Here we are at the end of another week of peripatetic parish life, spread between Cathays, Splott and Llanishen, and hoping that tomorrow will bring some clarity regarding Holy Week, Pascha, and St Philip’s.
Additional to our Cardiff wanderings, yesterday saw seventeen of us participate in the rite of Holy Unction in the cathedral, with six priests concelebrating with our bishop in the blessing of oil and anointing the faithful – of which there were hundreds of people, many of them young.
As Father Mark the Younger enthused at the end of today’s Liturgy, it was a wonderful image of the Church: young and old, cradle Orthodox and convert, those on their feet and those helped by a friend or support worker in their additional needs, reminding us that disabilities are not a limitation on God’s grace and power.
The fact that people with various physical and cognitive challenges were part of our celebration was a visible sign of the loving and supportive character of our ROCOR community in our God-preserved diocese.
We will celebrate Holy Unction according to the parish rite in Cardiff during Holy Week, so that those unable to attend in London may partake of this Holy Mystery.
Perhaps Mothering Sunday dented our congregation a little today, plus the absence of some of those who had a long day in London yesterday, but it was lovely to return to St Faith’s on the Sunday of St John of the Ladder and the feast of St Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.
It was good that parishioners experienced the rite of the blessing of vestments after the Hours, and I was very pleased to be able to wear the vestments that Fr Mark blessed.
We will return to St Faith’s to celebrate the Sunday of St Mary of Egypt, next weekend, though we hope that we will then be able to be in St Philip’s for Palm Sunday.
As already posted on WhatsApp, due to our present circumstances, there will be no Cardiff evening service for the Great Canon next Wednesday. However, the Great Canon will be chanted in Llanelli at 19:00, and it would be lovely to welcome Cardiff parishioners.
In Cardiff, we will chant the entire Great Canon and read the life of St Mary of Egypt in the Oratory Church at 14:00 on Thursday afternoon (St Mary’s Standing / Мариино стояние).
There will also be the usual early evening service in Nazareth House at 18:00.
Confessions will be heard before the Thursday afternoon service and after the evening service.
The Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts will be celebrated at 14:00 in the Oratory Church on Friday afternoon, and I will be available to hear confessions before and after the service.
It is important that all who are able to make their confessions during the week avail themselves of the opportunity to ease the situation on Sunday. We will start ending confessions during the hours on the alternate Sundays on which I should be the main celebrant, as I continually miss the first part of the Liturgy.
Saturday is the Laudation of the Mother of God, and some of parishioners will get enjoying a pilgrimage and walk around Oldbury on Severn – honouring St Arilda. I will be heading to Lazarica in Bournville, and would be very happy to be joined by any parishioners. The service begins at 09:00.
Your prayers are requested for Lyudmila (sick); Piran, Svetlana, Stefan (travelling); and for our students. Prayers are also asked for Nicholas, Daniel, Nikolaos and his family.
We ask your prayers for the repose of the soul of matushka’s newly-departed cousin, Aleksey, and for his elderly mother Raisa, and for all of the family at this sorrowful time. Memory Eternal! Lord, have mercy!
The Canon of The Venerable One, the Acrostic Whereof Is: “I Offer a Hymn to the Wise Benedict”: The Composition of Joseph, in Tone II
Ode I, Irmos: Come, O ye people, * let us sing a song to Christ our God, * Who divided the sea, * and made a way for the nation * which He had brought up out of the bondage of Egypt; * for He hath been glorified.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
O venerable Benedict, pray thou that God grant deliverance from all trans- gressions and grace unto me who yearn to hymn thy right laudable memory.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Taking up thy cross from childhood, in monasticism thou didst follow after the Almighty; and having mortified the flesh, thou wast deemed worthy of life, O most blessed one.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Subjecting thyself to the law of God, O right wondrous one, thou didst quell the uprisings of the passions with feats of abstinence, and wast enriched by the grace of dispassion.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Enriched with incorruption on account of thee, O all-pure Birthgiver of God, we cry out to thee who art full of joy: Rejoice, O adornment of the venerable and the righteous!
Ode III, Irmos: O Lord, who didst slay sin upon the tree, * firmly establish us in Thee, * and in the hearts of us who hymn Thee * plant the fear of Thee.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Full of the living waters of the divine Spirit, O God-bearer, thy soul poured forth rivers of miracles, drying up the flow of ailments.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Thou didst pass over to abide in the vastness of paradise, O all-blessed one, having trodden the narrow path, and didst choke off the wiles of the demons and the ways of the disorderly.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Watered with streams of thy tears, O Benedict, like a fruitful tree thou didst bring forth a divine harvest of virtues and miracles, by divine grace.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
He Who alone is good passed, incarnate, through thy womb, O most immaculate one, and was seen as a perfect man. Him do thou beseech, that He save those who hymn thee.
Sessional Hymn, Tone I: Being a monk in a manner pleasing to God, thou didst live virtuously and didst receive the grace of healing, O Benedict, working awesome miracles; and having assembled a sacred community, thou didst lead to the Lord multitudes of the saved, O most spiritually rich father. Glory to God Who enlightened thee! Glory to Him Who crowned thee! Glory to Him Who hath glorified thy holy memory!
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.
Theotokion, Tone I: Stretching forth thy divine arms, wherewith thou didst bear the Creator Who in His goodness hath become incarnate, O most pure virgin, beseech Him to deliver from temptations, sufferings and tribulations us who praise thee with love and cry aloud: Glory to Him Who made His abOde within thee! Glory to Him Who issued forth from thee! Glory to Him Who hath delivered us by thy birthgiving!
Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesdays and Fridays): In awe of Thy great and dread endurance, O Savior, the most pure one lamented bitterly and cried out to Thee Who wast crucified on the Cross by the iniquitous ones and whose side was pierced with a spear by the soldiers: Glory to Thy love for mankind! Glory to Thy goodness! Glory to Thee Who by Thy death hast rendered mankind immortal!
Ode IV, Irmos: I hymn Thee, O Lord, for I have heard report of Thee, * and I was afraid; * for Thou comest to me, seeking me who am lost. * Wherefore, I glorify Thy great condescension towards me, * O greatly Merciful One.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Having crucified thyself to the passions and the world, O father Benedict, thou didst please Christ Who stretched out His hands on the Cross of His own will. Him do thou entreat, that He save our souls.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
With feats of abstinence didst thou mortify thy fleshly members, O venerable one; by thy prayer didst thou raise up the dead; thou gavest the paralyzed, who marveled in faith, the ability to walk, and didst heal every infirmity, O father.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
By thy vivifying discourse, O venerable one, didst thou render dry and desiccated souls fruitful, bringing forth spiritual and divine fruit, in that thou wast advanced by God, thou most sacred adornment of monastics.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The incarnate Word descended upon thine honored womb like rain upon the fleece, O pure one, and manifestly halted the rains of polytheism and brought an end to the bitter winter, O all-immaculate one.
Ode V, Irmos: O Lord, Bestower of light and Creator of the ages: * guide us in the light of Thy commandments, * for we know none other God than Thee.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Entreating the God of mercy, O venerable father, like Elijah thou didst fill a cruse, a great vessel, with oil, a thing marveled at by those who watched with faith.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
As one pure of soul, O all-blessed Benedict, in ecstasy, thou didst behold the whole earth resplendent as beneath a single light, for God so honoreth thee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Working miracles in Christ, O Benedict, by thy supplication thou entreatest the Judge of the contest, that water gush forth, which remaineth to this day, proclaiming thy wonders.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
He Who dwelleth in the heavens, so desiring, made His abOde within thy pure womb, that He might make habitations for the Trinity of us who proclaim thee to be the Theotokos, O pure one.
Ode VI, Irmos: Whirled about in the abyss of sin, * I appeal to the unfathomable abyss of Thy compassion: * Raise me up from corruption, O God.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Illumined by the effulgence of the Spirit, thou didst dispel the darkness of evil demons, O wonder-worker Benedict, most radiant lamp of monastics.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
How glorious was thy life, O blessed one! How splendid thine honored life whereby thou didst draw the flock of monastics to knowledge of the Savior!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As a resident of the kingdom of heaven, O divinely wise Benedict, pray thou, that we who ever faithfully bless thee may also attain it.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The never-setting Sun of righteousness shone forth from thy holy womb and enlightened the faithful, O all-hymned virgin Theotokos.
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 of the venerable one, Tone VI: Thouwast enriched by the grace of God, * and by thy deeds proclaimed thy name. * In prayer and fasting thou wast revealed to be * full of the gifts of the Spirit of God, * O Benedict, favorite of Christ God, * shown to be a healer of the infirm, ** as one who repulses the enemy, the ready helper of our souls.
Ode VII, Irmos: Of old the youths revealed themselves to be rhetors * with a love for supreme wisdom, * for from the depths of their God-pleasing souls, * they theologized with their lips as they sang: * O supremely divine God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Thou didst acquire life-bearing mortality by laying aside pleasures; wherefore, thou wast deemed worthy to resurrect the dead, O blessed Benedict, crying out: O supremely divine God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Astonishing a multitude of the faithful, thou didst do as did the great Elijah, raising up a garden for monks by thy venerable labors, and it remaineth ever walled about by thy supplications, O blessed one.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The mindless ones who sought to murder thee with evil sorcery were put to shame, O father Benedict, denounced by the foreknowledge in thee, for thou wast preserved by the hand of Almighty God.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Heal thou the passions of my soul, O Virgin who ineffably conceived the Well-spring of dispassion, and grant me a shower of compunction to bring me consolation there, O holy Theotokos.
Ode VIII, Irmos: God Who descended into the fiery furnace * with the Hebrew children, * and transformed the flame into dew, * do ye works hymn, * and supremely exalt as Lord throughout all ages.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Reigning in Christ over corrupting passions, O divinely wise father, thou wast deemed worthy to dwell in the heavenly kingdom with all who lived righteously and loved God Who seest all things.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Accepting thy holy supplications, through thee God bestowed the means to live upon those in want, glorifying thee exceedingly with miracles on earth, O thrice– blessed Benedict.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Adorned with the beauties of godly virtues, thou didst pass on to the beautiful mansions to abide with God, O father, and to enjoy His divine beauties for ages without end.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Behold, a Babe, the Son of the Most High, is born of thee, O pure one, as Isaiah crieth out, and He is seen to be thy Son also, O Virgin, making those who honor thee children of the heavenly Father.
Ode IX, Irmos: God the Word, God of God, * Who by ineffable wisdom came to create Adam anew * after his grievous fall to corruption through eating * and Who took flesh beyond all telling from the Holy Virgin for our sake, * Him we faithful with one accord magnify in song.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
Thou wast shown to be like the great sun, illumining creation with awesome signs and rays of the virtues; wherefore, celebrating thy truly luminous memory, we are enlightened with compunctionate thoughts, O father.
Venerable Father, Benedict, pray to God for us.
The flock of monastics assembled by thee giveth praise day and night, having in their midst thy body which poureth forth rivers of miracles abundantly and unceas- ingly enlighteneth their steps, O wise father.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou didst emit a radiance greater than that of the Sun, O father, fulfilling the commandments of God; and thou hast passed into never-waning light, praying that forgiveness of sins be granted to those who faithfully honor thee; O ever-memorable Benedict.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Virgin, bearer of the Light, drive thou the passions from my soul, and grant that I may behold, in pure manner, the beauty of the Savior Who shone forth ineffably from thy most pure womb, as a light to the nations, O all-hymned one.
Sunday’s celebration of the Adoration of the Life-Giving Cross came at the end of a blessed four days of services with three different Liturgies: the Liturgy of St Gregory the Dialogist on Friday; of St John Chrysostom on Saturday; and of St Basil on Sunday.
It has been a joy to celebrate the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and the Sunday of the Cross in conjunction, with the life and martyrdom of the Holy Great Martyrs showing us the Cross bearing fruit in the life of the Church, calling us to selflessness and attachment to the things of heaven, rather than the transitory things of the earth. “Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad; for great is your reward IN HEAVEN!”
The Liturgies of the past few days have been a blessing and a joy, with our relatively quiet celebration in the Oratory Church, ending with the blessing of larks, and our Llanishen Cross-celebration ending with the blessing of more larks, and of Serbian Mladenci.
It has been good to see the faithful enjoy time together in fellowship and conversation over shared refreshments and meals, with the shared-table a continuation of the Liturgy!
Thanks to all who contributed to our celebrations, particularly our singers and bakers, our young brothers who were such a great help moving furniture, and our “myrrh-bearing” women who quietly and devotedly look after our clergy do well and generously!
Thanks to matushka for decorating the frame for the Godenovo Cross.
Thanks also to the Oratorian Fathers for their ongoing support, especially in the hiatus in our move to Tremorfa.
In the week ahead we will have our usual Thursday akathist in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, and devotions before the Cross in the Oratory at 14:00 on Friday.
I will be available for confessions before and after services on those days.
There will be no Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified in Cardiff this week, though there will be one in Llanelli at 18:30 on Wednesday.
Soborovanie / Hierarchical Holy Unction will be celebrated in the cathedral at 14:00 on Saturday, and we hope to have a handful of parishioners in attendance. Those being anointed should prepare with confession, and those unable to make the journey will have the opportunity to be anointed at a local celebration of the Service of the Oil during Holy Week.
Sunday will see us return to St Faith’s for 11 o’clock Liturgy and trapéza.
In your prayers we ask you to remember Liudmila amongst the sick; Margarita, Piran and Stefan on their the travels; our students with their demanding academic work; and our catechumens – Chris, Adam, Serwaa and Lloyd.
Wishing you a renewed and blessed struggle for the second half of the Great Fast, through the power of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross and through the prayers of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.
Parishioners seeking English language spiritual reading are encouraged to look at the soul-profiting, traditional books sold by the St Edward Brotherhood (also a source of good quality incense and candles):
Having posted service times on WhatsApp and Facebook, the news email is late this week.
Thanks to everyone for such a lovely Sunday Liturgy, following our Saturday celebration in Cheltenham, and the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy in the Cardiff Oratory.
Our Cheltenham Liturgy was blessed with a profound sense of peace and joy, and – as we will not be returning until the Saturday of Pascha – we blessed zhavoronki (sky-larks), the traditional celebratory offerings for the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, which we will celebrate in the Cardiff Oratory this coming weekend (see below). We will be happy to bless any baked offerings in honour of the holy-martyrs on Sunday, as well as Saturday, and will have the icon of the martyrs at our Sunday Liturgy.
It was good to have a well supported kliros on Sunday, especially for the anaphora for the Liturgy of St Basil. Thanks to all of our singers.
We would be very happy to see more singers on the kliros, and also for more servers in the oltar. It has been lovely to have our younger servers over the last few weeks, and it would be very good to get back to having four or five servers on a Sunday. Perhaps our forthcoming baptisms may help on this front!
St Faith’s is proving to be a bright and cheery place to celebrate, and everyone seems very happy there. However, we know that it is a challenge for some parishioners without their own means of transport, and that public transport is somewhat unpredictable, which perhaps accounts for Sunday’s slightly reduced numbers.
At the time of writing, the rector of Gabalfa-Tremorfa is conferring with other stakeholders in St Philip’s, getting everyone on board and aware of our forthcoming presence, and we look forward to hopefully moving to Tremorfa in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we are very happy to be able to worship in St Faith’s and have the warm support of Elaine and Ruth, the clergy, and Marilyn the church warden.
Next Sunday is the mid-point of Great Lent, being the Sunday of the Adoration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, and though I know we will have a number of active parishioners away, I do hope that we will see those parishioners who have not been to Liturgy during the Fast. Pascha is fast approaching, and we need to show our readiness for the Lord’s Life-Bestowing Passion and Resurrection.
This week’s services will start with the Akathist to the Passion in Nazareth House at 18:00 in Thursday. On Friday we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts in the Oratory at 14:00, returning on Saturday to celebrate the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste with the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom at 10:30.
Sunday’s Divine Liturgy of St Basil for the Sunday of the Holy Cross will be celebrated in St Faith’s, Llanishen at 11:00.
With regard to Holy Unction / Елеосвящения during Lent we would like to clarify that:
The rite of Soborovanie / Concelebrated Holy Unction will be celebrated in the cathedral at 14:00 on Saturday 29 March, with the parish clergy concelebrating with the bishop.
There will not be a bus, as very few parishioners indicated their interest in this option, making it prohibitively expensive. So, we hope that parishioners will organise car-shares to maximise the number of those able to attend.
Additionally, we will be celebrating the Rite of the Mystery of Holy Unction (Чин последование таинства Елеосвящения) in the parish, hopefully on the Wednesday of Holy Week. However, until we move to St Philip’s and know the availability of the building for Holy Week, we are unable to arrange or announce anything.
This local celebration will be with the bishop’s special blessing, as the Lenten ‘Soborovanie’ is only usually celebrated by a bishop and six concelebrating priests in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
The baptised and confessed faithful may receive anointing at ONE of these services, and NOT multiple times.
Confession is a requisite and not an option, as this is a Holy Mystery. Therefore, children whose age means they are not yet going to confession do not yet partake of this anointing.
It has been a great blessing to have the Psalter group reading the whole Psalter each day during the Fast, and I hope that this brings a greater understanding of the Psalms and their spiritual meaning for the Church, far removed from ancient Israelite society.
As several of our young people have commented, the Old Testament can be extremely challenging for us as Christians and the Church of the New Israel, but beyond the literal imagery of war and violence, the Psalms now teach us the importance of spiritual warfare, bear great moral truths, call us to prayer, admonish us to repent and call us to worship the Lord, falling down before His greatness, glory and majesty, as well as bearing prophetic images of the Saviour, His saving Passion, Resurrection and Ascension.
For those for whom this reading has been a beginning, I very much hope that the Psalter will continue to be a valuable resource in their spiritual lives after the Fast.
May we ask your prayers for the sick / unwell in our community and among the friends and families of our faithful, as well as those with more long term health issues: Liudmila, Brigid, Maria, Valery, Galina, Irina, and Marina.
As we have been informed of developments regarding the former Serbian Church property in Ely, we ask your prayers as we consider its possibilities and viability as a permanent ROCOR base in the city. We especially ask your prayers to St Nikolaj (Velimirović). It was on his feast, yesterday, that we received news via London.
Hierarch of Christ, Nikolaj, pray to God for us!
Troparion, Tone 8: O golden-tongued preacher proclaiming the risen Christ, / everlasting guide of the cross-bearing Serbian people, / resounding harp of the Holy Spirit, and dear to monastics who rejoice in thee, / pride and boast of the priesthood, teacher of repentance, master for all nations, / guide of those in the army of Christ as they pray to God, / Holy Nikolaj teacher in America and pride of the Serbian people, / with all the saints, implore the only Lover of mankind / to grant us peace and joy in his heavenly kingdom!
Dear brothers and sisters, greetings for the feast of St Gerasimos, famously remembered to taking a thorn from the paw of a lion who came to him, and being befriended by the creature.
His monastery, of which he was abbot, remains a place beloved of pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Saint Gerasimos was a native of Lycia (Asia Minor). From his early years he was distinguished for his piety. Having received monastic tonsure, he withdrew into the desert of the Thebaid (in Egypt). Thereafter, in about the year 450, the monk arrived in Palestine and settled at the Jordan, where he founded a monastery.
For a certain while Saint Gerasimos was tempted by the heresy of Eutyches and Dioscorus, which acknowledged only the divine nature in Jesus Christ, but not His human nature (i.e. the Monophysite heresy). Saint Euthymius the Great (January 20) helped him to return to the true Faith.
Saint Gerasimos established a strict monastic Rule. He spent five days of the week in solitude, occupying himself with handicrafts and prayer. On these days the wilderness dwellers did not eat cooked food, nor did they kindle a fire, but ate only dry bread, roots and water.
On Saturday and Sunday all gathered at the monastery for Divine Liturgy and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In the afternoon, taking a supply of bread, tubers, water and an armload of date-palm branches for weaving baskets, the desert-dwellers returned to their own cells. Each had only old clothes and a mat, upon which he slept. When they left their cells, the door was never locked, so that anyone could enter and rest, or take whatever he needed.
Saint Gerasimos himself attained a high level of asceticism. During Great Lent he ate nothing until the very day of the All-Radiant Resurrection of Christ, when he received the Holy Mysteries. Going out into the desert for all of Great Lent, Saint Gerasimos took with him his beloved disciple Saint Cyriacus (September 29), whom Saint Euthymius had sent to him.
When Saint Euthymius the Great died, Saint Gerasimos saw how angels carried the soul of the departed up to Heaven. Taking Cyriacus with him, the monk immediately set off to the monastery of Saint Euthymius and consigned his body to the earth.
Saint Gerasimos died peacefully, mourned by his brethren and disciples. Before his death, a lion had aided Saint Gerasimos in his tasks, and upon the death of the Elder it died at his grave and was buried nearby. Therefore the lion is depicted on icons of the saint, at his feet.
Canon to the venerable one, the acrostic whereof is: “I praise Gerasimos, as I weave for him a crown,” 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, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
The glory of immortality and a divine crown of incorruption hath Christ given thee who struggled well, O Gerasimos.
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Having the Bestower of light attending to thy supplications, O father Gerasimos, thou didst diminish the darkness of the demons.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Through the streams of thy tears, O father, thou didst bring forth the fruits of immortality like an irrigated tree, O divinely wise Gerasimos.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Ease thou the pain of my heart, O all-pure Theotokos who, in manner past understanding and recounting, gave birth unto Christ without pain.
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, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Following Him Who endured crucifixion willingly, O venerable one, thou wast wholly crucified to life and to the passions.
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Strengthened by the support of Him Who accomplisheth all things, O wise Gerasimos, thou wast able to trample down all the snares of the mighty one.
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Made strong by an humble mind and a humble spirit, O wise one, thou didst utterly lay low the passions which corrupt the soul.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
With the splendours of thy wonders thou dost, like the great sun, enlighten the hearts of all who praise thee with faith.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O all-immaculate one, thou gavest birth unto the Son Who is enthroned with the Father and of the same essence, and Who showeth the portals of life unto all.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional hymn, Tone IV, Spec. Mel .“Thou hast appeared today….”: Passing over the wiles of the demons through the activity of the Cross, O venerable one, thou didst become a god by adoption. Wherefore, we faithfully honor thee, O Gerasimos . (Twice)
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: Stretching forth thine all-pure hands, O Virgin Mary, protect those who trust in thee and cry out to thy Son: O Christ, grant Thy mercies unto all!
Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesdays and Fridays): Beholding thy Son suspended upon the Tree, O all-pure one, thou didst cry out in grief, thy maternal womb rent with pain: Woe is me! How hast Thou set, O mine everlasting Light?
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, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Thine enlightened heart became a temple of the Spirit, O father. Wherefore, it poureth forth gifts, healing afflictions by grace divine.
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Submitting to the law of God, thou didst follow the Lord from thy youth, O father, embracing the life of the bodiless ones while yet in the body.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thy steps were directed to the way of salvation, O venerable one, by the guidance of the divine Spirit Who dwelt within thee, O venerable one.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Jesus, Who loveth mankind, Whom thou didst bear in thy womb, O all-immaculate one, do thou beseech, that He save all who hymn thee.
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, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Having received rays of the Holy Spirit with a purified mind, thou didst become a light to monastics.
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Thy life, shining forth through the constraint of nature, showed thee to be an earthly angel in the flesh.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Filled with the life-imparting waters of the Spirit, thou didst pour forth rivers of wonders, O father Gerasimos.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Theotokos, the incarnate Word descended upon thee like a shower, unto the enlightenment of our souls.
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, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
The weakness of thy flesh, strengthened by the power of Him Who hath shone forth upon us from the pure Virgin, O venerable father, hath brought low the power of the incorporeal foe.
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Having crushed the jaws of the noetic lions by grace, thou didst put down the assaults of the senses, O venerable one. Wherefore, a lion submitted to thee, like a sheep to a shepherd, ministering to thee right dutifully.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Acquiring an angelic life and a mind humble in Christ, O father, thou wast meek. And now, thou hast made thine abode in the land of the meek, filled with divine joy.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Effulgence of the Father dwelt within thee, O pure one, and, born in the flesh, He hath enlightened the world and delivered all from the darkness of polytheism. Wherefore, we hymn thee.
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, Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Having been lifted up….”: Burning with heavenly love, thou didst prefer the harshness of the desert of Jordan more than all the delights of the world; hence, a wild beast submitted to thee even until the time of thy death, O father, dying in obedience and grief on thy grave. Thus did God glorify thee. And when thou dost pray to Him, O father Gerasimos, be thou mindful of us.
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, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Light and gladness, its spouse, shone forth upon thee, O father, who dost ever abide in the mansions of heaven and dost chant: Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, forever!
Venerable Father, Gerasimos, pray to God for us.
Having watered thy heart with showers of tears, O God-bearer, thou bringest forth fruits of virtue, through which, with all the venerable, thou hast received the delight of heaven forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Continue reading →
Dear brothers and sisters, Sunday’s celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy reminded me that I had been remiss in sharing the canon to St John of Damascus with one of our parishioners, so I am posting the canon to this great Church Father below, hoping that parishioners might do a little on-line research into this holy father and his defence of sacred imagery in the life and worship of the Church.
Canon of the Venerable One, Tone II
Ode I, Irmos:In the deep of old the infinite Power overwhelmed Pharaoh’s whole army. * But the Incarnate Word annihilated pernicious sin. * Exceedingly glorious is the Lord, * for gloriously hath He been glorified.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
To me who desirest to begin thy praises, grant me now thy honeyed voice, O venerable one, wherewith thou didst with hymns illumine the Orthodox Church which honoureth thy memory, O father John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
To me who desirest to begin thy praises, grant me now thy honeyed voice, O venerable one, wherewith thou didst with hymns illumine the Orthodox Church which honoureth thy memory, O father John.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Perceiving the nature of things most excellently, as a wise judge keen of intellect, thou didst prefer eternal things to those which do not last; for thou didst trade transitory things for those which are abiding, O John, where Christ hath now glorified thee.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou hast been shown to surpass all creation, visible and invisible, O pure Ever-virgin; for thou gavest birth to the Creator, in that it was His good pleasure to become incarnate in thy womb. Him do thou entreat with boldness, that He save those who hymn thee.
Ode III, Irmos: The desert of the barren Church of the nations * blossomed like a lily * at Thy coming, O Lord, * therein hath my heart been established.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst distribute thy wealth, thereby giving it back to God; wherefore, the kingdom in the heavens hath been prepared for thee, and thou hast now received abundant rewards, O John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst distribute thy wealth, thereby giving it back to God; wherefore, the kingdom in the heavens hath been prepared for thee, and thou hast now received abundant rewards, O John.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Receiving a talant of wisdom, O John, thou didst adorn the Church of Christ, adorning it with thy deeds; and, departing this life, thou hast increased it exceedingly.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The ranks of angels were astonished, O most pure one, and the hearts of mortals were filled with awe at thy birthgiving. Wherefore, we honour thee, the Theotokos, with faith.
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.
Sedalion of the venerable one, Tone III: Thou hast been shown to us to be a melodious and sanctified trumpet, O most sacred one, sounding forth in hymnody the teachings of the Lord and Saviour to the ends of the earth; and by thy words thou hast illumined the earth, O venerable John, entreat Christ God, that He grant us great mercy. (Twice)
Stavrotheotokion, Tone III (replaces the Theotokion on Wednesdays and Fridays): The unblemished ewe-lamb of the Word, * the incorrupt Virgin Mother, * beholding Him Who sprang forth from her without pain * suspended upon the Cross, cried out, maternally lamenting: * “Woe is me, O my Child! * How is it that Thou dost suffer willingly, * desiring to redeem mankind ** from the indignity of the passions?”
Ode IV, Irmos: From a Virgin didst Thou come forth, not as an ambassador, * nor as an Angel, * but the very Lord himself incarnate, * and didst save me, the whole man; * wherefore I cry unto Thee: * Glory to Thy power, O Lord!
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst distribute thy wealth, thereby giving it back to God; wherefore, the kingdom in the heavens hath been prepared for thee, and thou hast now received abundant rewards, O John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Submitting to the command of Christ, thou didst forsake the beauty, wealth, sweetness and splendour of the world; and taking up thy cross for His sake, O wise John, thou didst follow after Him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Impoverishing thyself for Christ Who impoverished Himself for the sake of our salvation, thou wast glorified with Him as He promised, and dost now reign with Him Who reigneth for ever, O John.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
All of us, the faithful, know thee to be the haven of salvation and an invincible rampart, O Lady Theotokos; for by thy supplications thou dost deliver our souls from tribulations.
Ode V, Irmos: O Christ God Thou art a mediator between God and man; * for by Thee, O Master, * we have been led from the night of ignorance, * to Thy Father, the Source of light.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Made steadfast in the divine life by the fear of Christ, O father John, thou didst subject all thy carnal mind to thy spirit, cleansing thy senses.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Made steadfast in the divine life by the fear of Christ, O father John, thou didst subject all thy carnal mind to thy spirit, cleansing thy senses.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Having assiduously purified body, mind and soul of all defilement, O divinely wise one, thou didst receive the splendour of the threefold Sun, Who hath enriched thee with radiant gifts.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Entreat thy Son and Lord, O pure Virgin; that He grant deliverance from the assaults of the adversary to all captives and peace to those who place their hope on thee.
Ode VI, Irmos: I am held fast in the depths of sin O Saviour, * and am overwhelmed by the sea of life, * but as Jonah was delivered from the sea-monster, * so also deliver me from the passions, * and save me.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Illumined by the grace of the Spirit, and clearly enriched by the knowledge of secular things, thou didst generously give thy wealth to the needy, O John.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Illumined by the grace of the Spirit, and clearly enriched by the knowledge of secular things, thou didst generously give thy wealth to the needy, O John.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Like the choirs of heaven didst thou adorn the Church in Orthodox manner, intoning divine harmonious hymns to the Trinity.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou gavest birth without knowing a man, O Virgin, and remainest eternally virgin, revealing the true Godhead of thy Son and God in images.
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 of the venerable one, Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Having been lifted up upon the Cross …”: Let us hymn John, the honoured and divinely eloquent speaker and hymnographer, * the instructor and teacher of the Church, * the opponent of the enemy; * for taking up the Cross of the Lord as a sword, * he hath cut down all the falsehood of heresies, * and as a fervent intercessor before God ** he bestoweth forgiveness of transgressions upon all.
Ikos: Together let us cry out to the instructor, teacher and priest of the Church, as an initiate of ineffable mysteries: By thy supplications to God open our mouths and grant that we may speak the words of thy doctrines; for thou didst appear in the world as one who shares in the Trinity, shining forth in the world like another sun, illumining all with thy miracles and teachings, like Moses ever instructing in the law of the Lord. And thou wast a luminary in word and deed, praying unceasingly, that forgiveness of transgressions be given to all.
Ode VII, Irmos: The godless order of the lawless tyrant * fanned the roaring flame; * but Christ bedewed the God-fearing children with the Spirit, * therefore He is blessed and supremely exalted.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Afire with zeal, thou didst strike down all the false knowledge of God-opposing heresies with thy splendid writings, O John, manifestly making clear what had been sown of old by the wise and written carefully.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Afire with zeal, thou didst strike down all the false knowledge of God-opposing heresies with thy splendid writings, O John, manifestly making clear what had been sown of old by the wise and written carefully.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
With the discourses and the dogmas compiled by thee, thou didst fervently denounce the blasphemous impiety of the abominable disciples of Manes, who strove to infect the Church of Christ, O John.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O undefiled Virgin, Mother unwedded, we know thee to be more holy than the saints, in that thou alone hast given birth to the immutable God; for thou hast poured forth incorruption upon all the faithful by thy divine birth giving.
Ode VIII, Irmos: In Babylon, the activity of the fire was once divided, * for, by the command of God it consumed the Chaldeans, * but bedewed the faithful, who chant: * Bless ye the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst openly denounce the division of Nestorius, the confusion of Severus and the monothelite foolishness, O thrice-blessed John, shining forth the radiance of Orthodoxy upon all the ends of the earth in the one true Faith.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou didst openly denounce the division of Nestorius, the confusion of Severus and the monothelite foolishness, O thrice-blessed John, shining forth the radiance of Orthodoxy upon all the ends of the earth in the one true Faith.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The enemy abundantly sowed the tares of heresy in the Church of Christ, that the worship of Christ in His precious icons might be eliminated; but he did not find thee sleeping, O all-blessed John, who uprooted every seed of evil.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Without seed didst thou conceive Him Who is inseparable from the Father and dwelt in thy womb as God and man, and thou hast given birth to Him ineffably, O most pure Theotokos. Wherefore, we confess thee to be the salvation of us all.
Ode IX, Irmos: The Son of the Unoriginate Father, God and Lord, * hath appeared to us incarnate of a Virgin, * to enlighten those in darkness, * and to gather the dispersed; * therefore the all-hymned Theotokos do we magnify.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou hast taught all the children of the Church to hymn in an Orthodox fashion the adored Unity in Trinity, and to clearly theologize concerning the divine incarnation of the Word, O John, explaining those things which many find difficult to understand in the sacred Scriptures.
Venerable father, John, pray to God for us.
Thou hast taught all the children of the Church to hymn in an Orthodox fashion the adored Unity in Trinity, and to clearly theologize concerning the divine incarnation of the Word, O John, explaining those things which many find difficult to understand in the sacred Scriptures.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Having hymned the ranks of the saints, the pure Theotokos, the forerunner of Christ, the apostles, the prophets, fasters and wise teachers, the righteous and the martyrs, O John, thou dost now abide in their mansions.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
In a manner beyond understanding, O Virgin Theotokos, thou didst become the bridal-chamber of the incarnation of the Word, arrayed and embroidered with the glory of the virtues. Wherefore, we proclaim thee to be the Theotokos, O allimmaculate one.
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Troparion of the venerable one, Tone VIII:Teacher of Orthodoxy, instructor of piety and chastity, * luminary of the Church, God-inspired nourishment of monastics, * O supremely wise John, thou spiritual flute illumining all, ** entreat Christ God that our souls be saved.
After the rigours of the first week of the Great Fast, with the penitential themes of the Great Canon of Repentance, our Sunday celebration in St Faith’s offered a festal day, as we celebrated the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the restoration of the Holy Icons in 842, and the institution of this annual feast in 843. through the faith of the most-pious sovereigns, the Empress Theodora and her son, the Emperor and Autocrat Michael III. May their memory be eternal!
If we mention Orthodox Christianity to people, one of their primary associations is the central place of icons in our worship and culture.
The icons, rooted in the Lord’s Incarnation, with its material, physical, and representational possibility through the Saviour’s coming in the flesh, are not simply a physical manifestation of our Faith, but a sign of God’s entry into the physical realm of His creation.
In His prologue, St John the Theologian wrote that “…the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.» (John 1:14), and through the icons of the Lord, we continue to proclaim with St John, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.” (1st letter of St John 1:1)
St John of Damascus, a defender of the veneration of the Holy Icons wrote, “I boldly draw an image of the invisible God, not as invisible, but as having become visible for our sakes by partaking of flesh and blood. I do not draw an image of the immortal Godhead, but I paint the image of God who became visible in the flesh.”
When we encounter the icons we remember that “God is the Lord, and hath revealed Himself to us.” (Psalm 118:27), above all in the Incarnate Lord, Who is the perfect expression of the meeting of the Divine and the human, the heavenly and earthly, Spirit and matter/creation, the Uncircumscribable and the circumscribable.
In their reflection of Him, this meeting is also manifested in the lives of the saints, and, by extension, in the Holy Icons, through which we are able to physically express our spiritualw relationship with God, with the Mother of God and the Saints, recalling that St Basil clearly reminds us that, “ the honour given to the icon passes to the prototype.” Thus in our veneration of the Holy Icons, we worship God and honour the Theotokos and the Saints, through whom He has revealed and manifested His Grace, blessing the world through the God-pleasers who have shown us the path of the Christian life.
It was wonderful to e surrounded by so many icons in St Faith’s yesterday: some of the icons being people’s name-saints; others icons especially dear to our brothers and sisters; others important icons in the life of our Church, through which God has poured forth grace, miracles and healing.
After the Cross, the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, led us in our procession, and the fact that we followed the Saviour’s Life-Giving Cross and the Mother of God, along with the saints, sums up what should be the true Christian life.
May the Holy Icons always be our window and invitation into the heavenly life, and into eternity and the glory of the age to come!
I am starting this week with a quiet few days after last week’s daily services in Cardiff and “abroad” – and what a wonderful week it was!
From Monday to Thursday, Great Compline with the Great Canon was chanted in the Oratory Church, and the Akathist to the Lord’s Saving Passion was chanted on Friday. In the coming weeks, this will be chanted in Nazareth House on Thursday evenings.
I would encourage the faithful to continue to turn to the Great Canon in their personal prayers throughout the Fast, and we will, of course, chant the whole Great Canon in the matins of Thursday of the fifth week.
The first Saturday of the Feast, that of St Theodore was celebrated in Warminster, where we were blessed with a quiet and prayerful Liturgy in the sun bathed Chapel of St Lawrence, where we enjoyed a Lenten lunch after the service. Thanks to our Wessex faithful for their labours and dedication. Those unable to attend through illness and family commitments were very much in our prayers.
This week, there will be a Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts in Father Luke’s lovely garden chapel in Llanellion Wednesday at 18:30, and this will be repeated every few weeks during the Fast.
In Cardiff, we will chant the akathist in honour of the Lord’s Saving Passion in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, and we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified in the Oratory at 14:00 on Friday – St David’s Day according to the Patristic Calendar!
We know that the time of our akathists in Nazareth House will change, but at the moment the Sisters have heard no news of forthcoming evening masses.
I will be able to hear confessions both before and after the Thursday and Friday services, but would appreciate an indication of any pre-service confessions, so that I know how early to arrive.
On the second Saturday of the Great Fast, we will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and a memorial service in Prestbury United Reformed Church, in Cheltenham at 10:00, and the variables for the Liturgy may be found at the orthodoxaustin website: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bRkhlpW0u0FFlAOy5yWLlQlGE6HYway1/view
On this coming Sunday of St Gregory Palamas, we will again celebrate Liturgy in St Faith’s, Llanishen, as we are still awaiting permission to move to St Philip’s.
Trapeza will hopefully be rather less rushed than on the last two Sunday’s, but can we please encourage every able person to roll up their sleeves to help tidy up, and please be proactive in looking for jobs that need doing, and ask if you can help in any way. This wil be greatly appreciated.
As clergy, Father Mark and I want the chance to join parishioners and talk with them at trapeza, and especially to welcome visitors, but for the last two Sundays have had no opportunity to do so, or to eat and drink anything before leaving Cardiff as we are still packing, together with young Stefan, until the last minute.
Let’s all please work together so that we can have fellowship and share time together after Liturgy, and young people… please take the lead! We are greatly blessed to have so many young people, and this is their chance to contribute to parish life.
This coming Sunday is dedicated to St Gergory (Palamas) of Thessaloniki, and the variables for the Liturgy may be found here:
As previously announced, the Lenten service of Holy Unction will be celebrated in our diocesan cathedral on Saturday 29 March at 14:00, and both Father Mark the Younger and I will concelebrate with our bishop in the Holy Mystery.
Though I mooted the idea of travelling by hired bus, due limited numbers of attendees and the cost of transport, we hope that parishioners will car-share to attend this celebration. The bishop has given the exceptional blessing for the Mystery to be celebrated in parishes without the presence of a bishop.
Though this is normal in some local Churches, it is not in ROCOR, where the unction is celebrated in assembly/sobor, hence its Slavonic name of soborovanie.
Only baptised and recently confessed Orthodox Christians may receive Holy Unction, with the blessing of their spiritual father, and no child who is not yet confessing partakes of this Holy Mystery.
Once we have news about St Philip’s we can discuss Holy Week and Pascha and publish our service schedule. Until then, we are unable to speculate. Please continue and pray for a smooth and favourable relocation to Tremorfa, and soon!
Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
May God bless you all! Good strength in this second week of the Fast.
I think that all would agree that it was an immense joy to celebrate the Sunday of Forgiveness in St Faith’s Llanishen, in a church full of sunlight and warmth – both spiritually and literally, and it was a blessing to have so many young people, and to welcome new visitors.
Congratulations to all who confessed and partook of the Holy Mysteries!
After the last two weeks of Typika and communion – as lovely as our services were – it was reassuring to celebrate the Liturgy, and especially with such a well thronged choir who sang splendidly, with the gentlemen singing a Byzantine setting of the anaphora in English – seizing the chance before the longer melodies of the Liturgy of St Basil in the weeks to come.
Thanks to our singers and readers, and indeed to our servers – especially the youngest and newest additions.
Despite the limited time after our long liturgical run of the Hours, Liturgy and Vespers, we were glad that parishioners were able to enjoy a last pre-Lenten lunch before the discipline and asceticism of the Fast, in which we must eat according to need and NOT want.
There is no place for want and desire in the weeks ahead, in which each of us should learn that, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Let the Words of the Holy Scriptures – especially the Gospels and the Psalms – be our nourishment in the coming weeks, together with the lives and teachings of the saints made perfect in Christ!
We had so much hoped that we would already be settled in St Philip’s, with Lenten services at traditional times this week, but this is sadly not to be this year! As a result, we must fit in with Oratory services.
I will pray vespers very simply in the Oratory at noon each day from Monday to Thursday, with the Great Canon being chanted at 15:00, and we are very grateful to have somewhere to pray, despite the early hour, encouraging parishioners to pray the Great Canon at home… ideally in the evening.
The Divine Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts will be celebrated at noon on Friday, and the normal Eucharistic fast should be kept by those communing, with the customary prayers of preparation.
The Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of St Theodore will be celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster, on Saturday, with the Hours and Liturgy commencing at 10:30.
We will return to St Faith’s in Llanishen to celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the restoration of the Holy Icons with the Hours, Divine Liturgy and traditional moleben. Weather permitting, we will make the most of the setting with a procession around the church – so please bring an icon to carry! During the Liturgy, our icons can adorn the window ledges and bring the faces of the saints to St Faith’s!
We will again have trapeza, enjoying vegan fare. No shellfish please. Though some local Orthodox Churches are very keen on shellfish in Lent, we will stick to the ascetism of vegan food.
As we celebrate “clean Monday”, we now enter the season of turning off the TV and i-player, putting aside the games console, loosing ourselves from the grip of social media, and turning to our icon-corner to pray: picking up our prayer rope and Psalter, persevering in spiritual reading and asserting the sovereignty of the soul over the body.
For some of our parishioners, this is their first “involved” Great Lent, and we encourage them to enjoy the simplicity of the season by putting needless things on hold, not worrying about rumbling stomachs or the aches from prostrations, and to proactively look for opportunities to pray more and enjoy spiritual reading.
An important detail is to cut down social life to spend more time in prayer and seclusion, and less time talking, so that when we do get together, it really is an occasion to enjoy one another’s company and conversation.
It is also the season to avoid unnecessary travel, which undermines the praxis of the Fast for Orthodox Christians. It is sthe season forelf-renunciation, action and spiritual struggle… and it is NOT meant to be easy, like giving up chocolate or watching soaps. Orthodox Great Lent is not tokenistic: it is maximal and a time of spiritual warfare.
Fight well!
“My soul, my soul arise! Why art thou sleeping? The end is drawing near and thou wilt be confounded. Awake then and be watchful, that thou mayest be spared by Christ God, Who is everywhere and fillest all things.
Душе́ моя́, душе́ моя́, воста́ни, что спи́ши? Коне́ц приближа́ется,/ и и́маши смути́тися. Воспряни́ у́бо,/ да пощади́т тя Христо́с Бог, везде́ сый и вся́ исполня́яй. ”
This canon, which is to be found the Greek Great Book of Needs, is also chanted at Tuesday Compline in the week of tone six of the Octoechos. Whilst we are having confessions during Saturday Compline, this may be pertinent to be chanted at that time, and would certainly be valuable for parishioners as they prepare for confession and Holy Communion. In the Euchologion (Book of Needs) it is followed by a prayer of absolution by St John of Damascus, making it clear that it is intended for use in this context.
In Christ – Hieromonk Mark
A Composition of Monk Euthymios, the Chancellor, Tone 6.
Ode 1, Irmos: When Israel walked on foot in the sea as on dry land, * on seeing their pursuer Pharaoh drowned, * they cried: * Let us sing to God * a song of victory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In every way I lament my vile life and the multitude of mine abominable sins. How shall I confess to thee, О pure one? I am at a loss and filled with fear. Yet help me, О Lady.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
How shall I begin to speak of my wicked and grievous falls, plagued as I am by the passions? Woe is me! What shall I do? Yet before the end take pity on me, О Lady.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
I ever contemplate the hour of death and the dread tribunal, О most pure one, yet am I grievously led astray by my most wicked habits. But do thou help me.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The corrupter of the good, seeing me now stripped naked of godly virtues, fallen far away from God and become a stranger to Him, striveth to devour me. But do thou prevent him, О Lady.
Ode 3, Irmos: There is none as holy as Thou, * O Lord my God, * who hast exalted the horn of The faithful O good One, * and strengthened us upon the rock * of Thy confession.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
I have vilely besmirched my soul with mine evil and abominable deeds, plagued as I am by the passions, О Lady Theotokos. Where then shall I go, who am wholly stuck fast in despondency?
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Though created in the image of God, I have sullied my prodigal self by mine haughty will, О pure one, and through my likeness, in works, in word and thought, I have committed unseemly deeds.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
There is no other man who hath committed such unseemly acts, nor any other born into the world as darkened in mind as I, О good one; for I have defiled my divine baptism.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I have reached the end of mine evils, О most holy Virgin. Quickly help me, for heaven and earth cry out bitterly because of my vile and wicked deeds.
Ode 4, Irmos: Christ is my power, * my God and my Lord, * the holy Church divinely singeth, * crying with a pure mind, * keeping festival in the Lord.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The ranks of angels and the armies of the hosts of heaven are in awe of the might of thy Son, О pure one. But I am in despair, stuck fast in my lack of fear.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
All the earth hath been amazed and astonished, beholding me committing evil, wicked and vile acts, and it marvelleth at the great loving-kindness of thy Son.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
I have wickedly defiled the temple of my body, and the temple of the Lord which we enter with trembling; for although I am a prodigal, I enter it without shame. Woe is me!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Lady, show me not, О show me not to have wandered away from the tabernacle of thy Son, though I am in every way unworthy, but wash me. clean of the defilement of my transgressions.
Ode 5, Irmos: Illumine with Thy divine light, I pray, O Good One, * the souls of those who with love rise early to pray to Thee, * that they may know Thee, O Word of God, * as the true God, * Who recalleth us from the darkness of sin.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
With thy divine effulgence, О good one, cure my soul of the passions which the corrupter hath sown therein, and deliver me from his bitter captivity, for he laughs me to scorn, beholding my helpless state.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Adam broke the only commandment of thy Son, О Virgin, and was driven into exile. How shall I lament the abyss of my transgressions, for I am a criminal and have fallen away from Him?
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Shown of old to be a murderer of his brother, Cain was cursed by God. What shall I do, who am most arrogant? I have now brought death upon my soul, and am not ashamed.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I have wholly emulated the cruel Esau in gluttony and eating to satiety, and have defiled my soul by drunkenness and my life with intemperance. Who will not weep for me, who am plagued by the passions? Woe is me!
Ode 6, Irmos: Beholding the sea of life surging with the tempest of temptations, * I run to Thy calm haven, and cry to Thee: * Raise up my life from corruption, * O Most Merciful One.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
My life is prodigal, my soul defiled, my way of living wholly accursed. I have grievously dishonored my whole body with evils. Wherefore, hasten thou to help me, О Virgin.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Mine end lieth before me, and I cannot bear it, О good one. My conscience denounces me, for all my wicked deeds and my prodigal life confront me, and I fear the judgment of thy Son, О pure one.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. The burning of my flesh, the dreadful river of fire which cannot be quenched, and the insatiable worm await me; but dispel them By thy prayers, О most pure one.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I am held fast now by trembling, О good one, and I fear the pursuit of the evil one; for before the end the corrupter desires to slay me, holding me wholly captive, stripped naked of the virtues.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Sessional hymn, Tone 6: Thou art the hope, bulwark and refuge of thy people, О Virgin, from whom the Savior of all was born without pain, and thou hast saved those who set their hope on thee; for thou didst weep for thy Son at the foot of the Cross. Him do thou now beseech, that He deliver from corruption all who hymn thee.
Ode 7, Irmos: An Angel made the furnace bedew the holy Children. * But the command of God consumed the Chaldeans * and prevailed upon the tyrant to cry: * O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Seven times seven hath the evil one fanned a flame for me with the passions, ever striving to slay my heart with thoughts of fornication; wherefore, with the streams of my tears extinguish it, О Mother of God, and save me.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Despise me not who am dishonoured with the mire of my transgressions, О good Lady, for, seeing me in despair, the most evil enemy mocketh me; but do thou thyself raise me up with thy mighty hand.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Awesome is the tribunal, О my numb soul which is art rife with passions, and endless and terrible are the torments; yet fall down now before the Mother of thy Judge and God, and be not downcast.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
A slave of the passions, I have been mired in a multitude of boundless evils and have defiled my soul, body and mind; wherefore, О most pure one, with the light of thy radiance quickly lead me to the sweetness of dispassion.
Ode 8, Irmos: Thou didst make flame bedew the holy children, * and didst burn the sacrifice of a righteous man with water. * For Thou alone, O Christ, dost do all as Thou willest, * Thee do we supremely exalt throughout all ages.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Virgin Mother, who hast given birth to God Who is One of the Trinity and didst bear Him in thine arms, quench thou the fiery furnace of the passions, and bathe my soul in streams of tears.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
I fear the arrival of death, О most pure one, and am now wholly afraid of the judgment thereof, for I have committed evils and am in nowise ashamed. In thy prayers take pity on me before the end, О Virgin.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
О Lady, grant me unceasing groans and give me showers of tears to wash away my many transgressions and cleanse mine incurable sores, that I may inherit everlasting life.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I confess to thee the multitude of mine evils, О Lady, for no one else in the world hath so angered thy God, Son and Lord; wherefore, quickly move Him to mercy toward me, О Virgin,
Ode 9, Irmos: It is impossible for mankind to see God * upon Whom the orders of Angels dare not gaze; * but through thee, O all-pure one, * did the Word Incarnate become a man * and with the Heavenly Hosts * Him we magnify and thee we call blessed.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Knowing the might of thy great supplication, О most pure one, lo! I approach thee with great fear and love; for thy maternal pleas to thy Son are truly able to accomplish much, for through His loving-kindness is He inclined to mercy.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Take the choirs of the archangels and the multitude of the heavenly armies of my Creator, the assemblies of apostles and prophets, the martyrs, the venerable and the hieromartyrs, О pure one, and pray for us to God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Let me obtain thine aid now and at that hour when my spirit shall depart, О pure one, and, rescuing me quickly, deliver me from the tyranny of the demons, and leave me not in their clutches, О good and most immaculate one.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I await the compassionate Judge, thy Son Who is the Lover of mankind, О pure one. Disdain me not, but render Him well-disposed towards me, that at His most pure tribunal He may set me on His right hand, О all-immaculate one, for I have set my hope on thee.
With all of this pre-Lenten talk of the Great Canon, there must be newer parishioners asking “but what is a canon?!?”
In this case we are talking of a hymn-cycle written to reflect the Biblical Odes, with hymn verses (troparia) alternating with refrains.
A good explanation is to be found on orthowiki, so we will simply quote:
“There are nine Biblical Canticles that are chanted at Matins These form the basis of the Canon, a major component of Matins.
The nine Canticles are as follows:
Canticle One – The (First) Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-19)
Canticle Two – The (Second) Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1-43)
Canticle Three – The Prayer of Hannah (I Kings 2:1-10) KJV: 1+Samuel 2:1-10
Canticle Four – The Prayer of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1-19)
Canticle Five – The Prayer of Isaiah (Isaiah 26:9-20)
Canticle Six – The Prayer of Jonah (Jonah 2:2-9)
Canticle Seven – The Prayer of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:26-56)
Canticle Eight – The Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:57-88)
Canticle Nine – The Song of the Theotokos (the Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55); the Song of Zacharias (the Benedictus Luke 1:68-79)
Originally, these Canticles were chanted in their entirety every day, with a short refrain inserted between each verse. Eventually, short verses (troparia) were composed to replace these refrains, a process traditionally inaugurated by Saint Andrew of Crete.
Gradually over the centuries, the verses of the Biblical Canticles were omitted (except for the Magnificat) and only the composed troparia were read, linked to the original canticles by an Irmos. During Great Lent however, the original Biblical Canticles are still read.
Another Biblical Canticle, the The Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32), is either read or sung at Vespers.”
The canons – usually, but not always appointed to be chanted during matins – are a great liturgical treasure of our Church, and a great accomplishment of Byzantine hymnography, associated with some great hymnographers: St Andrew of Crete, St John of Damascus, St Joseph the Hymnographer.
The first two names are, of course, particularly associated with two of the great liturgical canons: the Great Canon of Repentance, and the Paschal Canon – both of which have a very important place in Orthodox liturgico-spiritual life.
Other canons, which we know particularly well are the Canon of Preparation for Holy Communion, the lesser Penitential Canon included in most Slavic type prayerbooks, and the “three canons”, chanted as part of preparation for Holy Communion in the East Slavic tradition: the Supplicatory Canon to the Saviour (O Sweet/Sweetest Jesus, in the Old and New Rites respectively), the Small Supplicatory Canon to the Mother of God), and the Small Supplicatory Canon to the Guardian Angel).
Supplication to St Varus, for those who have died without Holy Baptism made the canon to the Great-Martyr popular in Russia, Belorus and Ukraine, and similarly the canon to St Paisius for those who have died without repentance.
Over the centuries after the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, the growing popularity of akathist hymns (of varying, and sometimes dubious quality) largely supplanted the chanting of canons by many believers, but it is firstly to the canons that we should turn for intercessory prayer and supplication, rather than akathist hymns, as the canons are the liturgical prayers and hymns of the Church.
The faithful would greatly benefit by including the canons in their day-to-day prayer-life, particularly for Great Feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, and for the feasts of our major saints, as well as regularly praying the various canons for the sick and the departed.
This is easier for those praying in Slavonic, as the Kanonik is freely available as a unified collection of texts, in print and electronically, but with the wealth of liturgical material available on-line, a little searching will lead those praying in English to a wealth of resources – especially in the monthly menaia to be found online at the ponomar project (https://www.ponomar.net)
On our Parish webpage, we are keen to publish such liturgical canons, and also give the Slavonic links on WhatsApp.
As an extremely geographically dispersed community, the canons in our daily prayers can be a source of liturgical and prayerful unity across the miles, as we mark the feasts and seasons in our homes in the cities, towns and villages in which we live.
The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete, with its amazing overview of the mystery of repentance through the characters of the Bible should be upon everyone’s lips this week… wherever we are!
As we seek to increase our prayers in Lent, the liturgical canons should be part of our expanded prayer-life!
Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear brothers and sisters,
In the week ahead we will have our usual Thursday akathist in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, and devotions before the Cross in the Oratory at 14:00 on Friday. 
Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear brothers and sisters, 
With all of this pre-Lenten talk of the Great Canon, there must be newer parishioners asking “but what is a canon?!?”