It was a joy to celebrate the feast of St Sergius of Radonezh in Cardiff on Sunday, and we are grateful to all who contributed to our celebration, with holiday effects on our kliros seeing the second coopting of our hierodeacon by the choir. Many thanks to Edmund for filling Olga’s place and coordinating our chanting and to Hierodeacon Avraamy for moving from the sanctuary to the kliros. Spasi Gospodi!
Despite those abroad, we still mustered over forty worshippers, though we are always swallowed by the vastness of the convent church!
Again, we are extremely grateful for parishioners making the hour of confessions before Liturgy run so smoothly.
This was the first week without trapeza in church, but it was lovely to follow parishioners over the road to our friendly local café, and to enjoy a cup of coffee there, largely with our Wessex contingent, who had a considerable drive home ahead of them.
Our celebration of St Sergius came at the end of a busy week, which saw Tuesday in Peterston-Super-Ely to arrange the funeral of the newly departed handmaiden of God, Irina, for whom your prayers are greatly appreciated. With permission from the Anglican Archbishop of Wales and the approval of the Bishop of Llandaff, I am extremely grateful that the funeral service will be able to be celebrated in the little medieval church – a building I had passed on the train for much of my life, but had never entered until the past week. It was a pleasure to talk with Fr Martin and have a few hours in the village.
Wednesday saw the baptism – in Nazareth House – of the newly enlightened Sabine, who travelled on the train from Stroud with her mother, Anna. Please remember them in your prayers.
Both Wednesday and Friday saw the hearing of confessions in Nazareth House, with a talk on intercession following Friday confessions, and confessions also followed Saturday’s celebration of Great Vespers for the Feast of St Sergius of Radonezh, for which I am grateful to our young brother, George, for reading.
This week, I will hear confessions on Thursday, and would like to stress that – if required – this will include the evening as well as the afternoon. As Saturday sees Deacon Mark and I in Cheltenham, there will be no Saturday tea-time service in Nazareth House.
I’m very happy that the October Liturgy in Cheltenham will fall on the feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God – a wonderful celebration of our Lady’s protection and intercession. We know that some core parishioners will be away, but we will soldier on.
As usual, our Cheltenham Liturgy will be celebrated in Prestbury URC Church, Deep St, Cheltenham GL52 3AW, with confessions heard from 09:15, and the Hours and Liturgy commencing at 10:00. There will be the usual bring-and-share lunch after Liturgy.
As announced, we will be making a local pilgrimage to Llancarfan on Saturday 28th October, and plan to celebrate the Divine Liturgy at 10:00 – though this will depend on having someone to chant on the kliros. Anyone interested should speak to Tracy, or email her: t_sbrain@yahoo.co.uk
We continue to keep Olga, Valentina, Maria, Nikolai, Nataliya, Galina, Catalin, and Oswald in our prayers, on their travels; Mike and Steve, who are unwell and Porphyrios’s father Paul as he undergoes medical treatment; and Isaac and mum Xenia in the search for a new school.
Finally, I would like to remind you of a few things:
Commemoration books and lists should be updated REGULARLY.
In commemoration books and on lists, clergy and monastics should be referred to by rank – bishop, archimandrite, hieromonk, archpriest, priest, deacon, monk, nun etc. Nobody should be listed as vladyka, father or mother.
All others in your commemorations should be referred to by full baptismal names – no Mashas, Sashas and Natashas, but Marias, Alexanders and Natalias!
Branka is kindly baking small commemorative prosphory all week, and it is our tradition to present them for our commemoration. There are very few each week, which is bizarre in a parish of no fewer than thirty to forty adults each week.
As with communion, the antidoron distributed at the end of Liturgy is to be consumed FASTING – i.e. on an empty stomach.
With the commencement of the Hours, Liturgy (in the broadest sense) has begun, and parishioners should refrain from conversation.
Though I have only just walked through the door, and tea is still brewing, I thought I should type this week’s news whilst I am still buoyed by today’s lovely Liturgy in Nazareth House, reasonably well attended despite the road closures.
Though the road closures dissuaded some parishioners from Penarth and Barry, and made logistics totally impossible for a few others, visitors more than took the place of those unable to be with us, and we had a goodly Wessex contingent from across the Severn.
We are grateful for our trio on the rather reduced kliros for increasing the chanting in English, with Hierodeacon Avraamy being coopted from the sanctuary to help today. Having experienced church-singers, who can adapt to the various challenges of the seasons is a great advantage. Our visitors expressed their appreciation for the kliros, complimenting us on the quality of chanting.
Our flowers were beautiful again, though I wish someone had photographed them in situ, adorning the icons, especially the festal icon of the Exaltation of the Cross. I was quite serious in suggesting that the flowers are not just a task for the parish sisterhood, but that with some assistance, the gentlemen of the parish could help. Those of us who are monks are used to sewing and embroidery, baking, cooking and flower-arranging, and doing every other task that might wrongly be seen as work for the ladies. Some of the parish brothers might surprise themselves!
Being the Sunday after the Exultation of the Cross, the Cross and the bed of flowers from the feast-day celebration were brought from Llanelli, so that the faithful could venerate the Life-Giving Cross at the end of Liturgy. Before that, we were able to greet our sisters, Ludmilla and Jessica Anne on their recent name-days and sing ‘Many Years’ to them. Congratulations, dear sisters!
Given the amount of tidying necessitated by refreshments, today’s informal trapeza was the last for the foreseeable future. Those travelling fair distances may wish to bring a packed lunch for the car, and we have the excellent café across the road – a very welcoming refuge where I and parishioners spend many hours talking, discussing spiritual matters, and doing ‘office’ work.
Having been the Vale and city for a couple of days for funeral arrangements and a baptism in the middle of the week, I will hear confessions on Friday afternoon/early-evening and we will have a further talk on prayer at 19:00 – focussing on petitionary/ intercessory prayer. Confession requests would be appreciated by noon on Thursday, thank you.
Our Saturday evening service will be at 16:00 (rather than 17:00), just to allow more travel time for my return to Llanelli. As you know, this can be rather unpredictable, to say the least. I would prefer that any Saturday confessions are before the service, to allow for a timely departure.
I am happy to be able to announce that having heard from Father Michael at Llancarfan, we will be celebrating a pilgrimage Divine Liturgy in the wonderful medieval church at on Saturday 28th October, with the Hours and Divine Liturgy at 10:00. The church, with its medieval wall-paintings, is on the side of St Cadoc’s community. Please contact Tracy if you are interested in attending: t_sbrain@yahoo.co.uk
October service times may be found below.
Your prayers are asked for: SICK – Paul (non-O), Ludmilla, Brigid, the priest Anthony; TRAVELLERS – Olga & Valentina, Galina & Natalya, Maria and Nikolai (travelling on Sunday); DEPARTED – Irina (newly-departed), Nina (ninth anniversary of repose).
In Christ – Hieromonk Mark
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Sunday 1 October: Hours and Divine Liturgy, Nazareth House, Cardiff, 11:00 (confessions from 10:15).
Friday 6 October: Nazareth House, afternoon/evening confessions time tbc depending on requests. 19:00 Discussion Group on prayer.
Saturday 7 October: Great Vespers 16:00, confessions by arrangement.
Sunday 8 October: Hours and Divine Liturgy, Nazareth House, Cardiff, 11:00 (confessions from 10:15).
Monday 9 October (September 26 Old-Style): Repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian – Hours and Divine Liturgy, Nazareth House, Cardiff, 11:00
Thursday 12 October: Nazareth House, afternoon/ evening confessions time tbc depending on requests.
Saturday 14 October: The Protecting Veil of the Mother of God (Pokrov), Hours and Divine Liturgy, Cheltenham, 10:00.
Sunday 15 October: Hours and Divine Liturgy, Nazareth House, Cardiff, 11:00 (confessions from 10:15).
Friday 20 October: Nazareth House, afternoon/evening confessions time tbc depending on requests. 19:00 Discussion Group on prayer.
Saturday 21 October: Great Vespers 16:00, confessions by arrangement.
Sunday 22 October: Hours and Divine Liturgy, Nazareth House, Cardiff, 11:00 (confessions from 10:15).
Thursday 26 October: Nazareth House, afternoon/evening confessions time tbc depending on requests.
Saturday 28 October: Pilgrimage to Llancarfan – Hours and Divine Liturgy, 10:00.
Sunday 29 October: Hours and Divine Liturgy, Nazareth House, Cardiff, 11:00 (confessions from 10:15).
Canon of the Martyrs, the acrostic whereof is: “I hymn the children of Sophia, who are manifest as exceeding splendid,” the composition of Theophanes, in Tone I
Ode I, Irmos: Thy victorious right arm hath in godly manner been glorified in strength; for as almighty, O Immortal One, it smote the adversary, fashioning anew the path of the deep for the Israelites.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
O Master Christ, grant me the effulgence of Thy transcendent and ineffable wisdom, that I may hymn Thy magnificent and right glorious martyrs, the offspring of Sophia.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Thy name was manifestly adorned by thy manner of life, O divinely wise and glorious Sophia; for, illumined with the grace of wisdom, thou didst spend thy whole life in desiring wisdom.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Thy most blessed fruit, adorned with the number of the all-divine Trinity, struggled like athletes for Him, O most wise Sophia, thou namesake of the divine Wisdom.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The three virgin maidens, Faith, Hope and glorious Charity, having cleansed body and soul with the virtues, were brought in martyrdom to Thee, O Christ, the noetic Bridegroom.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
He Who made His abode as God in thy womb, O all-pure one, Who took upon Him my whole form and was seen before in the form of God, hath renewed all. Wherefore, all we, the faithful, glorify thee as the Theotokos.
Ode III, Irmos: O Thou Who alone hast known the weakness of human nature, having in Thy mercy formed Thyself therein: Thou dost gird me about with power from on high, that I may chant to Thee: Holy is the living temple of Thine ineffable glory, O Thou Who lovest mankind!
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Hearkening to the voice of Christ calling them to a life devoid of death and suffering, the crowned virgin martyrs followed Thee, crying out to Thee, O Holy One: O Thou Who lovest mankind, holy is the animate temple of Thy pure glory!
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
As He promised, Christ gave you strength as ye stood before the tribunal as martyrs; and He filled you with divinely inspired wisdom and showed you forth as radiant, O victorious martyrs, resplendent in the grace of virginity.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Ye dulled the greatly arrogant mind of the enemy and cast down his pride, contending with great wisdom; and with the streams of your blood ye drowned him who of old boasted that he would destroy the sea.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Filled to abundance with the exalted wisdom of Christ, with elect and sage wisdom the three daughters of Sophia put to shame the savagery of the torturers and their unbearable cruelty, giving utterance to divine teachings.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
In holy manner thou gavest birth to Christ, the Holy of Holies, the holy tabernacle of sanctity, Who resteth in the saints; and to Him do we cry out: Holy is the animate temple of Thine ineffable glory, O Thou Who lovest mankind!
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Sessional hymn, Tone I, Spec. Mel:.“The choir of the angels…”: O reason-endowed ewe-lambs of the Lamb and Shepherd, ye were given over to cruel torments and have been shown to be equal in honour with the angels. Wherefore, in gladness of heart we all celebrate your sacred memory, O divinely wise maidens.
Ode IV, Irmos: Habbakuk, gazing with the eyes of foresight upon thee, the mountain overshadowed by the grace of God, prophesied that the Holy One of Israel would come forth from thee, for our salvation and restoration.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Strengthened by divine grace, the right victorious Faith, Charity and Hope manfully put to shame the threats of the tyrant; and burnt by the fire, the most wise ones were led to Christ the Bridegroom.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Protected by the armour of the Cross, the holy Faith, Charity and Hope were able to endure the wounds of their torturers with fortitude, opposing sin most mightily even to the shedding of their blood.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Faith, Charity and Hope, the three radiant lamps of the wisdom of the Trinity, illumined and manifestly shining, enlighten the Church most splendidly, for our salvation and defence.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O most lauded Theotokos, thou holy of holies, from thee shone forth the Deliverer, the expectation of the nations and the salvation of the faithful, the Lord and Bestower of life, unto the salvation of us who hymn thee.
Ode V, Irmos: O Christ Who hast enlightened the ends of the world with the radiance of Thy coming and hast illumined them with Thy Cross: with the light of Thy divine knowledge enlighten the hearts of those who hymn Thee in Orthodox manner.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
The three God-bearing virgins, bound by faith and nature, endured tortures with patience of will, and they put to shame the audacious one, uttering mysteries of wisdom which are in God.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Our first mother rejoiceth, seeing the deceiver, who of old drove her from Eden, vanquished by Hope, Faith and Charity, the divinely wise women born of Sophia.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Wounded by Thy love and Thy divine ardor, O Christ, the honoured maidens spurned the venomous flattery of the tyrant and willingly endured the wounds of tortures.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Beholding thee, the hosts of heaven rejoice, and with them the assemblies of men make merry; for they have been united by thy nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, which we glorify as is meet.
Ode VI, Irmos: The uttermost abyss hath surrounded us, and there is none to deliver us. We are accounted as lambs for the slaughter. Save Thy people, O our God, for Thou art the strength and correction of the weak!
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Rejoicing, O Master, the three honoured and laudable maidens, equal in number to the Trinity, placed their hope in Thine all-pure hands.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Resplendent with the beauties of virginity, they adorned themselves with the wounds of martyrdom, and have received from on high a twofold crown from Christ, the most compassionate Bestower of life.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Into the temple of Thee, Who reignest over all, were the precious treasures of virginity brought, O Master, to share in Thy kingdom; for Thou art their light and gladness.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The forefathers of our race rejoice in thee, O all-pure Virgin, receiving Eden through thee which they had lost through their transgression; for thou wast pure before giving birth and art pure even after thy birth-giving.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion of the Martyrs, Tone I, Spec. Mel. “Thy tomb, O Saviour…”: Faith, Hope and Charity, revealed as most sacred branches of the honoured Sophia, through grace made foolish the wisdom of the Hellenes; and having suffered and been shown to be victorious, they were crowned with an incorruptible crown by Christ the Master of all.
Ode VII, Irmos: O Theotokos, we, the faithful, perceive thee to be a noetic furnace; for, as the supremely Exalted One saved the three youths, in thy womb the praised and most glorious God of our fathers wholly renewed the world.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Manifestly illumined with the thrice-radiant grace of unity, the virgins destroyed the utter darkness of the demons, theologising concerning the Light in three Hypostases, and chanting: Praised and all-glorious is the God of our fathers!
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Possessing mansions in the heavens, O light-bearing souls, with gladness ye now join chorus with the angels, gazing upon eternal glory and saying: Praised and all-glorious is the God of our fathers!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Showing steadfast opposition like the three youths, the maidens manfully trampled upon the fire; for, being equal in number with them, the God-bearing virgins acquired the same understanding of the praised and all-glorious God of our fathers.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O pure one, thou givest remission of transgressions unto those who hymn thee with faith, delivering them from temptations and every evil circumstance; for we have now acquired thee as a refuge, O Bride of God, in that thou didst bear the praised God of our fathers in thine arms.
Ode VIII, Irmos: The children of Israel in the furnace, shining more brightly than gold in a crucible in the beauty of their piety, said: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord; hymn and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
The divinely radiant virgins Faith, Hope and Charity, were more lustrous than gold in the beauty of their piety, saying: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord; hymn and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
The virgins who are radiant and were manifestly splendid amid their torment let us hymn, O ye faithful, saying: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord; hymn and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The shrines of the athletes ever pour forth a stream of healing abundantly, copiously and richly upon those who with faith cry out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord; hymn and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Holy ground wast thou, O pure one, giving birth to the life-bearing Ear of grain: Christ, the Mediator of everlasting life, to Whom we all cry out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord; hymn and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Ode IX, Irmos: The bush which burnt with fire yet was not consumed showed forth an image of thy pure birth-giving. And now we pray that the furnace of temptations which rageth against us may be extinguished, that we may magnify thee unceasingly, O Theotokos.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Filled with thrice-radiant light, and delighting now in the divine radiance, O ye who are equal in number to the virtues and bear their names: love, hope and faith, make us steadfast by hope, love and faith.
Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Liubov, pray to God for us.
Let the might of heaven now subdue the tempest of heresy which besetteth us, O invincible athletes. We entreat you, O good virgins: pray ye unceasingly, that God grant oneness of mind to the faithful.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Having passed through the night of this life, O most wise ones, ye have reached the unwaning day, making merry as martyrs and boasting in grace as virgins, being counted worthy of the divine and incorruptible kingdom.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O, how hath the Virgin given birth unto the eternal and hypostatic Word, the effulgence of the hypostasis of the Father, our Benefactor and Lord, Who became incarnate of her, whom we magnify as is meet.
Troparion, Tone IV: In their sufferings, O Lord, Thy martyrs received imperishable crowns from Thee our God; for, possessed of Thy might, they set at nought the tormentors and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons. By their supplications save Thou our souls.
“The Cross is the guardian of the whole world! The Cross is the beauty of the Church! The Cross is the strength of kings! The Cross is the support of the faithful! The Cross is the glory of the angels and the wounder of the demons!”
(Exapostilarion)
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings for the feast of the Exultation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.
Contrary to the logic of the world and the mockery of the modern day equivalent of the Jews (for whom the Cross was a stumbling block) and the Greeks (for whom the Cross was foolishness), today, we joyfully celebrate the feast.
In our temples, we surround the Cross with herbs and flowers, venerating it as a precious treasure and source of sanctification, blessing and healing.
Prostrating ourselves and venerating it, we chant, “Before Thy Cross we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.”
In our cathedrals and monasteries, hierarchs and abbots bless the four corners of the earth, with the Cross as the sign of victory by which the demons are conquered, the powers of evil put to flight, and the world consecrated through God’s grace. We know that the powers of hell fear this very sign and painful reminder of their own defeat and impotence.
But, how can it be that a the Church came to recognise a Roman gibbet, a shameful tool of torture and death to be the sign of victory and the Tree of Life?
The early Christians and Fathers of the Church saw many types of the Cross in the Jewish scriptures: in the wood with which Noah built the salvific ark; in the the wood carried for Isaac’s intended sacrifice; in the rod of Moses, which divided the Red Sea, opening a path from slavery to freedom; in the cruciform raising of Moses arms, by which Israel defeated Amalek; in the bronze serpent set cross-wise on a pole for the healing of the Israelites bitten by the fiery snakes.
In all of these, the meaning and vision was of healing, deliverance, freedom, salvation, victory and restoration.
As inheritors of the early Christian understanding of the prophetic and prefigurative voice of the scriptures in image and symbol, and as heirs of their spiritual approach to the Cross, we celebrate and honour it in its glorious, life-giving fulness.
Like the early Christians, seeing beyond the Saviour’s pain and suffering in His accepting, embracing, carrying and enduring the Cross, we see life, liberation, the restoration of humanity and the redemption of Adam and Eve, and of all humanity with them.
Thus, over twenty centuries after an instrument of torturous death was transformed and consecrated by the Saviour’s sacrificial love, obedience, humility, and His total outpouring of self, we Orthodox Christians hymn and venerate the Life-Giving Cross as the Tree of Life, the destruction of hell and the death of death.
Whilst some heretics are loathe to even acknowledge the reality of the crucifixion and the form of the Cross, we embrace it with enthusiastic devotion and deep love – having been sealed with its precious image in Holy Baptism and Chrismation; wearing it around our necks; being signed with it upon our heads in confession as we are assured of Christ’s forgiveness for the penitent; anointed with its form in Holy Unction; tracing its image upon ourselves in prayer and divine worship, and being blessed with that same figure.
In the hymns of Paschal matins, we boldly declare that “through the Cross, joy hath come to all the world…”, and exulting in this joy, we are mindful that at the heart of the meaning of the Cross is the reckless and limitless love of God, of which the sacrificial-love of the Cross was sign of the absolute nature of that love in which God held His Creation from its very beginning.
Desirous for the redemption and restoration of His children from the very moment of their fall, in that love, in the economy of salvation, He sought to heal like by means of like, entering into creation itself to effect the healing and salvation of the fallen.
Just as sin, disobedience and death entered the world through wood – by the Tree of Knowledge – so righteousness, obedience, and restored life would be effected through the Wood: the Tree of the Cross, which has become for us the Tree of Life.
He Who was raised up on this Tree, of His own will, was the very Immortal Word of God and Creator of Whom St John tells us, “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created…”
As the first Adam fell through approaching a tree in disobedience, and the fruit of that tree was death, so the second Adam approached His Tree in obedience, and the fruit of that Tree is life!
This is proclaimed by the Church’s hymns for the feast, in which we reflect that the tree was healed by a Tree, chanting in matins,
“Of old, in paradise, a tree stripped me naked, the enemy bringing about mortality through eating; but the Tree of the Cross, bearing for men the vesture of life, hath been planted in the ground, and the whole world hath been filled with all manner of joy.”
From the height of that Tree, Christ, the Wisdom, Word and Power of God created anew: making of humanity and the world a new creation, whose conception is signalled by the words of the sacrificed Lamb of God, “It is done.”
As the earth quaked, the sun was eclipsed, the Veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom, and the bodies of the saints rose from their graves, the awesome, life-giving and world-changing power of the Cross was first manifested in the labour pains of a new world born and created from the height of the Cross.
Year by year, we celebrate this wonderful mystery in this feast of the Exultation, knowing that those who love the Cross of Christ, embracing its message of sacrificial love, selflessness and obedience in their lives are themselves exalted by the Cross just as much as we exalt the Cross on this joyful feast.
St Ephrem the Syrian poetically speaks of the Cross as a bridge spanning the jaws of death, and leading to ‘the land of the living’:
“He who was also the carpenter’s glorious son set up his Cross above death’s all-consuming jaws, and led the human race into the dwelling place of life. Since a tree had brought about the downfall of mankind, it was upon a tree that mankind crossed over to the realm of life. Bitter was the branch that had once been grafted upon that ancient tree, but sweet the young shoot that has now been grafted in, the shoot in which we are meant to recognise the Lord whom no creature can resist.
We give glory to Thee, O Lord, who raised up Thy Cross to span the jaws of death like a bridge by which souls might pass from the region of the dead to the land of the living. We give glory to Thee who put on the body of a single mortal man and made it the source of life for every other mortal man.”
On this feast, we glorify the Lord and His Life-Giving Cross, by which hell was defeated and stripped bare as the Risen Lord led our first-father and first mother with the saints of the Old Israel across this wondrous bridge from death to life.
In labouring to follow Him, Who wishes to exalt and raise us up by His Cross, let us rejoice and celebrate in the radiant joy of the feast.
“Come then, my brothers and sisters, let us offer our Lord the great and all-embracing sacrifice of our love, pouring out our treasury of hymns and prayers before him who offered his Cross in sacrifice to God for the enrichment of all.”
(St. Ephrem the Syrian, 306-373 AD)
As the Tree of Life, and the sign of selfless cruciform-love, let us live with the Mystery and meaning of the Cross, as the centre of our lives: our axis mundi stretching from earth to heaven.
How wonderful it has been to start the season with some beautiful autumnal days under blue skies and in the September sun (despite the rather wet interludes), and such a day blessed our celebration of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the cathedral, on Thursday.
The altar-feast is always a very welcome occasion on which clergy are united in the celebration of the Liturgy with our bishop, and for those of us who are far from Chiswick and other parishes within the diocese, it is good to come together and share such an important feast.
The Nativity of the Mother of God – and previous to that, the Dormition – is part of the cement that holds the parishes and clergy of a scattered diocese together, and an embodiment of common life in Christ, united around our hierarch.
Our return from London was followed by a busy few days, with confessions in Nazareth House on Friday, and our lovely local pilgrimage to St Illtud Fawr on Saturday – another day blessed by lovely autumn weather, which was made all the more pleasurable by being in the surroundings of the Vale of Glamorgan.
Though we conceived of the day as a rather low-key and ad hoc substitution for Llancarfan, it turned out to be a wonderful occasion, with Father Luke enthusiastically sharing insights on Roman-British Christianity, St Illtud and his great college, the ‘university’ of Wales in the Age of the Saints. Our time in the remarkable church was followed by a moleben to St Illtud in the church yard and a meal in the Old Swan Inn.
We are grateful to Father Luke for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for this important chapter in the Orthodox legacy of our God-preserved Welsh land, so blessed by places of sanctity and hallowed by the countless men and women who shaped the Church in its early, formative centuries.
Many thanks to Tracy and Menna for their input, and to Rhydian for taking Father Luke and I in his car. Diolch!
Sunday saw the celebration of the after-feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Nazareth House, and the colours of autumn entered the church in the lovely icon adornments, with fragrant herbs and autumn berries, as well as flowers bringing a seasonal offering to the Lord, the Mother of God and the saints.
Again, thanks to our choir for their prayerful chanting, and the return of English as well as Slavonic hymns. I hope that we will see a steady progress in this.
I would also like to express my gratitude to parishioners for making confessions work so well on Sunday mornings, despite the time pressure. Having people ready and waiting to confess at 10:15 has made a vast difference, and rendered it possible to have an hour of confessions before the end of the Hours. Thank you, everyone!
One issue that I must raise is the supervision of children during the Liturgy.
All childen MUST be supervised at all times, and that means that parents/responsible adults MUST be able to see their charges at all times. After several occasions on which children have tried to leave the church via the staircase, I cannot stress this enough.
Looking forward in this week, our plan had been to celebrate the Exultation of the Cross in Cardiff, but I received a message a few days ago to say that the church is not available on Wednesday, due to a funeral.
This has made it necessary to cancel services in Cardiff, and the Divine Liturgy for the feast will now be celebrated in Llanelli, in the Chapel of St David and St Nicholas, at 11 New Rd, Dafen, Llanelli SA14 8LS. The Hours and Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00.
Thanks to Father Luke for making this possible and to the Partridges who had an unscheduled visit from me today, and supplied prosphora for the celebration.
At the end of the week, I will hear confessions on Friday afternoon/evening, and would appreciate requests by noon on Thursday.
I had planned a prayer discussion session for Friday, but as the following day’s rail strike may already see cancellations of services already on the previous evening, I feel caution must see this postponed until the following week.
The following day – Saturday – as there is a rail strike, I will be unable to travel to Cardiff and hear confessions or celebrate vespers.
I would like to remind that the Cardiff half-marathon will see some road closures on Sunday morning. Please check your journey and allow extra time, if necessary.
We will endeavour to start the Sunday service at 11:00, although the new later Sunday Mass and narrow time-space between services has pushed this to 11:05 thus far. Confessions will be heard from 10:15, at the back of the church. Please enter quietly, as Mass is still being celebrated at that time.
In your prayers, please pray for Thérèse (non-O) Brigid and Liudmilla among the sick and infirm, for Catalin, Nataliya and Galina as they travel abroad, for the newly departed servant of God, Alexey, and for Vladimir, whose anniversary of repose falls at this time.
It had originally been our intention and hope that today would have seen a pilgrimage Liturgy in Llancarfan, but crossed-wires mean that was put on hold, and instead we made a rather less formal pilgrimage to Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major), nearby, in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan.
Father Luke – our very own historian-archeologist – spoke to our little band of pilgrims about St Illtud, the legacy of Romano-British Christianity, and the shear importance of Llanilltud Fawr as a great and celebrated seat of learning and education in Insular Britain, in its day.
Though Father Luke and some of our South Wales parishioners visited around six years ago, I hadn’t been for something like a dozen years, and I had forgotten the scale of the church that developed over the centuries on the original Celtic site.
Seeing the church from different angles and also beginning to understand the landscape and very close proximity to the coast and the sea-roads of the saints between different parts of insular Britain, Ireland and Brittany, helped to make sense of this site, and how it was so ideal as a place central to the propagation of the Faith and Christian learning in early Christian Britain.
We were interested in the material legacy of the many the layers of history, piety, Christian culture and life that succeeded the Orthodox centuries of Llanilltud Fawr, knowing that those commemorated by tombs and memorials have been part of the life of this remarkable place, whether during the Catholic or Protestant centuries.
Also, we were very happy to see such a loved, cherished and well tended place of Christian identity and heritage, with the Celtic memorial stones preserved in the restored Raglan Chapel at the west end, remnants of medieval wall painting, wonderful devotional-liturgical stonework features from the Middle-Ages – including a arched stone surround representing the Tree of Jesse, sprouting from the recumbent forefather of Christ – later wall paintings and furnishings from Tudor and Stuart times, and mercifully no obvious Victorian ‘improvement’ disfiguring the remarkable and large building.
After having time to explore the church and its surroundings, we chanted a moleben at the foot of the medieval cross in the churchyard, and then had a wonderful social time over lunch in one of the hostelries in the medieval heart of the village.
Many thanks to those who were able to be part of a rather ad hoc pilgrimage, and praise to god for the fellowship, friendship and warmth that always characterises these occasions.
Diolch yn fawr iawn pawb!
Troparion of St Illtyd tone 6: O wise Illtud, thou wast noble by birth and noble in mind * and didst train many saints in the way of holiness. * Pray to Christ our God to raise up saints in our days * to His glory and for our salvation.
Greetings on this glorious feast, so joyfully lauded by the Church Fathers as the beginning of the renewal of creation through the birth of the Virgin, from whom the Creator would be born and come in the flesh to restore fallen Adam and make creation new.
The hymns of the feast boldly declare that today is the great day of the beginning of our deliverance, liberation and salvation, triumphantly declaring in the first stikhiron of the vespers litia that –
“Today is the beginning of our salvation, O ye people! For, lo! the Virgin Mother, who was foretold from generations of old as the receptacle of God, cometh forth to be born of a barren woman…”
St John Damascene, calls all of humanity to celebrate this wonderful event, saying, “Come, all nations, every race of men, every language, every age and every rank! Let us joyfully celebrate the nativity of joy for the whole world!”
But, as we celebrate this long-past Nativity through which the economy of salvation was put into motion upon the face of the earth, he also calls renewed creation itself to join in the joy and wonder of the momentous birth of the Mother of God: “Let the whole of creation make festival and sing of the most holy birth-giving of the holy Anna. For she bore for the world an inviolable treasury of blessings. Through her the Creator transformed all nature into a better state by means of humanity.”
And, today is the joyful prelude to the Creator’s transformation of our humanity by means of the very humanity that He received from His Virgin-Mother. In her Nativity, the Mother of God rises like the day-star which announces the bright dawn of the Sun of Righteousness, after the long and deepening spiritual darkness of the centuries before the coming of Christ.
The rising of this day-star was foreordained by God from the very moment of the fall of the first-father and the first-mother, and the children of the old Israel advanced towards it through the long night of the Old Covenant, with the continuum of the successive generations of the forebears of the Mother of God as the ascent and rising of her as the morning star, growing closer – century by century – to her rising and shining in the darkness before the dawn of the Light of the World in His Nativity in the cave of Bethlehem.
In the Old Testament scriptures the Church Fathers and early Christians saw many prefigurings of the Mother of God: in Jacob’s Ladder, in the Burning Bush, in the Tabernacle, in the Ark of the Covenant within the Holy of Holies, in the stem from the root of Jesse, in the sealed gate of Ezekiel.
In such a manner, St Andrew of Crete wrote that the Theotokos is “the vision which was mystically foreshadowed of old in Moses’ burning bush – the fleece of Gideon – David’s divinely embroidered purple robe – the cherubic throne, supremely great, fiery and lofty, holding in its womb the Lord King Sabaoth… The gate of heaven, through which the Master of the Heavens alone passed, having granted the entrance to no one before Him.”
In this rich typology, the Church Fathers saw prophetic images leading Israel towards the momentous day on which types and figures would be fulfilled in the birth of the Virgin, when symbols and shadows would pass away in the arrival of the foreordained Mother of the God-Man, Messiah and Saviour of the world.
Thus, according to the Faith of the Church, there was nothing random or accidental, no element of chance or coincidence in the birth of the Mother of God, but the foreordained council of God and His redemptive love working through the generations of the ancestors of the Theotokos, right down to the Forebears of God, Joachim and Anna, and – through prophecies and foreshadowings – God spiritually prepared Israel for the coming of the Mother of God.
To show God’s sovereign will and the workings of grace, nature was stalled in the conception of the Mother of God, as observed by St John Damascene in his festal oration:
“Nature has been defeated by grace and stands trembling, no longer ready to take the lead… But why has the Virgin Mother been born from a sterile woman?… Nature has been defeated by grace and stands trembling, no longer ready to take the lead. Therefore when the God-bearing Virgin was about to be born from Anna, nature did not dare to anticipate the offshoot of grace; instead it remained without fruit until grace sprouted its fruit.”
Her Nativity, though a natural one of human seed, was nevertheless only made possible through grace, after the parents of the Theotokos had been prepared for this unique birth by years of waiting, though it seemed mad and fruitless to the eyes of the world.
In those years of waiting in patient hope, they were transformed by God’s grace, and their long-awaited child was the fruit not only of their humanity, but also of their humility and patience, born after years spent in contrition, fasting and prayer, in which Joachim and Anna never abandoned hope in the All-Merciful God – as observed by St Gregory Palamas:
“See, all of you, how chastity, fasting and prayer, linked with contrition, made Joachim and Anna the parents of a divine vessel, a vessel chosen not just to bear the name of God, like Paul who was to be born later, but to bear Him “Whose name is Wonderful..”
The Church is clear in seeing the birth of the Mother of God, this divine vessel, as a moment of return, yet to be brought to fruition in the Saviour’s works of salvation through the cross, passion and resurrection, but still a cosmic turning point in which humanity turns back to its ancient dignity, inasmuch as the Mother of God represents all of humanity.
The great hymnographer, St Andrew of Crete, observed that,
“Today the pure nobility of humankind takes back the gift of the dignity of the first divine creation and restores it to itself… And in a word, today the reshaping of our nature begins, and the world, which had grown old, takes up a most God-like composition, receiving the beginnings of a second divine modelling.”
Each of us is called to participate in this very reshaping and remodelling, not simply by joyfully celebrating this event as passive onlookers, happy but untouched by its message, but by constantly labouring for the realisation of its inner-meaning in our lives, conforming our will to God’s will for each of us, exemplified by the parents of the Theotokos, and that of the Virgin, herself.
Living blameless lives like Joachim and Anna, we are called to constant vigil in watchfulness, prayer and spiritual labour, so that our spiritual barrenness and sterility may be overcome by God’s grace, which we must actively struggle to attain, day by day.
As their God-pleasing humility, contrition and patience was rewarded with the blessed answer to their prayers, so our perseverance and persistence will be rewarded by God. The cultivation of these virtues in our lives will transform us, and make us receptive to the grace of God. Through the struggle to acquire them, our hearts will be softened, our souls cleansed, and through this purification we will become vessels ready to receive spiritual treasures through the work and operation of the Holy Spirit.
However, we are not simply called to emulate Joachim and Anna, but above all to emulate the Mother of God, who is the apex and crown of creation, seeing in her the perfect example of of holiness, selflessness, obedience, total dedication to Christ and creation transfigured, exalted and glorified: the greatest living temple of the Holy Spirit, whose life shows what is possible when our will is perfectly conformed to the will of God, leading us from earth to the heights of heaven.
In using Old Testament typology and symbolism, St John Damascene wrote,
“Today the “Son of the carpenter” has prepared for himself a living ladder whose base has been set on earth and whose top reaches to heaven itself. God has come to rest in her; the type that Jacob saw was of her; God descended without change through her, or in other words, having accommodated himself, he was seen on earth and lived along with humankind… The spiritual ladder, the Virgin, has been established on earth, for she had her origin from earth.”
As the Hodegetria – the one who shows the way – the Mother of God is indeed a spiritual ladder, and by emulating her wonderful example, we may climb towards the Kingdom of Heaven, but no-one will make us climb: the choice is ours, and this calling may be heeded or rejected, accepted or refused.
May this feast inspire us, to embrace its meaning with our hearts and souls, translating its joys and promises into action – spiritually, physically and mentally – loving God with our whole heart and with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength, as did the Mother of God, whose Nativity calls us to embrace the Gospel and respond actively and positively to the wonder of God’s love, manifested in the birth of the child who would become the Virgin-Mother through whom the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Let us who love God love the Mother of God, who is a sign of His love for mankind, and the chosen instrument of the Incarnation and salvation, and in loving let us struggle for holiness, even as she shows us the way to holiness.
Let us mirror our festal joy with action, offering our lives as a spiritual offering to the Virgin who offered herself for us, bearing the Saviour for each and every one of us, who in our humanity “makes it bloom again, grants it to flourish for ever, brings it up to heaven, and leads it into paradise.” (St Gregory Palamas: Oration on the Natvity of the Mother of God)
I have just come through the front door and set the kettle to boil after a busy week in the parish, having spent the more than twenty six hours travelling to and fro across South Wales, but having used the time for prayer and reading, as well as keeping touch with our scattered parishioners.
Monday saw the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Beheading of St John the Forerunner, with one of our young brothers chanting Demestvenny melodies at the kliros, contrasting with the harmonised singing of the previous day’s Liturgy, and bringing a very different liturgical aesthetic to our worship.
A community choir practice in church precluded the celebration of vespers and the Lesser Blessing of Water on Wednesday evening, though I still returned to Cardiff ready for an early start on Thursday, arranging the church for Divine Liturgy for the Church New Year, and to perform the proskomedia before confessions and the expectation that I would chant. Unfortunately, a motorway puncture prevented Fr Luke and one of his parishioners from being with us, so I combined roles during the Liturgy, though there was some welcome help from the kliros. Confessions after a break for refreshment, then putting things away in church made for a long day, but a very blessed and productive one.
Friday teatime saw confessions for those working and studying in the daytime, before our evening study group met in the nuns’ choir, and the following afternoon a group of us arranged the church for worship before we had our Saturday evening service.
I’m not sure that everyone realises the great amount of effort that goes into arranging the church for worship and putting everything away. This can easily takes three hours each day, and sometimes more, when clergy are doing this without assistance, and on a Sunday our servers have much to do after Liturgy. We are very grateful to them.
Despite Saturday’s church set-up, today saw even greater pressure on our final arrangements, as mass became even longer, and this situation will be closely monitored. Hearing confessions at the back of the church (from 10:15) makes a great difference, but not being able to set up the church until 10:45 makes the time before our service extremely pressurised. Mercifully, we were able to commence the Hours at 11:05.
We were blessed with another lovely Liturgy today, with a slightly smaller choir than the last few weeks and only a few servers. Once again, the icons looked lovely with the flowers adorning them and I am glad to hear that our sisterhood have a flower rota in place for the next few months.
It was lovely to see parishioners who have been away in Greece and Ukraine and to welcome them home, and we are always glad to be joined by parishioners from Llanelli, who are now with us regularly on the Sundays of the month when there is no Llanelli Liturgy.
The coming week will see Deacon Mark and I go to the cathedral for the altar-feast, together with several of the young brothers of our parish, and we will be away on Wednesday and Thursday, looking forward to seeing other parishioners there.
I will be able to hear daytime confessions in church on Friday, and anyone only able to confess on Saturday should let me know, and arrangements will be made to do so after our visit to Llantwit Major and its ancient church of St Illtyd (see below).
Again, on Sunday, I will her confessions from 10:15 until the end of the Hours.
As announced at today’s Liturgy, despite assurances that we were welcome to visit Llancarfan once again, our communication regarding celebrating the Divine Liturgy received no response. Therefore, there is a change of plan next Saturday, and rather then heading to Llancarfan, we will visit St Illtyd’s Church at Llantwit Major, meeting at the church at 11:00.
Having visited the church with its museum of ancient Christian carved stones, and prayers to honour St Illtyd, we will have lunch in one of the local hostelries and enjoy time together. Given that Father Luke’s background is in archeology and medieval history, we will be glad to have him with us in a place so central to Christianity in South Wales.
We look forward to returning to Llancarfan in the near future, when our previous guide has returned from his travels.
Would anyone requiring confessions on Friday or Saturday please email by Wednesday evening?
Looking ahead to the end of the month, may I remind you that the feast of the Exultation of the Cross falls on Wednesday 27th September (14th September on the Church Calendar), on which day the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 11:00.
Finally, we congratulate Adam, on his reception to the catechumenate, and thank our outgoing starosta, Norman John, for his generous support for the parish. I personally would be lost without the immense support and help from both Norman and Georgina. We pray that God will grant them and our brother Adam “Many, blessed years!”
Dear brothers and sisters, greetings for the feast of the Holy Martyr Mamas, a truly inspirational example of the sanctity of youth and steadfast witness to the Truth of Faith.
Despite his tender years, his unshakeable courage in the Faith is a great example and inspiration for us, as the Church and Faith face renewed hostility, but in a more subtle and insidious, though even more dangerous way.
For St Mamas and his parents there was no grey area of compromise: Faith or death, all or nothing, confession or apostasy.
The danger for us is that by casuistry and self-delusion we fool ourselves into not recognising that we compromise the Faith, betray the Lord, and deny Christ in so many subtle ways that we may not even notice – such is the danger.
The passion and witness of this young, but fearless martyr need to make us take a long hard look at ourselves, asking uncomfortable questions about who resolute we are in confessing Christ, and how far we would go to preserve our Faith, as we behold St Mamas mounted on the lion of courage and journeying independently and willingly to his own death in martyrdom for Christ: the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Troparion, Tone IV:In his suffering, O Lord,/ Thy martyr Mamas received an imperishable crown from Thee our God;/ for, possessed of Thy might,/ he set at nought the tormentors and crushed the feeble audacity of the demons.// By his supplications save Thou our souls.
Kontakion, Tone III: With the staff given thee by God, O holy one,/ thou didst shepherd thy people in life-bearing pastures;/ and thou didst crush the invisible and untamed wild beasts/ beneath the feet of those who hymn thee.// For all who find themselves amid misfortunes have thee as their fervent intercessor, O Mamas.
The Holy Great Martyr Mamas was born in Paphlagonia, Asia Minor in the third century of pious and illustrious parents, the Christians Theodotus and Rufina. The parents of the saint were arrested by the pagans for their open confession of their faith and locked up in prison in Caesarea in Cappadocia.
Knowing his own bodily weakness, Theodotus prayed that the Lord would take him before being subjected to tortures. The Lord heard his prayer and he died in prison. Saint Rufina died also after him, after giving birth to a premature son. She entrusted him to God, beseeching Him to be the Protector and Defender of the orphaned infant.
God heard the dying prayer of Saint Rufina: a rich Christian widow named Ammia reverently buried the bodies of Saints Theodotus and Rufina, and she took the boy into her own home and raised him as her own son. Saint Mamas grew up in the Christian Faith. His foster mother concerned herself with the developing of his natural abilities, and early on she sent him off to study his grammar.
The boy learned easily and willingly. He was not of an age of mature judgment but distinguished himself by maturity of mind and of heart. By means of prudent conversations and personal example young Mamas converted many of his own peers to Christianity.
The governor, Democritus, was informed of this, and the fifteen-year-old Mamas was arrested and brought to trial. In deference to his illustrious parentage, Democritus decided not to subject him to torture, but instead sent him off to the emperor Aurelian (270-275). The emperor tried at first kindly, but then with threats to turn Saint Mamas back to the pagan faith, but all in vain. The saint bravely confessed himself a Christian and pointed out the madness of the pagans in their worship of lifeless idols.
Infuriated, the emperor subjected the youth to cruel tortures. They tried to drown the saint, but an angel of the Lord saved Saint Mamas and bade him live on a high mountain in the wilderness, not far from Caesarea. Bowing to the will of God, the saint built a small church there and began to lead a life of strict temperance, in exploits of fasting and prayer.
Soon he received a remarkable power over the forces of nature: wild beasts inhabiting the surrounding wilderness gathered at his abode and listened to the reading of the Holy Gospel. Saint Mamas nourished himself on the milk of wild goats and deer.
The saint did not ignore the needs of his neighbours. Preparing cheese from this milk, he gave it away freely to the poor. Soon the fame of Saint Mamas’s life spread throughout all of Caesarea.
The governor sent a detachment of soldiers to arrest him. When they encountered Saint Mamas on the mountain, the soldiers did not recognize him, and mistook him for a simple shepherd. The saint then invited them to his dwelling, gave them a drink of milk and then told them his name, knowing that death for Christ awaited him. The servant of God told the servant of the Emperor to go on ahead of him into Caesaria, promising that he would soon follow. The soldiers waited for him at the gates of the city, and Saint Mamas, accompanied by a lion, met them there.
Surrendering himself into the hands of the torturers, Saint Mamas was brought to trial under a deputy governor named Alexander, who subjected him to intense and prolonged tortures. They did not break the saint’s will, however. He was strengthened by the words addressed to him from above: “Be strong and take courage, Mamas.”
When they threw Saint Mamas to the wild beasts, these creatures would not touch him. Finally, one of the pagan priests struck him with a trident. Mortally wounded, Saint Mamas went out beyond the city limits. There, in a small stone cave, he gave up his spirit to God, Who in the hearing of all summoned the holy Martyr Mamas into His heavenly habitation. He was buried by believers at the place of his death.
Christians soon began to receive help from him in their afflictions and sorrows. Saint Basil the Great speaks thus about the holy Martyr Mamas in a sermon to the people: “Remember the holy martyr, you who live here and have him as a helper. You who call on his name have been helped by him. Those in error he has guided into life. Those whom he has healed of infirmity, those whose children were dead he has restored to life, those whose life he has prolonged: let us all come together as one, and praise the martyr!”
As all who participated in today’s Liturgy were well aware, changes in our circumstances certainly posed new challenges, as did the intense heat in the convent church, particularly for those vested in the sanctuary. In priests vestments, I must admit that today was a real trial – especially after the same challenge in Cheltenham, yesterday, where Deacon Mark and I struggled through Liturgy and on the homeward journey.
With one of the new Catholic chaplains celebrating, the Mass was close to double its usual length, making for a very late and pressurised set up for Liturgy.
However, quietly hearing confessions at the back of the church during the service alleviated some of the pressure, but our deacons and servers still had a rather short time in which to ready the church for our Orthodox service.
I will repeat today’s confession arrangement next week, having walked round to the back of the church at 10:15, with parishioners already waiting for confessions – which continued in a steady and smooth progression until towards the end of the Sixth Hour.
Looking ahead, I hope that I will have already been able to her the majority of local confessions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. See below.
Despite the pressure and the rush, today’s Hours began only five minutes late, at 11:05, though I hope it will begin at 11:00 as scheduled, next week – even if the Church set-up continues after that time. However, I will put out everything needed in the nave, so that things simply have to be moved a few metres.
From the choir’s initial amen, the Liturgy was a joyous celebration, with our singers chanting harmoniously and confidently, showing sympathy and sensitivity to one another, and supporting and helping one another. Thanks to our regent Olga, and to our two young basses, who acquitted themselves very well.
Yet again, the flowers adorning our icons, and vases of late summer blooms added so much to the makeshift setting for our Orthodox worship, tangibly showing parishioners’ love for God and the saints.
It was lovely to leave the church, at teatime, today, seeing the flowers on the shrines ready for the morning Liturgy for the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John. The Liturgy will commence at 11:00, as I will pray the Hours after the proskomedia before church set-up.
On Thursday, our Liturgy for the Church New Year will be celebrated at 11:00, and I will be available to hear confessions as needed in the afternoon, after lunch. However, due to a choir practice in church, there will be no service on Wednesday evening, as previously hoped.
Friday sees the resumption of our discussion group on prayer, at 19:00, in Nazareth House, and I will hear confessions beforehand, and after, if – again according to demand.
I will celebrate Great Vespers at 16:00 on Saturday, and any confessions will need to be BEFORE the service, as I have a potentially long journey home afterwards.
Please email regarding confessions on any of these days, so that I can plan, accordingly, and do so by 18:00 on Wednesday.
Tomorrow: Monday 11 September, New Style, Beheading of St John the Forerunner – Liturgy, Nazareth House 11:00.
Thursday 1/14 September – Church New Year – Liturgy, Nazareth House 11:00. Afternoon confessions by arrangement.
Friday 2/15 September – Church discussion group 19:00. Afternoon/evening confessions by arrangement.
Saturday 3/16 – Great Vespers, 16:00. Afternoon confessions by arrangement.
Sunday 4/17 September. Hours and Liturgy 11:00. Confessions from 10:10
Please email me regarding weekday confessions by Wednesday, 18:00.
J
Dear brothers and sisters,
Though Father Luke and some of our South Wales parishioners visited around six years ago, I hadn’t been for something like a dozen years, and I had forgotten the scale of the church that developed over the centuries on the original Celtic site.
Dear brothers and sisters,