Whilst every weekend is a celebration of the Faith, this first weekend felt especially festive after the first week of the Great Fast.
After a week of quiet services, with compline and the Great Canon of Repentance chanted in the Oratory Church from Monday to Thursday, and the first portion of the Akathist Hymn in Llanelli on Friday evening, Saturday brought the blessing of our Pilgrimage-Liturgy in Margam Abbey, and today our enthusiastic celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy in St John’s, Canton. It has been a great blessing to have services every day for the last nine days and the shared joy of this weekend’s Liturgies was the crown.
It was heartening to know that a group of our Wessex parishioners were meeting to chant Great Compline and the Canon of Repentance in the first week of Lent, with the akathist to the Mother of God on Friday, demonstrating that communal prayer is not always reliant on the presence of clergy, especially given the excellent on-line resources we now have for reader services – largely due to the good offices of Father John Whiteford in this Lenten period. See also:http://www.saintjonah.org/services/horologion.htm
Given the immense geographical dispersion of our faithful, reader services can and hopefully will form common bonds of prayer and worship between our Liturgies, whether in Cardiff or further afield.
Tomorrow will see our end of month gathering for an evening service and supper on Porphyrios’s narrow boat: a much anticipated event, with wonderful fellowship. It is incredible that a narrow-boat has become a place of prayer and one of the hubs of our Wessex mission.
As already reported on Facebook, Saturday’s Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of St Theodore was celebrated at Margam Abbey, where the restored nave of the pre-reformation abbey serves as the parish church, just a stone’s throw from the ‘castle’, the former home of the Talbot family through whose benefaction the church was restored in the 19th century.
The stately sanctuary was an imposing place in which to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, especially when we were such a little pilgrimage group which appreciated the majesty of the setting (which feels more like somewhere in the south of France than industrial South Wales), blessing kolyvo at the end of the service, and then enjoying a lovely bring-and-share lunch in the church hall.
We were very happy to have had Father Mark Greenaway-Robins and members of his warm and friendly congregation with us, and enjoyed chatting with them after the Liturgy and during the afternoon. We must thank Anastasia for singing, George for reading and Stefan for serving. Thanks also to our parish brothers and sisters for the lovely lunch.
Today saw our first Lenten Liturgy of St Basil in Cardiff, and we are grateful for our much reduced kliros for chanting our longer Lenten melodies and for the extra musical labours with the Synodikon of Orthodoxy, in which the essence of the celebration was summed up as our Deacons boldly proclaimed, “This is the Apostolic Faith! This is the Faith of the Fathers! This is the Orthodox Faith! This Faith confirmeth the Universe!”
Having prayed for the conversion of those in error, we remembered the departed teachers of the Faith, Hierarchs and Christian Sovereigns, chanting “Eternal Memory”, before beseeching “Many Years” for our living hierarchs, pastors and Christian leaders.
Even though the day had already been long, by popular request, we still added a krestny khod / procession to the end of our celebration, bringing joy to both young and old.
Congratulations to all who partook of the Holy Mysteries and thanks to everyone for such a wonderful celebration, including those who contributed to a hearty lunch, which was very much enjoyed at the end of a long, tiring and austere week.
There will be evening services in Llanelli at 19:00 on Wednesday and Friday, and confessions will be in St Alban’s Church, in Splott, on Thursday, as Nazareth House in unavailable during Western Holy Week. The akathist to the Saviour’s Passion will be chanted at 15:00, and confessions will be arranged around this devotion.
Please communicate confession requests by 18:00 on Wednesday, please.
I know that parishioners are currently discussing participating in the Mystery of Holy Unction in our cathedral at 14:00 on Saturday 20 April, and we hope that car pooling will make it possible for as many as possible to partake of this Holy Mystery. If anyone is interested and without transport please communicate with me or Tracy, so that we may explore group transport options.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that this week is going well for you, and that its simplicity is reminding you of the joy we can take in the simplest things, with fresh bread, some olives, nuts and fruit seeming like a wonderful feast, overflowing with the love and bounty of God.
I hope that parishioners are remembering that this is a season in which we eat according to need, and not according to appetite. As I keep saying, there’s nothing wrong with a rumbling tummy during Lent, and if it never rumbles you’re doing it wrong!
Many thanks to the few that have been able to attend the chanting of Great Compline and the Great Canon at the shrine of St Alban in the Oratory Church, and thanks to Father Sebastian for his limitless generosity.
I know that the very early time of 16:00 was impossible for all but a few parishioners, but we had to fit our Lenten service into the oroarium of the Oratorian Fathers who have prayers at 17:30 each day, before the church is locked for the night. This is yet another reminder of the limitations placed upon us as guests perpetually under someone else’s roof, and as you know, St John’s is used during the week.
It’s been heartening to hear that our Wessex parishioners have come together to pray the Great Canon in Bishopstrow, just outside Warminster ( where the ash staff that St Aldehelm drove into the ground, budded and grew into the ‘bishop’s tree’).
In private prayer, I would very much recommend parishioners continue to pray the portions of the canon whenever possible during the coming weeks of Lent, as part of the penitential praxis of the season, and to follow up the Biblical references that may evade memory or knowledge.
Those who pray the canon, know that it shows the skill of St Andrew of Crete not only as a hymnographer, but also as a Biblical exegete in the patristic tradition. His words can lead is into Biblical discoveries as we plug the gaps in our Old Testament knowledge.
Tomorrow night will see the chanting of the first portion of the Akahist Hymn, according to the custom established in Llanelli from its many years as a parish of the Greek archdiocese.
Compline and the akathist will be chanted at 19:00, in the chapel of St David and St Nicholas in Llanelli.
The Saturday of St Theodore will be marked by our pilgrimage Liturgy in Margam Abbey, (Port Talbot SA13 2TA), where we will bless kolyvo in honour of the Holy Great-Martyr at the end of the service.
We will have a bring-and-share lunch in the church hall, and look forward to exploring the part of the abbey still used as the parish church, as well as the ruins and the ancient carved stones collected from around the area, and testifying to its significance as an ancient Christian site.
If anyone can offer lifts to our young people, this will be appreciated. We currently have five people, who will otherwise travel by train.
At the end of Sunday’s Liturgy, we will serve the moleben for the conversion of those who have departed into error, which is more widely a celebration of the Triumph of the Orthodoxy and the restoration of the holy icons. This service is celebrated across our diocese, and in the cathedral our bishop will solemnly pronounce the anathemas, thereby declaring Orthodox Truth and liturgically declaring the condemnation of those who reject the Faith of the Orthodox Church and who were anathematised by the God-Bearing Fathers of the Holy Ecumenical Councils and Synods.
During the chanting of the ‘Te Deum’ – the Hymn of St Ambrose of Milan – we will venerate the Holy Icons, and you are asked to bring an icon to hold during this service, so that we form an ikonastasis of the faithful bearing the Holy Icons for the celebration of their own restoration.
Please join us if you are able, to celebrate the end of our first week in Lent.
Greetings on this first day of the Great Fast, and thanks to all who contributed to our weekend celebrations in Cheltenham and Cardiff.
Having left maslenitsa behind, and having enjoyed sharing both food and one another’s company, we now enter into the Lenten season with a first week that is dominated by the words of the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete.
Having commemorated the fall and the casting out of Adam and Eve from Paradise in our Sunday services, the Great Canon explores man’s sinful rebellion through the ensuing generations of humanity, not only using the myriad examples as a warning, but also positively focussing on the mystery of repentance and return to God, Who desires the repentance, return and restoration of all of His children.
Through the many Biblical examples we hear, we are called to action in these days of the Great Fast, to wake up and take our spiritual life and our salvation seriously, through obedience, repentance, prayer and fasting.
As we hear in the kontakion,
“My soul, my soul, arise! Why are you sleeping? The end is drawing near, and you will be confounded, awake then and be watchful that Christ our God may spare you, Who is everywhere, and fills all things.”
Now is the time for us to arise from slumber, and even as the natural world around us comes to life and brings forth flowers and blossoms, the season of the Fast needs to be a time of growth and blossoming for us, with the knowledge that blossom becomes fruit.
At 16:00 this afternoon, and on the next three afternoons there will be a quiet celebration of compline, with the reading of the Great Canon at the shrine of St Alban, in the Oratory Church of St. Alban-on-the-Moors, Swinton Street, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 2NT.
I know that some of our Wessex parishioners are coming together to chant the canon, and encourage all who are unable to get to a service to add it to their evening prayers, at home.
The Great Canon will likewise be chanted in the Chapel of Saints David and St Nicholas in Llanelli at the later time of 19:00 each evening. Compline with the Akathist Hymn will be chanted there at the same time on Friday.
This Saturday – 23rd March – will see our March pilgrimage to Margam Abbey, where the Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of St Theodore will be celebrated at 10:30.
At the moment, only a tiny handful of parishioners have indicated their intention to attend, so please let me know if you are coming, especially as we may need to coordinate some student-lifts or pick-ups from Port Talbot railway station. As usual, there will be a bring-and-share lunch after Liturgy, with food obviously being Lenten. May I remind you that it is not our local tradition to eat shellfish, whatever happens in other jurisdictions.
As announced at Liturgy and in previous newsletters, the mystery of Holy Unction will be celebrated in our London Cathedral at 14:00 on Saturday 20th April, when His Grace, Bishop Irenei will concelebrate with the clergy of our diocese to consecrate the Holy Oil of Anointing for the strengthening and healing of those who receive partake.
All Orthodox Christians of seven years and over may be anointed at the service, providing they are in good standing within the Church and have prepared by fasting and confession.
Looking forward to next Sunday, when we will celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the restoration of the holy icons, weather permitting, we will preform a cross-procession / krestny khod at the end of the moleben and we would like parishioners to bring icons to celebrate this triumphal first Sunday of the Fast. Trapeza offerings have the weekend relaxation permitting wine and oil, but no shell-fish / sea-food, please.
I will hear confessions, as usual on Thursday, though they will be in St Alban’s Church before our 16:00 service. If you require a later confession, please let me know, and I will arrange early evening confessions in Nazareth House.
I hope and pray that this week is one of simplicity, withdrawal and peace for you: a week of as few words as possible, with electronic devices switched off unless needed for specific reasons, social-media on the back-burner, a minimal diet that does not try to imitate the food of the rest of the year with ‘pretend’ substitutes, and silence that allows you to hear the birds singing as spring gathers pace and the rumbles of a stomach that is fasting!
Everyone should know, but a reminder that our diet is vegan, and we should forego olive oil and wine (alcohol) on weekdays. Saturday as the Sabbath, and Sunday as the Lord’s Day, have the consolation of wine and oil. Finding food with no oils or vegetable fats can be difficult, but avoiding fried food, sauces and dressings, and obviously oily food is pretty straightforward!
Twenty of our parishioners are reading a kathisma of the Psalter each day, ensuring that it is completed in the parish each day, and I would encourage everyone to read the Psalms of David as much as possible during Lent.
May God bless you and the arena of your Lenten struggle. Καλό Στάδιο!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
On this Forgiveness Sunday when we commemorate the casting out of Adam and Eve from Eden, we reflect on the fall and exile of the first-father and the first mother through their disobedience and rebellion against God, yet we do so on the threshold of the wonderful journey that leads us from this annual commemoration of the sorrow of banishment to the wonder of Pascha: the great sign and celebration of our salvation, and of our reconciliation with God through the Saviour’s life-giving passion and third-day resurrection.
We embark on this penitential-journey with the foreknowledge of the economy of salvation, of the Victory of the Cross, and the message of the empty Tomb, already knowing that Christ is risen and has conquered death by death.
Though this Sunday is a lamentation for the world-changing effects of the disobedience of the first-Adam and first-Eve, in the imminent penitential-season we will journey to Golgotha and the empty Tomb to rejoice in the saving and life-giving obedience of the Saviour, the second-Adam, born of the Theotokos who is the second-Eve: the Son of God obedient to the will of the Father “even to the death of the Cross”, and the Mother of God obedient to the will of the Most High, announced to her by the archangel to whom she obediently submitted: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Through this redemptive obedience, beyond the season of the Great Fast, at Pascha, the three signs of the fall identified by St John Chrysostom – the woman (Eve), the tree and death – will be negated and cancelled out by the Woman (the Theotokos), the Tree (of the Cross), and the new life of the resurrection!
The signs of the fall and the bitter fruits of pride and disobedience were destroyed by humility and obedience, as the Lord born in the flesh, entered the world through the selfless obedience of the Mother of God, redeeming humanity through His own obedience to the Father, even descending into Sheol/Hades to harrow it and lead Adam and Eve and all of His exiled forefathers and mothers on an exodus journey from the slavery and imprisonment of death to the freedom of the life of the heavenly kingdom.
So… as we mourn the bitter fruits of the tree of disobedience in Eden, we already anticipate the end of the Lenten journey, looking to reap the wondrous life-giving fruits of the tree of obedience, which is the Cross – looking forward to celebrating Christ’s victory over death and the harrowing of hell, through the wood of the cruciform Tree of Life set up on Golgotha.
Yet as we remember the exile of Adam and Eve from paradise, we must not fall into the mistake of thinking that the mystery of the Cross was something centuries away from them, after the Old Testament centuries, or that the Lord had to come up with a plan B, having to figure out how the fall would be remedied and fallen humanity restored.
There is an old Slavic icon, (of western inspiration, and not without controversy), the “Pre-Eternal Council – Prevechny Sovyet” which reminds us that even as Adam and Eve fell, even as the effects of their disobedience were pronounced, and even as they were banished, God as all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful ALREADY had the remedy – already had the answer, and already looked forward to the unfolding of the mystery of salvation in the fullness of time.
Without entering into iconographical and canonical arguments, this icon possesses a powerful message because of the salvific reality it expresses.
The Father, with the dove representing the Holy Spirit upon His breast already presents the Tree of the Cross, upon which the Son is nailed, often with angelic wings covering His body and showing that this is not in the fulfilled event of the crucifixion, but as a pledge and a sign of the sacrificial love and obedience in which the Saviour – met in the Old testament as the angel of Great Council – will enter creation and human-existence to look for and find Adam and Eve, and seek out their children from the beginning of the ages to the end of time.
It is an iconic representation of the council of the persons of the Holy Trinity, the perfect community of love and self-offering, giving and directing love one to another, and manifested in this salvific-plan to be realised and fulfilled Saviour’s future passion, and the Victory of the Cross.
In this icon, in the already conceived economy of salvation, the Father has already raised up the Cross, and the the Only-Begotten Son and Word of God has already accepted its inner meaning and taken it up in His obedience to the Father, and through the centuries of the Old Covenant, God-in-Trinity has already set in motion the journey to Golgotha and the Arimathaean’s Tomb through the generations of the sons of Adam.
In the Old Testament, through their human generations recorded in the ancestral genealogies in the Gospels, Christ-Yahweh is already on the highway seeking out the Prodigal Son, journeying toward his exiled heirs
The encounter with them in His earthly, incarnate-life, His Passion, and the Mystery of the Cross is already unfolding through the Old Testament centuries, not just as a historical and temporal event in Jerusalem centred on an ignominious wooden gibbet, but as the self-emptying, sacrificial-love through which God’s remedy for the fall and its bitter fruits is made real to broken and fallen humanity.
In the vigil service, we hear the words, “Taking up the armour of the Cross, let us make war against the enemy”, so in this season of the Fast, let us imitate Christ, and take up our own Cross, renouncing our self-will, selfishness and the earthly shackles that enslave us, knowing that the Mystery of the Cross in our lives will lead us from death to life, from slavery to freedom and from darkness to light, led forward by the Saviour to Whom we cry, “Glory to Thee, Who hast laid Thy Cross as a bridge over death, that souls might pass over upon it from the dwelling of the dead to the dwelling of life!”
This stark contrast of bitterness, exile and death with sweetness, reconciliation and life runs through this day, and is represented powerfully by the fact that it is traditional for Paschal Hymns to be chanted during the rite of forgiveness at the end of vespers, so that even as we are lamenting the fall and asking forgiveness of one another we are already singing of “a Pascha which has opened for us the gates of paradise’, and even as we embrace one another asking forgiveness and reconciliation, we hear the Paschal words, “Let us embrace each other! Let us call ‘brothers’ even those that hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection!”
Knowing that obedience is at the heart of the Paschal Mystery, let us seek to follow the Saviour from death to life through our repentance and transformation by the Saviour in Whom all things are made new, and Whose Cross and Tomb call us to journey with prayer, fasting and spiritual watchfulness through the season of the Great Fast to the radiant night of Pascha, starting as we now celebrate the vespers of forgiveness, performing the rite of forgiveness as we hear the quiet invitation of the Pascal greeting: Christ is Risen!
On this feast of St David, according to the patristic calendar, we look forward to a slightly belated celebration this evening, when we will honour our national patron with the chanting of his canon and the stikhira of his feast.
We honour St David as a true shepherd and defender of doctrinal Orthodoxy, who opposed falsehood and was not afraid to expose and denounce heresy, guided in his preaching by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In an age of apostasy in which the Church is attacked, with worldly and man-pleasing compromise eroding the fundament of Truth, as false-shepherds make faustian bargains with the fallen world and its rulers, we commend our hierarchs and communities to St David’s protection and intercession, trusting in the power and efficacy of his prayers.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us!
Canon of the saint, the acrostic whereof is David droppeth miracles like holy dew, in Tone VI
Ode I, Irmos: With an upraised arm Christ drowned the chariots of Pharaoh and his power, and saved Israel, who sent up the hymn: Let us sing unto our wondrous God!
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Deign Thou to fill my mouth with eloquence, O Christ, that I may praise the wondrous David, who enjoineth us, saying: Let us sing unto our wondrous God!
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
A youth comely and full of divine grace, thou didst undertake to study well the Scriptures, O holy David, that thou mightest sing unto our wondrous God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Verily did thy fellows behold a dove with beak of gold playing at thy holy lips, O glorious David, teaching thee to sing the praises of our wondrous God.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
In voices of exultation let us hymn the all-pure and immaculate Theotokos, that, saved by her supplications, we may sing unto our wondrous God.
Ode III, Irmos: All the heavens, which were established by Thee, O Word and Power of God, confess Thine ineffable glory and the creation of Thine all-accomplishing hands; for there is none holy save Thee, O Lord.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Despising the vanity of the world, O sacred one, thou didst flee to the venerable Paulinus, great among ascetics, and he taught thee to cry out to the Master of all: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord!
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Destroying his bodily eyes by constant weeping, the elder Paulinus fell blind; but, full of the power of the Word of God, the holy David healed him, crying out: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Replete with the grace of God, David most great set it as his holy task to build many churches and to establish many monasteries, wherein the pious might sing: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Othe heavenly glory of thine ineffable birth-giving, O holy Virgin and Mother For in manner beyond the comprehension of man thou gavest birth to thine own Creator, the Word and Power of God.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional hymn, in Tone I: Withdrawing from the tumults of the world, O holy David, thou didst willingly bend thy neck beneath the yoke of Christ, submitting in obedience to the holy Paulinus, who trained thee to contend with skill against the adversary of our race. Glory to the Judge of thy contest! Glory to Him Who gave thee the victory over Satan! Glory to Him Who hath awarded thee the wreath of victory!
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 thy divine hands wherewith thou didst bear the Creator Who in His goodness became incarnate, O all-holy Virgin, beg thou that He deliver from temptations, sorrows and tribulations us who praise thee with love and cry out: Glory to Him Who dwelt within thee! Glory to Him Who came forth from thee! Glory to Him Who hath delivered us by thy birthgiving!
Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion of Wednesday and Friday): In awe at Thy great and awesome forbearance, O Saviour, the all-pure one lamented bitterly and cried out to Thee Who wast crucified on the Cross by the iniquitous and Whose side was pierced with a spear by the soldiers: Glory to Thy love for man! Glory to Thy goodness! Glory to Thee Who by Thy death hast rendered man immortal!
Ode IV, Irmos: Thy virtue hath covered the heavens, O Christ, and all things have been filled with Thy praise, O Lord.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Pious men offered up praise to Christ at Glastonbury when the holy David restored the monastery there.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Poisonous had the waters at Bath become, but by the power of Christ, David made them fit for use again.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Enlightening all the Britons, everywhere the holy one went he built churches, wherein to praise the Lord.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Theotokos was full of the beauty of all the virtues; wherefore, the heavens resound with her praises.
Ode V, Irmos: Enlighten me who rise at dawn out of the night, I pray, O Thou Who lovest mankind, and guide me in Thy precepts; and teach me to do Thy will, O Saviour.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Having filled the land with monastic habitations, the pious David made his abode in Menevia, where he taught the Saviour’s sacred precepts unto all..
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Mortifying all carnal-mindedness, O God-bearer, rising at dawn out of the night thou didst show thyself to be a worthy model of all the Christian virtues.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Imitating the austerities of the ascetics of the Thebaïd, thy monks, bending their will to thine, O saint, committed themselves to fasting and constant prayer.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rising at dawn out of the night, I beg the merciful Mother of God with tears and sighs, that by her intercession I may learn to do the will of her Son.
Ode VI, Irmos: With all my heart I cried out to the compassionate God, and He heard my cry from the uttermost depths of hades, and hath led my life up from corruption.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Abstaining from all but bread and pulse, and slaking their thirst with water alone, led by thee thy monks attained deliverance from corruption.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Constant was thy mental prayer, O saint, for thou didst follow the injunction of the Apostle to pray without ceasing; and God led thee up from hades.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Leading the sheep of thy flock like a good shepherd, O wondrous pastor, thou didst drive from them the demonic wolves, delivering their souls.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Every true Christian crieth out in anguish to the compassionate Bride of God; and, hearkening to our pleas, she entreateth her Son to lead up their life from corruption.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, in Tone IV: O thou who didst willing take up thy cross and follow Christ the Lord, and didst fill thy land with new communities dedicated to Him, send down from heaven the grace of God, O great and wondrous David, that we Christians may prevail over all heresies, having thee as an invincible ally amid our struggle for piety.
Ikos: Let us now fittingly praise David, the bishop of Christ, for he was called by God from his mother’s womb to sanctify the people of Wales, and by them was chosen to be their chief bishop; and conducting his ministry in a God-pleasing manner, he brought multitudes to salvation by the gifts of the Spirit which abode in him; wherefore, he is the great boast of all the Welsh, and an invincible ally amid our struggle for piety.
Ode VII, Irmos: We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have dealt unjustly before Thee. We have neither done nor acted as Thou hast commanded us. But forsake us not utterly, O God of our fathers.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Sinful and iniquitous is the accursed heresy of Pelagius, who belittled the power of divine grace and exalted the feeble efforts of man’s will; but David set his blasphemy utterly at nought.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Like mute fish did the defenders of Pelagius become, being utterly silenced when the holy one made clear the doctrines of piety by the grace and power wherewith Christ filled his godly mouth.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Inspiring the faithful of Wales to turn from heresy and embrace the Truth, David was acclaimed as a champion of piety, who would in nowise forsake the true worship of the God of our fathers.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Knowing the magnitude of our sinfulness and the multitude of our iniquities, we would despair of all mercy; but forsake us not utterly in thy supplications, O all-immaculate and merciful Lady.
Ode VIII, Irmos: In the flame the youths gave the command to hymn God the Father and Creator, the consubstantial Son and the Spirit of God: Let all creation bless the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Ever did the holy David exhort his flock to worship the All-holy Trinity the unoriginate Father, His only-begotten Son, and the all-holy Spirit in Orthodox manner exalting Him supremely for all ages.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Having taken up the saving yoke of Christ with single mind, bear it to the end, the holy David cried out to his brethren, and whatsoever ye have seen with me and heard, keep it and fulfil.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O the love of the saint for the sheep which Christ, the Chief Shepherd, had given into his care! For, dying, he earnestly besought them to bless the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Lambent is the light of thy grace, and though the furnace of our fiery passions rageth mightily, rescue us from its flames, O Mother of our God Who is exalted supremely for all ages.
Ode IX, Irmos: Finding everlasting deliverance from the dread sentence brought upon our race by our first father Adam, with the bodiless ones we glorify thine Offspring Who was begotten from on high, magnifying thee, the Theotokos, with hymns.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Ye saints of Wales, like bees returning with all speed to the hive at the approach of a storm were ye, forewarned by God that thy father and bishop David would soon depart to his Master and Creator; wherefore, ye magnified him with hymns.
Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to God for us.
Dying in body, O holy bishop, thy pure soul took wing, and the venerable Kentigern beheld it, soaring aloft, upborne to the heights of heaven by the hands of angelic beings; wherefore, we praise and glorify thy holy memory with hymns of joy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Empty now lieth thy holy tomb, O protector of Wales, and over the ages thy precious relics have been dispersed near and far; yet in spirit thou abidest with all the saints of the Most High, ever sending heavenly aid to us who magnify thee with hymns.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
When we must needs stand before the dread tribunal of thy Son and give answer for our countless crimes, O daughter of Adam and Mother of Christ, stand thou with us, and plead for us who magnify thee, the all-holy Theotokos, with hymns.
Troparion, Tone III: Let the Christians of Wales join in gladsome chorus, uplifting their voices in joyous jubilation, as we celebrate the feast of the wondrous David, their holy father and enlightener, who now dwelleth with the saints on high, and doth ever earnestly intercede for us sinners.
Troparion, Tone I: Having worked miracles in thy youth, founded monasteries and converted the pagans who had sought to destroy thee, O Father David, Christ our God blessed thee to receive the episcopate at the place of His Resurrection. Intercede for us, that our lives may be blessed and our souls may be saved.
Greetings on the feast of Blessed Nikolai of Pskov, the Holy Fool who dared challenge Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and was glorified by the Lord in his poverty and seeming foolishness.
Our weekend was marked by a double-celebration with the Divine Liturgy ‘going out’ of Cardiff and across the Severn, with the first of our mission Liturgies celebrated in Warminster on Saturday, in addition to our Canton-St John’s Liturgy on Sunday.
After having celebrated evening services in Wiltshire on the final Monday of the last two months, and having had singing lessons / practices for our local ladies and gents, celebrating the Liturgy was a source of grace and strength for our faithful living such a distance from our parish base in Cardiff. Thanks to the parishioners and to Ian at the chapel of St Lawrence.
A litia for the departed was celebrated in each location after our Liturgies, withthe blessing of kutia in Warminster – though it was also enjoyed in Cardiff. It would be good if more parishioners could contribute to cooking memorial-wheat for our services for the departed, and we will post some recipes in Facebook and WhatsApp.
We continue to remember the newly departed Archbishop Anatoly and Nikolai, and prayed for the servant of God Vladimir to mark the anniversary of his repose. Memory Eternal!
Thanks to all who contributed to our Cardiff Liturgy, especially with the expansion of English language chanting, and over the next few weeks I hope that we will also see a variation of readers, as other young men in the parish fulfil this obedience and become accustomed to chanting the readings and thanksgiving prayers.
With the able assistance of our students and young people, the last few Thursdays have seen the chanting of compline, with the akathist after confessions in Nazareth House, and we will pray the night-office of the Church again this week at 19:00, but with a supplicatory canon to the Mother of God and the Canon to St David, the Apostle of Wales, whose feast falls that day. I will hear confessions in the afternoon, and would appreciate requests – as usual – by 18:00 on Wednesday, please.
This Saturday will see the clergy to head to Cheltenham to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of maslenitsa, on which we commemorate all of the venerable fathers and mothers who have shone forth in the monastic life. As usual, we will worship in Prestbury United Reformed Church, Deep St, Cheltenham GL52 3AN.
Confessions will be heard from around 09:30, with the Hours and Liturgy commencing at 10:30. The usual bring-and-share lunch will follow the service, and we know that our matriarchs will be in maximalist mode for blini-week.
The following Saturday, 23rd March, our parish-pilgrimage will be to Margam Abbey, where we look forward to celebrating the Hours and Liturgy at 10:30. Please let me know if you can join us, especially as we may need to arrange lifts from Port Talbot Parkway Station for those without cars.
The mystery of Holy Unction / Soborovanie will be served in our London cathedral on Saturday 20th April at 14:00, and I hope that parishioners who are able to attend may share cars and work together so that as many as possible are able to be part of this diocesan celebration. Only Orthodox Christians above the age of seven years may be blessed to receive this Holy Mystery, and must prepare with confession.
Next Sunday will, of course, be Forgiveness Sunday, and the Liturgy will immediately be followed by the Vespers of Forgiveness, with the rite of mutual forgiveness at the end. This reminds us of the absolute necessity of seeking reconciliation with anyone who we have hurt or offended, even if unintended, asking their forgiveness and forgiving the offence that anyone has caused us. To begin Great Lent otherwise, will see the Great Fast lead us no-where: a spiritual cul-de-sac! We cannot journey towards the Lord’s Pascha with unresolved conflict, or with resentment in our hearts and minds. We must at least have made the first step towards peace and reconciliation, even if we have a considerable way to go on the journey.
After Liturgy and Vespers, we shall then share our last non-Lenten trapeza, though meat has already been given up, yesterday.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the the first week of the Great Fast, Compline and the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete will be anticipated by an early celebration at 16:00 at the shrine of the Holy Protomartyr Alban in the Oratory Church, in Swinton Street. As always, many thanks to Father Sebastian and the brethren. We are most grateful.
Today brought the blessing of finally being able to celebrate a local Divine Liturgy beyond the Severn with our parishioners living in the South and West of England.
Though we were few in number, the Liturgy, brought together parishioners from Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset.
Not everyone was able to be with us, due to work, illness and other pre-arranged duties, but the few of us who gathered in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster, were touched by the peace and spiritual warmth of our Liturgy.
We look forward to sharing our next Liturgy with those who were unable to be with us today, and by then, we will have taken some of our many icons from Cardiff to adorn the interior of the chapel, where we have been welcomed with incredible warmth and hospitality. We also look forward to welcoming brothers and sisters who live in Cardiff and its environs.
Being pastorally open to those who will hopefully discover us over the coming months, we will endeavour to reflect the identity of the worshipping community, but our Wessex mission will primarily have services in English, seeking to build upon the legacy of the ancient saints of Wessex, among whom we look to St Aldhelm and St Birinus with special devotion.
Celebrating our first Liturgy in Warminster on a memorial Saturday was an occasion for reflection upon the part that past generations have played in loving and preserving the places in which we pray as pilgrims, serve the Liturgy and encounter Christ in the Holy Mysteries.
This includes our new home, the Chapel of St Lawrence, which was bought by the people of Warminster in 1575 as an extra diocesan place of worship, outside the jurisdiction of the bishop of Salisbury. This lovely, peaceful sanctuary is made available to the wider Christian community by the feoffees, who hold the chapel in trust on behalf of the people of the town.
We are extremely grateful to the chair of the feoffees, who has gone above and beyond duty in the proactive welcome offered to our little community, and the practical support and assistance that we have received over the last few weeks. We were so glad that he and the retired rector of Shepton Mallet, the Revd Liz Smith were able to be with us, and share a cup of tea before the litia for the departed with the blessing of kolyva, and a leisurely lunch.
Many thanks to our local parishioners for hospitality, singing, reading, cooking, baking and kolyva making!
We will gather for our end of month evening service aboard Porphyrios’s narrow-boat on Monday 25 March, and look forward to our next Liturgy on Saturday 13 April, which will again be a memorial Saturday.
Having celebrated the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, the Great Fast grows ever closer, with this week being the last week in which Orthodox Christians consume meat until Pascha, to be followed by cheese-fair (bliny) week during which we consume eggs, fish and dairy foods. We should remember that the customary fast still adheres to this Wednesday and Friday, but with the allowance of fish, wine and oil.
Meat-Fair, next Sunday, will be the last day for the consumption of meat. Please use the next few weeks to use up the foods that need consuming. The first few days of the Great Fast are NOT the time to do this, and we often have serial offenders who do this every year, with no excuse.
We should use also the next two weeks to prepare for the fast, particularly in terms of spiritual resources, ensuring we have the prayer materials needed for our Lenten observance and selecting reading materials as our spiritual food during Lent.
As announced on WhatsApp, we hope to repeat last year’s daily reading of the Psalter, with parishioners and friends of the parish reading a designated kathisma ofthe Psalter, so that it is read in its entirety each day. We would ideally like twenty readers so that each could read one kathisma of the Psalter, in rotation. Anyone wishing to participate should email oltarnik Alexander at psaltergroup@fastmail.com
Members of our communities have been recommending, and indeed buying, various books for l
Lenten reading, with some suggestions below…
The Paradise of the Fathers, volumes I and II
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Apophthegmata Patrum: The Alphabetic Collection: 59 (Cistercian Studies Series, 59)
On Ascetical Life: St. Isaac of Ninevah
A Spiritual Psalter or Reflections on God, by St Ephraim the Syrian, sadly not readily available in the small hardback tome, though available in a paperback traditional English edition: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spiritual-Psalter-Reflections-God/dp/B0C2S22VK1
On the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by St. Philaret of Chernigov
Orthodox Lent, Holy Week and Easter: Liturgical Texts with Commentary, by Hugh Wybrew
Season of Repentance: Lenten Homilies of Saint John of Kronstadt
Today and tomorrow have been set aside for house blessings, and I hope to fulfil more requests before the beginning of the Fast. We all have busy lives, but a house blessing takes little time, and brings God’s grace inti the Christian home, setting it apart and hallowing it through prayer and the sprinkling of holy water blessed at Theophany.
I was very happy to have a group of our young people come to Nazareth House to chant compline/ and the akathist to Mother of God last Thursday evening, following confessions in the afternoon and early evening, and we will – God willing – do the same again, this week, with compline at 19:00. Everyone, not just the parish youth, is welcome and encouraged to support our weekday service.
May I ask for confession requests by 18:00 on Wednesday, reminding you that anyone working in the day is welcome to request a confession after work, and that we will accommodate school runs and family demands? Please ask!
Next weekend will see our first Wessex Liturgy in the Chapel of St Lawrence in Warminster, and our local parishioners have been busy making preparations for this inaugural public service. We have already celebrated services on Porphyrios’s narrow-boat, and look forward to the Liturgy in the historic chapel, generously made available to us by the feoffees who hold it in trust for the people of Warminster. We will set up the chapel at 9:00, with confessions commencing around 10:00 after the proskomedia. The Hours and Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30, and we will celebrate a memorial for the departed after the Liturgy, followed by a bring-and-share lunch.
We greatly look forward to welcoming anyone who wishes to join us, being there for all Orthodox Christians, and will endeavour to make them feel at home.
The primary language of this new local mission will be English, though we shall endeavour to be inclusive, reflecting those who come to pray and worship with us.
The following Saturday will see our monthly Cheltenham Liturgy, which will now be on the thirds Saturday of the month. We continue to worship in Prestbury United Reformed Church. As in Warminster set up will be at 9:00, confessions around 10:00 after the and Hours and Liturgy at 10:30, followed by our customary bring-and-share lunch.
Our next parish-pilgrimage will be on Saturday 23rd March, when we look forward to celebrating the Divine Liturgy at Margam Abbey, whose Norman foundation succeeds an earlier Celtic Christian presence attested to by the Celtic crosses and memorial stones preserved a short distance from the abbey church in the museum that houses them. The Hours and Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 (despite previous discussions of 10:00) in order to allow time for anyone travelling by train to be collected from the station, if needed.
As announced last week, the mystery of Holy Unction / Soborovanie will be served in the cathedral on Saturday 20thApril at 14:00, and we hope that it will be possible for as many parishioners as possible to attend and partake of this Holy Mystery. We will not serve Unction in our parishes, as we preserve the old Tradition that during the Great Fast, there are conciliar services, in which the bishop and priests of the diocese serve together.
As we settle into St John’s and begin to feel at home, I think it necessary for us to remind ourselves that Sunday is set apart for the Lord, and we need to impress this and the ‘otherness’ of church and the Liturgy upon our children and young people.
The Liturgy is admittedly long for our youngest parishioners. We recognise that, and that they cannot be held to attention for its entire duration. However, we only become accustomed to the Liturgy, and grow into it by being part of it, as participants in the Holy Mysteries.
We have been very happy to hear the children singing on the kliros during the litanies, and whilst recognising that we cannot expect our youngest parishioners to be at the front during the whole Liturgy, we need to ensure that they come forward to hear the readings, and I have previously asked parents to ensure that their children are with them from the Cherubic Hymn onwards, to be part of worship as the Holy Gifts are offered and consecrated.
However, since our return to St John’s and the enticement of the children’s corner, this has been rather forgotten. So, mums and dad’s, please have your children with you during the most sacred parts of the Liturgy, to pray and worship with you as a family, and to be part of our parish community.
Over the last few days, we have been asked to pray for Masha’s friend, Susan, and for Porphyrios’s daughter’s teacher Miss Kirk, who is in intensive care after being attacked. We also pray for the health of Father Anthony of the Mettingham parish, our parishioners Norman-John and Ludmila, and for Brigid in West Wales; for Despina as she faces the issues of relocation in Cyprus; for the repose of the newly departed servants of God, Archbishop Anatoly and Nikolai, and for Barnabas whose forty day memorial has just passed. As requested on WhatsApp, we ask your prayers for Lazarus and Liz as they seek to relocate closer to us – encouraging the canon and prayers to St Minas.
The canon of the holy hierarch, the acrostic whereof is “Aldhelm’s discourse is as sweet as honey”, in Tone III
Ode I, Irmos: To God, Who alone saved His people in the sea and engulfed the adversaries, let us sing, for He hath been glorified.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Aldhelm taught the people of the New Israel to chant: Unto Christ God let us sing, for He hath been glorified!
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Let us hymn Aldhelm, the holy hierarch of Christ, the great High Priest, for in His saints He hath truly been glorified.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Delivering us from the noetic Pharaoh, Aldhelm rightly receiveth goodly praise from us, for he hath been glorified.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Hymn we now the most pure Mother of our God, the all-immaculate Virgin Theotokos, who hath been glorified.
Ode III, Irmos: O Thou Who didst found the earth upon its firmament and establish the heavens with might, make steadfast all of us who praise Thee with faith.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Earth did not confine the thoughts of the holy hierarch, who fixed his mind on the firmament and the heavens, worshiping the Author of creation.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Living a life well-pleasing to Christ, the venerable one ascended the virtues like a ladder, loving Him by keeping His saving commandments with faith.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Malmesbury was filled with gladness, for its walls were raised up by the holy Aldhelm, who therein taught all to praise the Lord God with faith.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Stars form a splendid diadem for thee, O Queen of all, and the heavens clothe thee in a robe of royal purple, for thou gavest birth to the King of kings.
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.
Sessional hymn of the holy hierarch, in Tone I Spec. Mel. “Thy tomb, O Saviour…”: O blessed Aldhelm, thou wast truly a star of exceeding brilliance, illumining thy flock with gifts of miracles and the wisdom of thy sacred writings; wherefore, celebrating thy splendid memorial today, we magnify Christ in gladness of heart.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Repeat.
Ode IV, Irmos: Nay, with the rivers wast Thou wroth, O Lord? Nay, against the rivers was Thine anger, or against the sea Thine attack?
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Divine knowledge didst thou pursue in thy life, O holy hierarch, ever pondering the ineffable mysteries of the Lord Most High.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
In thy sacred writings thou didst extol the virtues of holy virginity, O saint of God, for thy life itself was an example thereof.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Sanctified by the mystery of the monastic tonsure, O Aldhelm, thou didst follow the statutes of the venerable Benedict to perfection.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Christ gave thee to us sinners as a great mediatress, O Mother of God, ever pouring forth rivers of loving-kindness upon us all.
Ode V, Irmos: Grant us Thy peace, O Son of God; for we know none other God than Thee, Who art glorified in the highest with the Father and the Spirit.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
O Son of God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit grant that, through the prayers of Thy holy hierarch, we may find true peace for our souls.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Unto thee, O venerable Aldhelm, do we fall down, praying earnestly: Beseech the Holy Trinity without ceasing, that our souls may find peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Reverence and veneration do we piously offer to the blessed hierarch of Christ, who taught the people the true worship of the Holy Trinity.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Sanctified was thy pure womb by the indwelling of the Spirit, O mother of God, and it was made a fitting abode for the Word of the Father.
Ode VI, Irmos: I have been cast into the abyss of the heart of the sea of iniquities, and like Jonah I cry unto Thee: Lead me up from corruption, that I may render my supplications unto Thee, O Lord.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Even as we drown in the sea of our iniquities we cry out to the helper given us by God: O Aldhelm, Lead us up from corruption, that we may render supplication unto our merciful Lord!
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
In thy birth thou wast of royal kinship, O saint, but by thy pious manner of life thou didst become a true son of the heavenly King, to Whom thou dost eternally render filial worship.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Saved from the corruption of thy times by thy steadfast faith in Christ God, O Aldhelm, thou didst lead many to salvation through repentance, guiding them to the kingdom on high.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Accept from us these suppliant cries, O all-immaculate Maiden, and in thy love for us sinners bear them to the dread throne of thy Son and Lord, Who sitteth in awesome majesty.
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 holy hierarch, Tone III, Spec. Mel. “Today the Virgin…”: Desiring that which is sublime, thou didst despise all that draweth man down; and, forsaking thine own country and thy father’s house, thou didst set out to attain the knowledge of God, for which cause thou didst labour for the Lord for many years, acquiring divine wisdom. Wherefore, piously celebrating thy holy memory, we cry out to thee with love: Rejoice, O divinely wise Aldhelm our father!
Ikos: As thou didst strive to become a fit dwelling-place for the Spirit of God, He adorned thee with all manner of divine beauties, O Aldhelm, and thou wast shown to be a wondrous guide for monks, ever instructing them in the precepts of thy Master. Wherefore, celebrating thy memory, with reverence we cry out to thee: Rejoice, O heavenly adornment of the land of Wessex! Rejoice, divine ornament of holy Malmesbury! Rejoice, lover of true theology! Rejoice, boast of Kent! Rejoice, thou who wast all things to all men, that thou mightest lead some to salvation! Rejoice, bold champion of the unity of the Church of Christ! Rejoice, thou whom we exalt among the saints of God! Rejoice, thou who art glorified by Christ God among the ranks of angels! Rejoice, O divinely wise Aldhelm our father!
Ode VII, Irmos: The children quenched the flame in the furnace, and through faith received a heavenly dew. Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Sing we now in praise of the wondrous Aldhelm, who by fasting and prayer, vigils and ascetic feats, pleased the God of our fathers.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Subdue the flames of the passions that cruelly burn our souls, O holy one, pouring forth upon us the cooling heavenly dew of grace divine.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Wretched are we, and consumed by the fire of sin; yet do we cry out with the holy Aldhelm: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Eden with its Tree of Life could not rival thy most pure womb, O Virgin, for therein arose the true Source of all life, grace and holiness.
Ode VIII, Irmos: Him Who is worshiped and unceasingly glorified by the holy angels, ye priests, hymn; ye people, exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Entering among the monks of Malmesbury, Aldhelm instructed them to chant aright: Ye people, exalt Christ supremely for all ages!
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Thou didst labour manfully to teach all to love the divine services, O saint, crying out: Ye people, exalt the Lord supremely for all ages!
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
All of Wessex and Kent were hallowed by thy labours, O holy hierarch, and therein priests and people exalt the Most High for all ages.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Supremely is the Holy Trinity worshiped and continually glorified by men and angels: the unoriginate Father, with His Son and Spirit.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Help us, we beseech thee, O Lady of tender compassion, lest we perish utterly; for there is nought that is impossible for thy prayers.
Ode IX, Irmos: We ever magnify thee, the wellspring of immortality and holiness, who givest healings to the human race, for thou savest our souls.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Our souls magnify the Lord, the Bestower of light and life, Who in His love for mankind hath given us the holy Aldhelm as an advocate.
Hierarch of Christ, Aldhelm, pray to God for us.
Never will the memory of the saint of God fade among us, for he is a wellspring of healing for the grave infirmities of our souls and bodies.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Exult ye greatly, O ye faithful Christians, for through the blessed hierarch is the saving grace of God poured forth upon the human race.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Ye faithful, let us piously magnify the spring that gave rise to Christ, the boundless Torrent of immortality, holiness and salvation.
Troparion, Tone V:Like Samuel of old thou wast afire from thy youth with spiritual desire for wisdom divine, O venerable and God-bearing hierarch Aldhelm; for this cause thou didst tread the narrow path of life unto Christ, making Malmesbury a worthy monastic abode, a haven of stillness where thou didst struggle in ascetic labor for many years. Wherefore, as thou now beholdest the face of Christ in the heavens, entreat Him in behalf of us who honor thy holy memory with love.
As we begin our mission life in Wessex, we are collecting hymns and prayers to the saints of the region, as the foundation upon which we build our spiritual life – turning to them as our our inspiration and intercessors, as we seek to tread in their footprints.
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The Canon to the Holy Hierarch, St Dunstan, the acrostic whereof is “Dunstan setteth us on the Rock of Faith”, in Tone V
Ode I, Irmos: Treading the impassable path at the command of the Master, Israel sang, rejoicing: Let us sing unto the Lord, for gloriously hath He been glorified!
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Deign Thou to send down on me Thy grace, O All-holy Trinity, that, purified of my sins, I may hymn the holy Dunstan, who hath been glorified by Thee.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Unto the wondrous Dunstan let us now lift our voices in praise, O ye faithful, for he was wholly consumed with love for chastity and all the monastic virtues.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Now doth the sacred Monastery of Glastonbury rejoice exceedingly, O Dunstan; for as its abbot thou didst adorn it again with reverent monastic Order.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Seeing thy Son suffering in agony on the Cross, O Theotokos, thou wast pierced with pain, as by a sword; but thou didst later rejoice in His resurrection.
Ode III, Irmos: Upon the rock of Thy commandments establish me, who am whirled about; lift high my horn in the understanding of Thy precepts; that, rendering praise, I may cry unto Thee: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord of hosts!
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Thy kinsman, the godly Æthelm, and the holy Oda, Archbishops of Canterbury, inspired thee, O Dunstan, to establish again in the monasteries of England the precepts of the venerable and God-bearing Benedict, father of monastics.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
All the vanities of life at the court of the kings of England didst thou reject, O sacred bishop; wherefore, thou didst flourish greatly in the courts of our God, and ever criest aloud to Him: There is none holy save Thee, O Lord of hosts!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
None is holy save Thee, O Lord of hosts! didst thou cry out in humility of mind, O blessed one, when thou didst receive the sacred tonsure and the angelic habit at the hands of the holy bishop Ælphege of Winchester.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Seraphim and cherubim, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, angels and archangels, and all the hosts of the bodiless spiritual beings stand in awe of thee, O most immaculate Mother of God, pure Ever-Virgin.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional hymn, Tone V, Spec. Mel. “The Word Who with the Father and the Spirit is equally unoriginate”: With hymns let us honour the holy bishop of the Lord as a true man of prayer who smote the passions with the cudgel of abstinence, who with skill truly put the adversary to shame and set his arrogance at nought, and now prayeth earnestly that his native land be made steadfast in Orthodoxy.
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, same tone & melody: Awesome is the miracle of thy conceiving; and the ineffable image of the birth-giving known in thee, O pure Ever-Virgin, filleth my mind with awe and amazeth my thoughts. Thy glory hath spread over all, O Theotokos, unto the salvation of our souls.
Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion of Wednesdays and Fridays): Beholding Thee hanging of Thine own will upon the Cross between the thieves, O Christ, Thy Mother said, her womb rent with pain: ‘O my sinless Son, how is it that Thou hast been unjustly nailed to the Cross like a malefactor, since thou desirest to bring life to the human race, in that thou art compassionate?’
Ode IV, Irmos: The workings of Thy dispensation filled the Prophet Habbakuk with awe, O Lord; for Thou didst issue forth for the salvation of Thy people, Thou didst come to save Thine anointed ones.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
England boasteth in thy glory, O God-bearer; for in the workings of His dispensation the Most High raised thee to the primacy of its Church, for the salvation of His people.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Truly didst thou give good counsel unto kings and princes, O noble-minded Dunstan; for in humility and obedience thou didst receive wisdom, for the salvation of His anointed ones.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The godly King Edgar embraced thine excellent prudence and Christian virtue of soul, O holy Dunstan, and had thee consecrated Bishop of London, for the salvation of his pious flock.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the extent of thy mighty works, O Bride of God, nor can the tongue of man describe thy supernal beauties, which pass all human understanding.
Ode V, Irmos: Rising at dawn, we cry to Thee: Save us, O Lord! for Thou art our God, and we know none other than Thee.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
The severed realm of England was united under the peaceable king, and thou, O saint, didst become its spiritual head.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Hallowed was the sceptred isle of England by thy great holiness and grace, O wondrous bishop Dunstan.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Unto our merciful God didst thou continually cry aloud: Save us, O Lord, for we know none other than Thee!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Save us from the talons of the evil dragon, our primordial foe, O Virgin, for we have none other help than thee.
Ode VI, Irmos: In the latter times Adam cried aloud: O my God, deliver me who have fallen! And having become like unto him, Thou didst come to save us.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
O thy pastoral boldness, O holy one! For thou didst in no wise hesitate to rebuke even kings for the benefit and salvation of their immortal souls.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Never shall we cease to sing thy praises, O holy bishop; for thou didst raise up that which was fallen, unto the salvation of men¹s immortal souls.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thy love of inner stillness and monastic prayer filled the whole land of England with the sweetness of grace, O thou who art rich in grace divine.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Help us, O Sovereign Lady, for we are all perishing in sore distress. As thou hast boldness before thy Son, come unto us, and save us.
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 III: Like a master helmsman, O Dunstan, thou didst ably pilot the ship of Church and state in England, skilfully avoiding the treacherous rocks and reefs hidden beneath the tides of thy times, and bringing it safely to the calm harbour of heaven, fully laden with its freight of men’s souls, which thou didst deliver, rejoicing, to Christ thy Master.
Ikos: Like a deer panting in thirst, O venerable Dunstan, from childhood thou didst earnestly seek after the waters of wisdom and the knowledge of God; wherefore, moved by jealousy and hatred, the ignorant beset thee like a pack of savage dogs. But thou didst flee to the refuge of holy Glastonbury, where thou didst dedicate thyself wholly to devotion and piety; and ever after thou didst champion the true monastic rule, didst restore the ruined monasteries and convents of England, and didst defend them with all thy might, so that through thine efforts the Holy Church in thy land was adorned as with many splendid lamps, burning brightly with the oil of prayers offered up, rejoicing, to Christ the Master.
Ode VII, Irmos: Blessed art Thou, O God of our fathers, Who quenched the fiery furnace in Babylon and preserved the children therein as in a bridal-chamber!
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Edward the king found shelter under the wings of thy wise counsel, O Dunstan; wherefore, in his martyr’s death he shone forth radiantly.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Returning the monasteries of England to true monastic discipline, O saint, thou didst restore them in goodly order unto Christ the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Over the great Council of Winchester thou didst preside, O venerable one, codifying the rule and order of monastic life and governance.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Celts and Britons, Angles and Saxons, Picts and Scots, all lift up their voices in sweet hymnody, praising the all-pure Mother of the King of all.
Ode VIII, Irmos: Hymn the Author of creation, of Whom the angels are in awe, O ye people, and exalt Him supremely for all ages.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
King Edward’s relics didst thou reverently escort from Wareham to the Convent of Shaftesbury, O saint.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
Overcome with grief at the depredations of the heathen, Dunstan immersed himself in prayer, withdrawing farther from the world.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Full of years, the holy bishop received the divine Mysteries and surrendered his soul into the hands of his Lord.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Fain would we offer thee goodly praises, O Queen, yet our tongues of clay produce no sounds fit for thy praise
Ode IX, Irmos: We magnify Thy most immaculate and pure Mother, O Christ, for she gave birth to Thee in the flesh supernaturally, delivering us from all deception and corruption.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
All thy thoughts didst thou fix upon Christ, O sanctified Dunstan, at the end of thine earthly life, and thou didst yearn for the sight of His all-radiant countenance.
Hierarch of Christ, Dunstan, pray to God for us.
In thy primatial cathedral at Canterbury was thy precious body solemnly entombed, O saint, to await and serve as a token of the universal resurrection of all men.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Through the centuries did thy holy relics shine like a radiant lamp, O holy one; yet for our sins, and to awaken our conscience, God let the ungodly remove them, we know not whither.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Hither have we come with haste, O Bride unwedded, to venerate thy holy icons and to extol thee with hymns of praise. Wherefore, be thou ever merciful unto us sinners.
Troparion, Tone VIII: By thee, O Dunstan, hath the whole land of England been wondrously adorned, for thou didst labor unceasingly to restore all the monastic houses laid waste by the heathen, to people them again with zealous monks and nuns, and to provide them with strict rules of pious order wherewith to govern their lives. Wherefore, the Church of Christ doth ever praise thine all-honourable name, O holy bishop.
Dear brothers and sisters,
There is an old Slavic icon, (of western inspiration, and not without controversy), the “Pre-Eternal Council – Prevechny Sovyet” which reminds us that even as Adam and Eve fell, even as the effects of their disobedience were pronounced, and even as they were banished, God as all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful ALREADY had the remedy – already had the answer, and already looked forward to the unfolding of the mystery of salvation in the fullness of time.
Today brought the blessing of finally being able to celebrate a local Divine Liturgy beyond the Severn with our parishioners living in the South and West of England.
Ode III, Irmos: O Thou Who didst found the earth upon its firmament and establish the heavens with might, make steadfast all of us who praise Thee with faith.
