thy being with sadness and love, gentleness and determination, and with infinite compassion for thy lost soul.

And then, O Saint, dawn broke in thy heart, for the Sun had risen from the Cross and His rays were so powerful that no shadow had power over thee, and from a thief thou didst be come a disciple of the Master of Light, comforting Him who comforts all living things, and He, for thy kindness, didst promise thee: “Thou wilt be with Me in Paradise!”

We also pray unto thee, O Holy Dismas, O thief who wast crucified and believed in Christ-crucified, to give us thy faith from the cross, for thou didst believed in eternal life, knowing at once that the soul is indebted to climb the ladder to Heaven. We are so burdened with sins that we cannot look up, but ask thee to intercede with God to forgive us. We pray thee, grant us repentance and thy love for Christ, open for us the way to Holy Confession, and once we arrive there, clear thou our minds and hearts, that we may confess purely, and make a good beginning.

Help us to be reconciled with God, O thou who wast like the prodigal son, beseech Him to accept our tears, to give us the awareness of sin, to set us aright, that we may bear the fruits of good deeds, and to grant us to call upon Him with clean lips and with the hope of salvation: “Remember us, O Lord, when Thou comest with thy Kingdom!” that we too may enter into Heaven full of joy, now and forever. Amen.

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Parish News – Week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

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

We now enter the third week of Pascha, having not only celebrated the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, but also Radonitsa with a week of prayerful commemoration of the departed.

Many thanks to all who have contributed to our services.

Reiterating the words of our younger Father Mark, we must not forget to pray for the unbaptised departed, but commend them to the prayers of the Holy Great-Martyr Varus (Uar), to whom has been given the grace to intercede for those who have died without holy baptism and outside the fold of the Church.

As we have related before, devotion to the saint became a firm part of our spiritual identity and praxis in the 16th century.

To commemorate the birth of the younger son of Ivan IV, Tsarevich Dmitri, on 19 October 1582, the feast of St Varus, a chapel dedicated to the Great-Martyr was added to the Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in the Moscow Kremlin, with enshrined relics of the saint.

The faithful turned to St Varus to pray for sick and suffering children, and in the early 17th century, when the chaos of civil war and foreign invasion resulted in many children dying without the grace of Holy Baptism, the holy patriarch, Hieromartyr Germogen, instructed the faithful to prayerfully turn to St Varus to intercede for them.

In addition to the festal canon (and akathist) to the Great-Martyr, there is also a supplicatory canon for the departed, though this clearly presumes the departed as not having been people of Faith, making parts of the canon less appropriate for those who though not Orthodox, were nevertheless Christians.

Life and festal canon: https://russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com/varus-life-canon

English text: https://orthodox-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/canonstvarus.pdf

Slavonic text: https://azbyka.ru/molitvoslov/kanon-mucheniku-uaru.html

Some parishioners may be unaware that we pray to St Paisius the Great for those who died without repentance.

This Thursday, we will offer a moleben to St Varus as well as a litia for the departed at 18:00 in Nazareth House. Confessions will be heard before and after the service.

On Friday we will chant the akathist hymn to the Resurrection of Christ in the Oratory Church, in Swinton Street, at 15:00. I will be available to hear confessions, as usual.

We will also add a litia for the departed to our Sunday Liturgy.

Further to Joanna’s message on WhatsApp, may I remind you that we are looking forward to making a short pilgrimage to visit Father Paul and the Wallasey parish, travelling to the Wirral on Friday 3 July, by car-share, staying locally and celebrating the Divine Liturgy on Saturday 4 July, the feast of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the Wonderworker. As per Joanna’s request would those interested please let Joanna know by FRIDAY.

To give advance notice, our next Warminster Liturgy will be on Saturday 9th May, and will be celebrated, as usual, in the Chapel of St Lawrence at 10:00.

I will be in Georgia, leading a ROCOR pilgrimage, with Fr Paul from 10th to 22nd July, during which time Fr Mark the younger will ably oversee parish life.

With the exciting developments regarding the new church building, we ask everyone to keep up the fundraising momentum, spreading the word and encouraging others to get involved. Importantly, we must continue to pray for our plans to come to fruition!

We also ask your prayers for the sick and infirm Pavel, Brigid, Euthalia and Natayla; for the newly departed handmaiden of God, Doina; for Piran on his travels; and for our students as they complete assignments, revise and prepare for exams.

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

O blessed doubt of Thomas!

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The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side… But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

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

Dear brothers and sisters, we have observed so many times before, how harsh a judgement Thomas often receives for his refusal to believe in the Saviour’s resurrection, and insisting that he should not only see, but also physically, and tangibly encounter the Sacred Wounds of the Risen Lord.

But whilst his reputation as “Doubting Thomas” has entered everyday speech as the epitome of doubt, the Church Fathers and the mind of the Church have been far from condemnatory regarding Thomas’s skepticism.

The great Alexandrian Church Father, St Cyril, warns us not to idealise the reaction of the other disciples, as though it was somehow solid and blameless. For St Cyril, Thomas represented the uncertainty of the whole company of the Apostles, but he was the only one with the courage to actually express their confusion and doubt:

“For though of Thomas alone is recorded the saying: Except I shall put my hands and see the prints of the nails, and put my hand into His Side, I will not believe, yet was the charge of lack of faith common to them all; and we shall find that the minds of the other disciples were not free from perplexity, though they said unto the holy Thomas: We have seen the Lord.”

To repeat, “…yet was the charge of lack of faith common to them all; and we shall find that the minds of the other disciples were not free from perplexity…”

The Church has recognised Thomas’s voice as not only the unexpressed doubt of the other disciples, but rather as a doubting and questioning voice on behalf of the whole of humanity, of which future generations in the centuries of growing skepticism and declining faith would demand the ‘scientific’ and empirical knowledge that Thomas demanded: “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

At vespers, in the hymns on “Lord, I have cried…” the Church expresses the Saviour’s welcoming of Thomas’s doubt, hearing Him welcome the investigation of His life-giving wounds, saying, “because thou hast disbelieved, all have learned of My Passion and resurrection…”

At the very time of His resurrection, the All-Knowing Lord knew the doubt and denial of generations to come, and how Christian orthodoxy would give way to liberal falsehood that, even as it masquerades as Christianity, denies the reality of the empty Tomb, and the physicality of His Third-Day Rising from the dead, resulting in heretical and perverted neo-gnostic attacks on the physical reality of the incarnation and of the Saviour’s Third-Day resurrection.

The Saviour’s answer was the blessed GIFT of Thomas’s doubt, and the disciple’s courage in demanding to touch the Wounds on the Lord’s Divine-Human Body.

Thus, we are all blessed, confirmed in Faith and are beneficiaries through Thomas’s skepticism and caution, as reflected in St John of Damascus’s seventh ode of the canon of the feast, in which he wrote,

“Thomas the Twin, who alone was bold, and who by his unbelieving belief hath brought us benefactions, doth by his believing unbelief dispel gloomy ignorance from all the ends of the earth.”

(Еди́н дерзну́вый, неве́рною же ве́рою /облагоде́тельствовавый нас Фома́ Близне́ц, /реши́т у́бо мра́чное неве́дение всех конце́в,ве́рным неве́рствием…)

In the fourth ode of the same canon, St John expresses His firm belief that the Saviour rejoiced in Thomas’s doubtful exploration of the Sacred Wounds,

“Thou didst rejoice when Thou wast examined. Wherefore, O Lover of mankind, Thou didst encourage Thomas in this (Ра́дуешися испыта́емь, / те́мже,Человеколю́бче, на сие́ повелева́еши Фоме́…) and didst show Thy side unto the disbelieving one, thereby assuring the world of Thine arising on the third day, O Christ.” (Fourth Ode)

Wheras the Risen Saviour warned St Mary Magdalene, “Touch me not.” He actively invites the apostle to do so: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

The Church Fathers are approving and affirmative in their assessment of Thomas’ doubt.

St. Gregory the Great says that, “Thomas’s unbelief has been more useful than the faith of the other apostles because by believing through touching the wounds, he strengthened faith and banished all doubt”, and St John Damascene represents Thomas’s unbelief as “the mother of belief for us” (ве́ры роди́тельное нам показа́л еси́… ) and touching on the question of the Faith of future generations, St Cyril of Alexandria wrote,

“I think that the disciple’s want of faith was extremely opportune and well-timed, in order that, through the satisfaction of his mind, we also who come after him might be unshaken in our faith that the very Body that hung upon the Cross and suffered death was quickened by the Father through the Son.”

What incredibly important words.

St Cyril also says, “We… are taught, through the slight want of faith shown by the blessed Thomas, that the mystery of the Resurrection is effected upon our earthly bodies, and in Christ as the Firstfruits of the race; and that He was no phantom or ghost, fashioned in human shape, and simulating the features of humanity, nor yet, as others have foolishly surmised, a spiritual body that is compounded of a subtle and ethereal substance different from the flesh.”

Thomas’s doubt is a blessing and a gift to the Church of all future generations, to say that not only was the Saviour truly God and truly Man, but that His humanity was not a temporary incarnational instrument, to suffer on the Cross, to lie in the Tomb, but then to be cast aside because redemption was completed.

Rather, His rising confirmed that Christ remains Incarnate, the Theanthropos (the God-Man), and that even though He established a New Passover – the Pascha of the Lord – in the resurrection He would not even abandon the wounds upon His Body, but on the contrary would take these supreme marks and wounds of love into the Heavenly Kingdom in His Ascension, and that in this, He would call humanity to follow Him into the Heavenly Kingdom, as the destination of the resurrection.

St Cyril teaches us that Thomas’s blessed doubt reminds us that not only was the Risen Saviour “…no phantom or ghost, fashioned in human shape, and simulating the features of humanity, nor yet, as others have foolishly surmised, a spiritual body that is compounded of a subtle and ethereal substance different from the flesh..”

St Thomas is the apostolic voice that removes ambiguity, doubt and uncertainty, and with him we can say, “I believe in the resurrection of the body”: in both the spiritual and physical resurrection of the Saviour – the God-Man – as with the apostle we look to the Risen Saviour and say, “My Lord and my God.”

Confirmed by his doubt, his questioning, his exploring hand, we have no need to look upon the wounds of the Saviour, to inspect the marks of the nails, to place our fingers in His wounds, or our hand in His wounded side.

Because of Thomas’s witness to the reality of the Risen Lord, we have no need for scientific and empirical proof, realising and understanding that spiritual knowledge is just as potent, real and powerful as scientifically quantifiable fact.

In the Beatitudes we chant, “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God…” and the heart of the believer, as the centre of our spiritual being, is the noetic organ and means by which we attain to the spiritual knowledge that does not need to prod, poke, inspect and investigate, placing spiritual reality under the magnifying glass.

When we encounter the Lord meeting the disciples on the road to Emmaus, it will not be through speech, conversation, or even vision that they will recognise the Risen Lord, but it will be through the spiritual movement of their hearts in the breaking of bread that their bodily eyes are opened to the reality that Christ is Risen.

As we hear in Luke’s Gospel, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Through drawing near to the Risen Lord, day by day, in this Paschal season, praying to Him in the power of the resurrection, constantly chanting the Paschal Canon and Hymns, the power of the resurrection must fill our hearts with light and spiritual warmth so that we too will know – purely by faith – that Christ is risen from the dead; trampling down death by death; and bestowing life upon those in the Tombs. And, we believe not only in the Lord’s Third-Day Rising, but crucially in the future physical as well as spiritual resurrection of everyone who has come into this world, throughout every century and generation, “…they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:29).

And… as we look for the resurrection of the life of the age to come, let us rejoice in Thomas’s blessed doubt, joining our voices with the voice of the Church in praising God for the truth that Thomas has daringly confirmed:

“O how praiseworthy and truly awesome is Thomas’ undertaking (Canon, Ode 5.) For daringly he touched the side that doth flash forth with the lightning of the divine fire (Canon, Ode 8). The Twin doth fill the world with wisdom and knowledge (Canon, Ode 4).”

 О вои́стинну похваля́емаго Фомы́ стра́шнаго начина́ния! Твое́ неудо́бное сокро́вище, утае́ное нам отве́рзе Фома́…(Canon, прему́дрости и ра́зума наполня́ет мир Близне́ц.

Christ is Risen! Христос Воскресе! Amen.

PASCHA – ПАСХА 2026

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11:30pm: Midnight Office / Полу́нощница

 
 
 
 
 

The Annunciation and the Divine Peace

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

On such a beautiful day, under blue Welsh skies, bathed in sunlight and surrounded by the new green leaves of spring, by blossom and birdsong, it is so easy to forget that in some parts of the world, our brothers and sisters are celebrating this feast of the Annunciation not to the sound of nesting birds and neighbours mowing their lawns, but rather to the sounds of sirens, gunfire and explosions. Yet, wherever there are Orthodox parishes and people, the feast will be celebrated, bringing light and hope to the suffering faithful as they celebrate the conception of the Saviour as the hope of the nations, Who brings light in the darkness, and to Whom we pray for “the peace from above.”

In the Imperial City, the Emperor and Equal to the Apostles, Saint Constantine built the temple of ‘Agia Irini, the Church of the Holy Peace, dedicated not to the Holy Martyr, but to the Divine Peace, for which we pray in every Liturgy.

This feast of the Annunciation inaugurates that Divine Peace, in the reconciliation between fallen humanity and God, and not only between heaven and earth, but even between the heavenly heights and the depths of Hades holding the righteous dead of the Old Covenant, who were held captive there. 

In his verse homily on ‘The Descent of the Angel’, the great Syrian Father, Jacob of Sarugh celebrates the Annunciation as the peace treaty made between God and humanity, and between heaven and earth.

In the conversation between God’s ambassador, the Taxiarch Gabriel and the Theotokos as the representative of the entire human race, Mar Jacob sees the restoration of “the peace from above”, that will become Incarnate in the Person of the Saviour, the God-Man, the Theanthropos, who will be the living sign of this reconciliation and the peace treaty that will be signed with His Blood, sealed by His last breath, with the words “It is done!” The earthquake and eclipse of Great Friday, and the tearing of the Veil of the Temple will be the heralds of this peace like no other, even as He descends into Hades and shatters its gates, and the chains and shackles of death, bringing light to those in darkness and raising his ancestors-according-to-the-flesh in his own resurrection.

This peace treaty begins today, as the Theotokos, after listening to the message of the Archangel, gives her consent to the plan and will of God, as she humbly says, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”

Hidden from the eyes of the world, the Prince of Peace came to dwell within her Ever-Virgin womb, and though the Cross, the Invincible Trophy and Weapon of Peace (Kontakion of the Cross) was far off, the new Life hidden within womb of the Mother of God was already the Bridegroom going to His voluntary Passion, as we describe Him in the services of this Holy and Great Week, and the meaning of this Passion, of the Cross, the nails, the spear and death was to establish “the peace from above, and the union of all”, for which we pray in the Litany of Peace.

This “peace from above” is not the cessation of earthly conflict, be it war in Europe, Palestine, the Middle East, or any corner of the world. It is realised in the end of the enmity caused by the rebellion of man against God, the conquest and vanquishing of hell and death, the reconciliation of creation with the Creator, of man with God, and of children with their Heavenly Father.

Though man may fight against man, regime against regime, nation against nation, the reality of this Divine Peace cannot be changed, and when the Risen Saviour appeared to the Apostles, His first words (the deeper meaning perhaps not apparent or obvious) were, “Peace, be with you!”

Even now, as we pray for earthly peace, and for those (including the relatives of our own parishioners) who suffer the losses, pains and vicissitudes of war, let us celebrate the Divine peace-treaty made this day, and contemplate the words of the divinely inspired, Jacob of Sarugh.

The Descent of the Angel

The Watcher had descended while Mary was standing in prayer;

he gave her the greeting which was sent to her from the Most High:

‘Peace to you Mary, blessed one, our Lord is with you;

Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your virginity.’

Then when she heard it, she was prudently reflecting

On what might be the cause of this unusual greeting.

The Watcher said: ‘Do not be afraid, O full of mercy,

The Lord has chosen you that in your virginity you might be his Mother.

‘Behold from this time you will solemnly conceive;

you will give birth to the great One whose Kingdom is without end.’

Mary said: ‘How then will what you say happen

Since man has never been known to me, how will I bring forth?’

‘You have announced a Son to me but I am not conscious of marital union;

I have heard of nativity but I see no marriage.’

That moment was full of wonder when Mary was standing,

Conversing in argument with Gabriel.

One humble daughter of poor folk and one angel

Met each other and spoke of a wonderful tale.

A pure virgin and fiery Watcher spoke with wonder:

a discourse which reconciled dwellers of earth and heaven.

One women and the prince of all the hosts

Had made an agreement for the reconciliation of the whole world.

The two had sat between heavenly beings and earthly ones;

they spoke, attended to and made peace for those who were wroth.

Maiden and Watcher met each other and conversed in argument on the matter

Until they abolished the conflict between the Lord and Adam.

That great strife which occurred amidst the trees

came up for discussion, and it all came to an end; there was peace.

An earthly being and heavenly one spoke with love;

the struggle between the two sides ceased, and they were at peace.

+

Surrounded by the violence, the madness, and the conflict of the world, may the Divine Peace make its home within our hearts and minds, as we abandon ourselves into the embrace of God’s love, Love which become a Person and was Incarnate in the womb of the Virgin-Mother on this Great Feast, as “the crown of our salvation, and the manifestation of the mystery that was before the ages.”

This mystery is the pre-eternal wonder of God’s ineffable, immeasurable, and sacrificial love: the love that came like the father of the prodigal son, to search for us when we were lost and estranged in spiritual exile, and took on human flesh when a young mother in Nazareth surrendered herself to God’s will, and said “yes” to becoming His instrument of reconciliation and the peace between heaven and earth.

Let us try to forget disagreements, arguments, conflicts, the negative memories of the past, and struggle to love and forgive, however hard that may be, so that we may aspire to “the peace from above”, however difficult our struggle may be.

We must pray continually, seeking to continually forgive, continually asking for forgiveness, confessing our weakness and insufficiency, and creating (by humility) a place within our hearts for that peace to make its sacred home.

Unless we at least try to do this, this feast and all it represents will have no meaning, resonance or spiritual significance in our lives.

Amen.

Parish News: Third Week of Great Lent

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Dear brothers and sisters,

After what looked liked what would be a rather low attendance for our Liturgy for the Sunday of St Gregory Palamas, we ended up with sixty worshippers, including our children.

However, the attendance number for our Annual General Meeting, following Liturgy, was extremely disappointing.

We need to understand that it is our duty to support parish meetings,  and to be part of discussions of parish life. This is an expression of being a stake-holder in the parish, and a sign that parish memberships is taken seriously and has obligations and responsibilities.

We understand that it is simply not possible for all parishioners to attend, due to work and family commitments, but when an annual meeting draws little more than a dozen individuals, plus the committee, we clearly need to reflect on what it means to belong to an Orthodox parish.

Our meetings should be a true reflection of our parish, with both young and not-so-young, and our broad mix of parishioners from across the Orthodox world and here in the UK. I Very much hope that our next parish meeting will be rather more representative of our community!

During the meeting, there were some welcome suggestions regarding developments in parish life, and we will seek to implement them: including a moleben for the parish and special collection for the building fund on the first Sunday of the month, and a monthly Saturday vespers – though I would like to see this extend the first and third Saturdays, if we are able to cover the cost of hiring St Philip’s.

Some of you will remember that we used to celebrate Saturday vespers on most weekends in Nazareth House, when we had unhindered use of the church, and set up on Saturdays.

As proposing parishioners rightly observed, the service for the eve of the Lord’s Day and feasts have a very special and very different atmosphere to the morning Liturgy.

At the moment, we are only able to celebrate vespers in the Oratory Church on the eve of feasts, and at a time that is impractical for most parishioners. So, we hope that a Saturday evening vespers, hopefully expanding to the vigil service, will find broad support.

We very much look forward to gathering for vespers, and will seek to arrange the use of St Philip’s.

We are happy that, at the moment, we are able to have a weekday evening service, in Nazareth House, though this is compline, rather than vespers. During Great Lent, and other fasting periods, this is Great Compline, with a supplicatory canon to the Mother of God.

A monthly moleben for the parish will be a welcome prayerful reminder of our need to work together, spiritually and materially, for the development of the parish.

We have continued to have a weekly moleben in the Oratory at 15:00 on Fridays, but will replace these with the Divine Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts, during Lent. Anyone communing should fast from 09:00 at the latest. Our first Cardiff Pre-Sanctified Liturgy will be this Friday at the usual service time of 15:00.

If anyone is able to travel to Llanelli, the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy is also celebrated there, but at 18:30 on Wednesdays. Fasting should be from 12:30 at the latest.

Next Saturday, the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster at 10:30, serving our Cardiff parishioners in the West of England. Confessions will be heard before the service, and in the general memorial service for the departed, after the service, we will remember the late Archimandrite Barnabas on the thirtieth anniversary of his repose. Saturday will be St David’s day according to the Church calendar: a worthy day of repose for our late Tâd Barnabas. Memory eternal!

We look forward to welcoming Father Paul and a group of pilgrims who will visit St David’s on Saturday, before joining us for Sunday Liturgy in Tremorfa. I have unfortunately received no concrete times regarding their service in St David’s, but will share, should specifics be forthcoming.

Saturday 21 March, will see the hierarchical celebration of the Mystery of Holy Unction (Soborovanie) in the London Cathedral at 14:00. Again, any parishioners able to offer a spare seat to a non-driver are encouraged to car-share.

The last Saturday of the month, 28 March, will see the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Cheltenham, starting at 10:00, in Prestbury United Reformed Church.

Returning to Cardiff matters, discussions in our AGM highlighted the generally poor response to Joanna’s request for assistance setting up St Philip’s for Sunday Liturgy.

This has resulted in our starosta arriving up to several hours before Liturgy to set up the church. This is an unreasonable lack of sharing of duties. We cannot take it for granted that the building will miraculously be ready for worship.

The same presumption has come to characterise the lunch table after Liturgy, with a quite unreasonable shouldering of the responsibility for hospitality falling on very few ladies. Again, this responsibility needs to be fairly shared, and we need to share the responsibility of not only sharing food with one another, but welcoming our stream if guests.

In general, we each need to ask the questions, “What can I do for the parish?” and “What can my talents and abilities bring to our community?”

Can you bake a cake or a pie? Do the washing up? Bring flowers? Give an hour to set up church for Liturgy? Serve in the sanctuary? Sing on the kliros? Give lifts to those without transport?

There are a myriad ways in which the community can be supported, and aided. Let’s take time to find ways to offer ourselves and build the parish.

We continue to ask your prayers for Anastasia and Tomasz, who are travelling, and for the sick servants of God, Pavel and Diamantis, and for God’s help for Joseph during officer training whilst feeling viral and under the weather.

Asking your forgiveness, for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

Parish News – Second Week of Great Lent

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First Sunday of Lent

 

Dear brothers and sisters, greetings as we follow the sombre, penitential days of the first week of the Fast and the Great Canon of Repentance with today’s joyful celebration of the restoration of the holy icons and the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

We were a  thin on numbers, which was surprising, given that it was the culmination of the first week of the Fast and such an important day on the Church calendar, but were celebrated joyfully and fully, with the synodikon of Orthodoxy following the Liturgy.

During this Lenten season, the Liturgy of St Basil is celebrated on Sundays, with its considerably longer priestly prayers, and extended settings of sacred chant. As there are generally more faithful to confess during the fast, may we prompt you not to leave confession till late in the Hours, so that both Father Mark and I are able to celebrate the whole Liturgy in this sacred season.

Thanks to all who contributed to the daytime and evening services with the Great Canon, last week. Our students were dedicated in their reading, and also in working on our media presence, sharing scenes from the week’s Lenten parish life.

In the coming week, the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts will be celebrated in Llanelli at 18:30, on Wednesday. This is essentially a vesperal Liturgy in which an additional Lamb, consecrated on Sunday is broken and distributed in Holy Communion. This ancient Liturgy of St Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Old Rome, replaces the Divine Liturgy on Lenten weekdays. Anyone communing should fast from noon at the latest.

In Cardiff, we will chant Great Compline in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, and I will hear confessions. This order of compline is celebrated during the Fast and on the eves of Nativity, Theophany and Annunciation, and has considerably more Psalms and hymns than Small Compline – and will give our young brothers plenty of reading to share!

On Friday, we will celebrate a service to the Lord’s Divine Passion in the Oratory Church at 15:00, and will use the new Lenten vestments which arrived from Ukraine, last week, and were blessed by Father Mark before Sunday’s Liturgy. We also look forward to using new Lenten analoy covers sent by Joanna’s mother, from Poland. I will be available to hear confessions both before and after this Passion service. 

Next Sunday, we will return to St Philip’s, now replete with a lovely, large kitchen. We will be reorienting our worship to avoid entering next to the altar, turning our set-up by 90 degrees and hopefully finding this arrangement much more conducive to worship.

May I remind you that our next Sunday Liturgy will be followed by our annual general meeting, so there will be no shared trapeza, and you are asked to bring a personal packed lunch.

At mid-Lent, on the Sunday of the Cross, we will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Archimandrite Barnabas, the great pioneer of Orthodox mission in Wales, and look forward to Father Luke joining us for the Divine Liturgy and a post Liturgy memorial for this greatly loved figure, who reconciled Welshness and Orthodoxy – proving that there is nothing antithetical about them, but rather an essential spiritual harmony, in the footsteps of our great Welsh Saints.

We look forward to the hierarchically led Rite of Holy Unction (soborovanie) the following weekend – on Saturday 21 March – with the mysterion for the Southern part of Britain being celebrated in the cathedral at 14:00. Please offer spare car places to fellow parishioners if you are able to head to Chiswick for this important occasion.

We ask your prayers for matushka Alla, Anastasia and Tomasz, who are travelling (matushka returning from the USA on Tuesday and Anastasia and Tomasz affected by military action in Iran), and for the sick servant of God, Diamantis.

Asking your forgiveness, for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

Parish News – Sunday 15 February

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord: the culmination of four days of prayer and services in Cardiff and our Wessex mission in Warminster.

Our Thursday and Friday services have become a set part of our weekly routine, with our Thursday celebration of compline framing the chanting of an akathist in which we alternate languages to ensure a balance of worship in Slavonic as well as English. We do the same on Friday, when a moleben is offered in the Oratory, before a relic of the Precious Cross, which is venerated at the end of our service.

Apart from the first week of Lent, our Thursday evening prayers during the Great Fast will change to devotions to the Lord’s Saving Passion, with the akathist of repentance chanted during confessions afterwards.

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we would like to repeat the daily reading of the complete Psalter during the Fast, but so far only one person has expressed interest, which is disappointing given the success of the last few years. If interested, please message me asap.

It was a joy to be in Warminster, yesterday, after an absence of several months, and to celebrate the Liturgy in the lovely chapel of St Lawrence, in which the service was bathed on glorious sunlight, shining through the stained glass. As in Cheltenham, our Wessex Liturgies are customarily graced with blue skies and clear, sunny weather, whatever the season. I hope and pray that we will have the blessing of worshipping in the chapel for many years to come.

Having the Meeting of the Lord fall on a Sunday was a special blessing, and today’s Liturgy felt festal and joyous, with a welcome car-load of visitors from Cheltenham.

Many thanks to our singers, servers, sisterhood and team of volunteers for setting up and packing away. Your labours and help are greatly appreciated.

As announced, this comingSaturday will see our monthly Cheltenham Liturgy in Prestbury United Reformation Church at 10:00, followed by a bring and share lunch.

Consumption of meat ends today, and the coming week allows dairy food, eggs and fish throughout the week, with Sunday being the last day before the Fast. As it is Forgiveness Sunday, our Liturgy will be followed by vespers with the rite of mutual forgiveness.

Looking forward to March, our annual parish meeting will be on Sunday 8 March. If you wish to add items to the agenda, please contact Fr Mark Fisher.

Having discussed the implementation of an annual household parish membership contribution (normal practice in ROCOR parishes, and established by our by-laws) of £60 per year /£5 per month, Father Mark will bring membership forms next week. This is to establish formal membership of the parish and inclusion on the electoral roll, and is a standard feature of Orthodox parish life, despite not previously having been implemented in our own community.

The listed members of baptised parishioners of 18 years and above, who have been parishioners for a minimum of six months, and are in good spiritual standing, are qualified to vote in parish business, and to stand for office when elections are held. Subscription is – of course – a matter of personal choice, but only subscribed parishioners may vote, and may not formally subscribe to membership of another parish.

As announced, the Holy Unction (Soborovanie) will be celebrated in the cathedral on Saturday 21 March, at 14:00, and we hope that car-sharing will maximise the number of parishioners able to attend and participate in the hierarchical celebration of the Holy Mystery.

We ask your prayers for Olga’s aunt Alla, as she returns to Odessa; for matushka Alla on her professional travels; and for our starosta, Joanna, as she travels with family. Prayers are also asked for the health of Metropolitans Arseny and Tychikos, Vesna (a Lazarica parishioner), Despina and Pavel, for the spiritual health of Simone, and the spiritual protection of Helen (non-O).

Wishing you a good preparation for the Great Fast during this maslenitsa week, and asking your forgiveness, for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

Parish News: Meatfare Week – 9th February

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Dear brothers and sisters,

As the days grow longer and the first flowers of the year grace our gardens, parks, and the countryside around us, the Church calendar takes us closer and closer to the beginning of the Lent: the Great Fast.

After a fast free week, this week sees the last week of meat, ending with Meatfare Sunday, before cheesefare week. This Wednesday and Friday remain fasting days, but eggs and dairy food are permitted throughout the following week.

On this coming memorial Saturday, which is also both the feast of St Brigid and forefeast of the Meeting of the Lord, the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence in Warminster at 10:30.

Before then, we will celebrate Small Compline with an akathist in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, with the opportunity for confessions, and will chant our customary Friday afternoon moleben in the Oratory Church at 15:00. As usual I will, again, be available to hear confessions.

Liturgy for Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare) and the feast of the Meeting of the Lord will, again, be in Tremorfa Community Hall, as it will be some weeks before St Philip’s will be useable for Liturgy.

Many thanks to those who helped move things from the church to the hall yesterday. Our new faithful were certainly kept busy. It was a joy to welcome Olga back to the kliros after her recent virus, and our choir were in fine voice for our celebration of not only the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, but also the commemoration of the New Confessors and Martyrs of our Church.

Our next Cheltenham Liturgy will be celebrated in Prestbury on Saturday 21 February, the Saturday of “All of the venerable (monastic) fathers and mothers lit up with great deeds”, and we shall no doubt enjoy maslenitsa and plenty of pancakes that day.

Those who subscribe to our WhatsApp, will have read that the diocese has announced that soborovanie (Holy Unction) will be celebrated in our London Cathedral on Saturday 21 March at 14:00, and will return to onlybeing celebrated in a hierarchical sobor, this year, with Bishop Irenei heading those of us who have been blessed to concelebrate this Holy Mystery. The anointing may be received by all baptised Orthodox Christians above the age of seven years, who have confessed and been blessed to partake of the Holy Mystery. We hope that by car-sharing, as many parishioners as possible may be able to participate, and there will also be a northern celebration in the parish of St Elizabeth the New-Martyr in Wallasey on Wednesday 25 February. Soborovanie will NOT be celebrated in parishes during Holy Week, given that ROCOR ordinarily maintains the tradition of it being a hierarchical rite.

Looking forward to the first week of Great Lent, through necessity (Work is likely to be continuing in St Philip’s), compline with the Great Canon of Repentance will be anticipated, earlier in the day, being chanted in the Oratory Church at 15:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. I hope that Friday will see the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified, and I will confirm this once I have spoken to Father Sebastian regarding timing. I hope that a few of us may keep the Saturday of St Theodore – the first Saturday of the Fast – by joining the Liturgy in Lazarica, together with Cheltenham parishioners.

Once Lent begins, I hope that we will repeat the daily reading of the entire Psalter as in previous years, with twenty readers reading a kathisma each every day, so that the entire Psalter is offered to the Lord every twent four hours. Please let me know if you are able to be part of this prayerful offering.

In the meantime, I hope that parishioners are considering spiritual reading for the Great Fast and ensuring they have profitable and soul enriching books at hand.

Asking you forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Christ is Born! Nativity Greetings.

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Dear brothers and sisters: Christ is Born!

As we celebrate the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, we contemplate the Lord’s birth in the darkness of the night, and like the shepherds and magi, as they draw near to the new-born Saviour, we are surrounded by great darkness, though it is a spiritual and moral blackness that envelops us in our lives.

As I reflected in my homily, the icon of the Nativity shows the Infant Lord and His manger before a gaping black hole, a cosmic spiritual void and mouth of hell… the entrance to the depths of spiritual darkness, devoid of God and hope.

Darkness surrounds the Nativity, and in the icon, we see both shepherds and wise men journeying through the night: the former arriving from the near locality and the latter ending a longer and more perilous journey.

For us it is not the darkness of the night sky, in which the magi watched the stars, or the physical darkness of the Judaean night in which the shepherds watched for wild animals or thieves, guarding their flock by the comforting defence of their nighttime fire, but spiritual-darkness, uncertainty and fear that surrounds us.

Not wolves and lions, but a myriad of spiritual dangers and forces wait to attack us on every side, and we face so many pressures, worries and anxieties in everyday life. But, though we may not be able to change the exterior spiritual darkness of our confused world, it is for each us to decide whether to be watchful and vigilant, to seek the Light of the World, new-born and laid in the manger, or to abandon ourselves to the danger-filled blackness of the spiritual night.

Through this darkness, the Lord calls out to us, “Fear not!” and it is the Incarnate Saviour, Himself, who has become the messenger/angelos that brings the tidings of joy and true peace, possible in the hearts of the faithful, even in the most terrifying, violent and threatening of times.

It is the Saviour Himself who has become the day-star from on high, guiding us through perils and dangers, and dispelling the fearful shadows for those who seek Him and rejoice in His birth.

Knowing that He remains Emmanuel – God-with-us – we are called to rise up and hasten to Him, to bow down and worship Him, and like the shepherds and magi, to put aside everything that previously seemed important and pressing.

The magi left behind all that was familiar, secure and comfortable, in order to seek Truth, willing to face risks and dangers to arrive at the place where they would find that Truth and offer Him their gifts as they bowed down and worshipped Him.

The shepherds willingly left the light and security of the fireside and the protection of the sheep-fold to stumble through the darkness to search for the Light of the World.

Like them both, we must struggle through the night to bring not only the gifts we have, however great and noble, or more likely poor and humble, as well as our anxieties, problems and fears, and to forget the darkness and danger that surrounds us as we behold the Saviour and long-awaited Messiah, and contemplate the wonderful fulfilment of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” Let us then heed the words of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians and, despite the darkness of the world, “live as children of light.”

Amen.