I would like to thank all who contributed to Sunday’s Liturgy, in which we had the joy of welcoming sisters from Cheltenham and Bristol.
It was lovely to have George and Oswald back from Greece, where – together with Alexander – they bought the parish a beautiful icon of the holy wonderworkers of Evia: Saints David, Iakovos and John the Russian. We will sort a kiot in which to place the icon for veneration at next Sunday’s Liturgy.
It was a joy and a relief to be able to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, after two weeks of simply communing from the reserved Holy Gifts, especially as it was the feast of the repose of St John the Theologian. Being able to honour St John in a sanctuary dedicated to his memory was a great blessing.
Having celebrated the dedication of St John’s, we look forward to our own altar feast less than a month away, when will celebrate the Divine Liturgy in St Mary Butetown on the day itself – 4thNovember, New Style – chanting the Hours at 10:30, with the Liturgy following at 11:00. We will also continue our celebration the feast the following Sunday, when we can all be together in St John’s, and I hope that we can coordinate food for a suitably festal parish lunch that day.
This coming Friday we are sadly unable to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Protecting Veil due to lack of somewhere to liturgize, but we will chant a moleben in honour of the feast in St Mary’s Church at 19:00 in the evening, followed by a spiritual talk, rather than catechesis.
I will also hear confessions on Friday and requests should reach me by Wednesday evening. May I ask anyone both confessing and coming to the service to indicate this, as I hope to have afternoon confessions for anyone not staying in the evening.
Sadly, I must raise one negative issue, after several complaints from parishioners regarding talking during services, with this being a matter ofrepeatoffenders.
Several people were talking during the moleben to St John, and it often transpires that some parishioners fail to understand that our Sunday worship is already under way with the commencing of the Hours. This is the payer of the Church, not a window for socialising until the ‘real’ service starts.
The matter is very simple…
We chant, ‘Let us lay aside all earthly cares.’ If you are unwilling to do this whilst in Church, you are in the wrong place at this time on a Sunday.
I look forward to next Sunday’s Liturgy, after which there will be a baptism at 14:00 – our third child baptism in the last month, with several more baptisms of rather older people yet to come.
Ode I, Irmos: When Israel walked on foot in the sea as on dry land, * on seeing their pursuer Pharaoh drowned, * they cried: * Let us sing to God * a song of victory.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
O ye faithful, with joy let us join chorus, hymning the Savior with radiant souls, on the most wondrous memorial of Wenceslaus, the servant of Christ!
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Slain unjustly like an innocent lamb, thou didst emulate the sufferings of the Master, O glorious one; wherefore, thou dost now rejoice with the choirs of the martyrs, O thou who art blessed of God.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Receiving a death which won thee life, thou standest now in glory before the Master of all. Pray thou that we who keep thy most wondrous memory may also obtain it, O holy one.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Who can tell of the countless wonders which thou workest in the world, O glorious one? For thou dost continually grant healing in abundance unto all the faithful.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Sovereign Lady, raise me up who have fallen among thieves through my soul-destroying deeds and am drowning in death. I pray thee: Entreat thy Son and God for me.
Ode III, Irmos: There is none as holy as Thou, * O Lord my God, * who hast exalted the horn of The faithful O good One, * and strengthened us upon the rock * of Thy confession.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Thou didst ever burn with Christian love for the Holy Church, O most blessed one, where, like an innocent lamb, thou didst look forward to thine unjust slaughter.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Adorned with thy most splendid blood, thy Church emitteth the radiant beams of miracles, hymning thy memory, O right glorious one.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Enlightened from childhood by the rays of the Trinity, O venerable one, thou didst become an heir of Christ. Him do thou entreat, that He send peace unto our souls.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thy divine birthgiving doth transcend every other miracle, O pure one; for, having conceived in thy womb and given birth unto the transcendent God, thou didst remain Ever-virgin.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Sessional Hymn, Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “Of the Wisdom …”: Seeking to prevent thee from ascending thy throne, the enemies of the Orthodox Faith murdered thy pious grandmother, the saintly Lyudmila, that she might no longer guide thee with Christian counsel; yet so well grounded wast thou by her in reverence for things divine and in love for Christ, that her martyrdom in nowise moved thee from thy sacred purpose, and the wiles of thine enemies served only to strengthen thee in thy resolve, and to gain for the Holy Church another martyr in heaven.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokion, Tone VIII: All we, the generations of mankind, * call thee blessed, * in that thou art the Virgin who alone among women * hast given birth without seed unto God in the flesh; * for the fire of the Godhead made its abode within thee, * and thou didst feed the Creator and Lord * with milk as an infant. * Wherefore, we, the race of mankind and of angels, * glorify thy birthgiving, * and together we cry out to thee: * Entreat Christ God to grant forgiveness of sins ** unto those who with faith worship thy most holy Offspring.
Ode IV, Irmos: Christ is my power, * my God and my Lord, * the holy Church divinely singeth, * crying with a pure mind, * keeping festival in the Lord.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Lovingly raised in the pure Faith from childhood, by thy pure works thou didst lovingly follow the Master and put His false enemy to shame by thy hope.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Shining with radiance, O holy Wenceslaus, by thy supplications enlighten those who are darkened by sins, for with the choirs of the martyrs thou hast boldness to pray for us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Cut down by the sword, O invincible saint, thou didst cut down the wicked foe with the sword of patience; wherefore, thou hast received a crown from the hand of the Almighty.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Truly the mysteries of thy divine birthgiving are ineffable and unattainable for those on earth and those in heaven, O Ever-virgin Theotokos.
Ode V, Irmos: Illumine with Thy divine light, I pray, O Good One, * the souls of those who with love rise early to pray to Thee, * that they may know Thee, O Word of God, * as the true God, * Who recalleth us from the darkness of sin.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Having received through thy sufferings the life which is devoid of pain, O all- praised and holy Wenceslaus, thou hast been shown to be a help for all who suffer and with faith call upon thee for aid.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
With the most radiant beams of thy miracles thou hast enlightened the north, the south and the west more than the sun, O blessed one; wherefore, illumine us who celebrate thy memory, O saint.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou wast a helper of those amid misfortunes, the sustainer of the poor, and the comfort of the grieving; wherefore, even after thy death, O holy one, thou dost deliver all who with faith call upon thee for help.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O good Sovereign Lady of the world, save those who with all their soul confess thee to be the Theotokos; for we have thee, who art truly the Theotokos, as our help, O immaculate one.
Ode VI, Irmos: Beholding the sea of life surging with the tempest of temptations, * I run to Thy calm haven, and cry to Thee: * Raise up my life from corruption, * O greatly Merciful One.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Having acquired a pure life through fasting, O most wondrous Wenceslaus, thou hast been revealed to be a fellow citizen with the angels. With them pray thou for the salvation of our souls.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Forsaking a transitory earthly princedom, and receiving a royal adornment from the right hand of the Master, thou didst acquire through corruptible things that which is eternal, in that thou art wise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O holy one, accept praise from the accursed lips of one who is unable to fashion worthy praises for thee, and entreat the merciful God, that He grant us great mercy.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O most pure Lady who for mortals gave birth to the Helmsman and Lord, confound my wicked lusts, and grant serenity unto my heart.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone I, Spec. Mel.“The choir of the angels …”: Standing with the choirs of the angels, * O blessed Prince Wenceslaus, * thou delightest in divine and ineffable goodness; * and drawing thence the goodly gifts of miracles, * thou pourest forth abundant cures upon all ** who with faith flee to thy holiness.
Ikos: Great is the consternation of the enemy of our salvation! For, seeking to destroy the Christian Faith which was planted in Bohemia by the pious Borivoy and the holy Lyudmila, he instilled within the accursed Prince Boleslaus the treacherous intention to murder his godly brother, the holy Prince Wenceslaus, and thus unjustly to seize his throne. Yet the Savior bestowed upon His martyr so great an abundance of the grace of miracles that the people of Bohemia were amazed and hastened to be enlightened. Thus the machinations of the devil were utterly foiled, and the Holy Orthodox Church grew and thrived. And even to this day the precious relics of the martyr pour forth an abundance of cures upon all who with faith flee to his holiness.
Ode VII, Irmos: An Angel made the furnace bedew the holy Children. * But the command of God consumed the Chaldeans * and prevailed upon the tyrant to cry: * O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
The ancient malefactor envied thy sacred life and incited the mindless brigand to slay thee; but with a pure conscience thou didst unceasingly cry out to thy Creator: Blessed is the God of our fathers!
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Prague, thy most glorious city, danceth with gladness today, honoring thy memory, and, radiantly emitting thy miracles, it calleth the whole land to cry aloud: Blessed is the God of our fathers!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Through the deception of the wicked one, of old the ground was stained by the hand of Cain, who slew his own brother; but sprinkled now with blood, it offereth sacrifices of sweet savor unto Christ, crying: Blessed is the God of our fathers!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Through thee, O Virgin, Light hath shone forth upon those in darkness, for thou hast given birth to the Creator and God of all. Him do thou beseech, O most pure one, that He ever send down great mercy upon us, the faithful.
Ode VIII, Irmos: Thou didst make flame bedew the holy children, * and didst burn the sacrifice of a righteous man with water. * For Thou alone, O Christ, dost do all as Thou willest, * Thee do we supremely exalt throughout all ages.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Sanctified from on high by rays of grace, O most glorious one, thou didst shine forth more brightly than the sun in the land of Bohemia with the beauties of gladness, supremely exalting Christ throughout the ages.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Receiving thy holy body today, O blessed one, Prague, thine all-praised city, proclaimeth thy most wondrous miracles unto all the world, supremely exalting Christ throughout the ages.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Adorned with meekness and illumined with a proper understanding of Orthodoxy, O most wondrous one, thou wast truly shown to be a herald of the most holy Trinity, supremely exalting Christ throughout the ages.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou didst ineffably conceive and give birth unto the Transcendent One, the Word, the Bestower of light, Who is begotten of Light, O Virgin, for the Spirit of God made His abode within thee. Wherefore, we hymn thee, O pure one, throughout all ages.
Ode IX, Irmos: It is impossible for mankind to see God * upon Whom the orders of Angels dare not gaze; * but through thee, O all-pure one, * did the Word Incarnate become a man * and with the Heavenly Hosts * Him we magnify and thee we call blessed.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Thou wast deemed worthy of great grace, O glorious one, and hast illumined the whole world, granting healings in abundance unto all.
Holy, right-believing prince,Wenceslaus, pray to God for us.
Accept the joy of the angels, O holy one, and, standing before thy Creator, pray for us who magnify thee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou hast now received blessed repose, O most glorious one. Cease thou never to pray that those who magnify thee may continually share in holy blessedness.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Virgin Theotokos, who after the word of the archangel hast given birth to thy Creator in a manner beyond all telling, entreat Him, that our souls be saved.
Troparion, in Tone IV: Today angels and men share a common joy. * Heaven and earth join together in splendid chorus for thy memorial, O holy one. * And we sinners earnestly cry aloud unto thee: * Pray thou to the Master on our behalf, * that from dangers and from visible and invisible foes, * He may deliver us ** who honor thine all-honored memory.
O beloved apostle of Christ God, haste thou to deliver a defenceless people. He Who permitted thee to recline against His breast receiveth thee, prostrate in supplication. Him do thou beseech, O theologian, that He dispel the gloom of the nations which doth beset us, asking for us peace and great mercy.
Dear brother and sisters,
It was a special blessing to honour the Holy Glorious Apostle St John the Theologian today, and to celebrate the feast of his repose in St John’s Church – our spiritual-home dedicated to his glorious memory – with the joy of welcoming sisters from our Cheltenham mission and our sister-parish in Bristol.
Having already celebrated his memory during the Liturgy, at the dismissal a litia was offered before St John’s icon, with the blessing of bread and koliva in his honour.
The megalynaria to the saint summed up so much of what I tried to express in the homily: that a true theologian is one who like St John rests on the bosom of Christ, loving and remaining with Him not only in peace and tranquillity, but also through trials and tribulations, abandoning attachment to the things of the world to follow Him wholeheartedly, with constancy and total dedication.
It was in this bond of love and devotion that God’s Grace communicated spiritual truths and the purist and deepest theology to the fisherman-turned-disciple, who with the other apostles was made most-wise – not through religious studying and academic labours, but through the knowledge communicated by the Saviour who taught us, “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.
St John was called theologian, not because he knew about God, but because he knew God, saw Him and entered into the deepest of mysteries through the purity of a heart devoted and consecrated to Christ.
The Evangelist not only recorded the life and teachings of the Saviour, but also entered into the mystery of eternity before the creation the world, as God revealed the profoundest dogmas, so that St John could could speak of Christ the Ancient of Days and say with confidence, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
More than this, divine-revelation opened his spiritual-eyes to the last things, yet to come, as the Lord revealed the end of time in the Cave of the Apocalypse on the island of Patmos, where John saw Christ as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, Who is and was, and is to come.
Even for us, despite our weakness and inconstancy, it is through the deepest relationships between the Christian and Christ that the simplest, most unlettered and uneducated people are filled with true theology and surpass the wisest of this world. This realisation and knowledge must spur us on to struggle for the true gnosis/knowledge which Christ communicates to those who follow Him.
Like St John, let us fervently abandon our ‘nets and boats’, and follow Christ, leaning on His breast, that we may receive the illumination of the Divine light, become recipients of true wisdom and heralds of true theology.
Holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian, pray to God for us!
Святы́й апо́столе и евангели́сте Иоа́нне, моли́ Бо́га о на́с!
May God bless you and have mercy, through the prayers of the Holy, glorious, all-praised apostle and evangelist John the Theologian and all the saints.
Greetings as we celebrate the memory of our Venerable Father, Sergei, the Wonderworker of Radonezh, the “Abbot of All Russia”, cherished among our monastic saints, with his shrine in the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra as the visible sign of his place in the piety, spirituality, faith and hearts of the Russian Orthodox faithful.
Egypt had St Athony the Great and the God-bearing fathers of the Thebaid; Palestine had St Savas; Athos had St Athanasius the Athonite; Kievan Rus had Saints Anthony and Feodosy; and as the father of Muscovite monasticism St Sergei embodies the ascetic life of the forested desert to which he and his brother monastics fled to escape the world and climb to heaven, becoming earthly-angels and heavenly men.
All of the venerable fathers and mothers call us to the struggle of Christian living, in as much the podvig they embraced should be reflected in the lives of ALL Christians: non-acquisitiveness, stability, prayer, fasting, continence and watchfulness of body, mind and soul.
Their lives were a prism that focussed the characteristics that should be manifest in our own lives, in which we too, like them, should struggle so that the likeness of Christ might not only be restored in us, but touch the world with the light and life that finds its origin in Him Who is our eternal Light and Life.
Across the centuries, across borders, languages and cultures, St Sergei calls us all to holiness, which is the calling of all who have been baptised into Christ. With him and all of the saints, let us put on Christ: alleluia.
Venerable and God-bearing Father, Sergei, pray to God for us!
Saint Nίkander of Pskov was born on July 24, 1507 into a peasant family in the village of Videlebo in the land of Pskov. His parents were called Philip and Anastasia, and in Holy Baptism, he was named Nikon.
From childhood he dreamed of continuing the ascetical contests of his fellow villager, Saint Euphrósynos of the Spaso-Eleazar Monastery (May 15), who lived in the Pskov wilderness. The first of Nikon’s family to enter the Monastery was his older brother Arsenios. After the death of his father, the seventeen-year-old Nikon was able to convince his mother to dispose of her property and enter a convent, where she lived until her repose.
After visiting Pskov’s monasteries and venerating the relics of Saint Euphrósynos and his disciple Saint Savva of Krypetsk (August 28), Nikon was firmly convinced of his calling to the monastic life.
In order to be able to read the Word of God, Nikon went to work for a resident of Pskov, whose name was Philip. He rewarded Nikon’s diligence by sending him to study with an experienced teacher. Seeing the young man’s zeal, the Lord Himself guided him to the place of his podvig.1 While praying in one of the Pskov churches, he heard a voice from the altar commanding him to go to a place in the wilderness, which the Lord would show him through His servant Theodore. The peasant Theodore led him off to the Demyanka River, between Pskov and Porkhov. Afterward, both Philip and Theodore, who helped him attain his goal, would become monks as well. They were tonsured at Krypetsk Monastery with the names Philaret and Theodosios.
After several years of silence and strict asceticism, emaciating his flesh, Nikon went to the Monastery founded by Saint Savva of Krypetsk. The Igoumen, seeing his weakened body, would not agree to accept him right away, fearing that the difficulties of monastic life would be too much for him. Nikon bowed down before the tomb of Saint Savva, and spoke to him as if he were alive, entreating him to accept him into his Monastery. The Igoumen relented and tonsured Nikon with the name Nίkander.
Saint Nίkander endured many temptations and sorrows on his path of asceticism. Blessed Nicholas (February 28) while still at Pskov predicted Father Nίkander’s trials in the wilderness. Through the prayers of all the Pskov Saints, as well as those of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30 and April 17), who appeared to him twice, guiding and strengthening him, Father Nίkander was able to avoid all the manifold snares of the Evil One, by the grace of God.
He overcame the weakness of his flesh, as well as human failings, and diabolical apparitions by the power of prayer. On one occasion he was almost killed by robbers, who stole the only and most precious property for an anchorite – books and icons. By the Saint’s prayers, two of them, frightened by the sudden death of their comrade, repented of their wicked deeds and the Elder forgave them.
Saint Nίkander did not remain very long at Krypetsk Monastery, and obtained a blessing to return to his own wilderness. Later, he came to live at Krypetsk Monastery again, where he fulfilled the obediences of ecclesiarch and cellarer. Then he went into the wilderness once more and lived there in fasting and prayer, meditating on the Word of God.
Once a year, during Great Lent, Saint Nίkander visited the Damianov Monastery, where he made his confession and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Eight years before his death, he was tonsured into the Great Schema. Many people began coming to him in order to benefit from his counsels, because according to Saint John of the Ladder: “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all mankind” (Step 26:31). Thus, the faithful turned to Saint Nikander for help, for the Lord had bestowed many gifts of grace upon him.
This dweller in the wilderness took care of all the needs of the visitors and even built a guest house for them, for which he provided heat. The Saint did not permit himself to reveal his spiritual gifts. People sometimes heard him praying in his cell with bitter tears. When he was aware of people nearby, he prayed silently, concealing from them the gift of tears which he had received.
Until the end of his life, Saint Nίkander remained an anchorite in the wilderness, but he left instructions that after his repose, the place of his podvig would not be forsaken, promising his protection to those who would live in a future monastery. The Saint gave his final instructions to Deacon Peter of the Porkhov convent, charging him to build a church at his grave, and to transfer the icon of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos there from the Tishanka church cemetery.
He knew the day of his own death, predicting that he would die when enemies invaded the land, and he foretold this imminent assault. On September 24, 1581, during an invasion by the army of the Polish king Stephen Bathory, a certain peasant found Saint Nίkander dead. He lay on his bed with his hands crossed on his chest. The clergy and those who revered him came from Pskov, among whom was Deacon Peter, and they performed the service of Christian burial.
In 1584, at the place which Saint Nίkander sanctified by almost half a century of prayer, a monastery was established by a monk named Isaiah, and was known as the Annunciation – Nikandrov Hermitage. Father Isaiah had been healed of a foot ailment after praying to the Saint.
The glorification of Saint Nίkander Nikander took place under Patriarch Joachim in 1696, and festal celebrations were appointed for September 24, the day of his repose; on June 29, the uncovering of his holy relics during the reconstruction of the Monastery’s cathedral church; and on the Monastery’s temple Feast (the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos). Saint Nίkander is also commemorated on the third Sunday after Pentecost, the Synaxis of the Saints of Novgorod and Pskov (movable Feast).
Troparion, Tone 6: Thou hast become a luminary of unwaning light for our land, blessed by God, / and didst valiantly endure tribulations from the Enemy. / Thy beatings and wounds became for thee a garment of incorruption, / for thou didst fight the beasts, and wast wounded by robbers. / Thou didst pray for them, saying, / “Impute not this sin to them,” / thereby becoming like the Master, Christ. / O Father Nίkander, worthy of glory, pray for our souls.Kontakion, Tone 1: Christ hath shown thee as the dawning of the sun, O venerable one, / for thou shinest in the Russian land with the grace of miracles, / dispersing the darkness of suffering and sorrow for those who come to thee in faith. / Therefore, we honor thy memory, O Father Nίkander, and we cry out to thee: / “Rejoice, adornment of ascetics, the glory and strength of our land.”
The canon of the Forerunner, the composition of John of Damascus, in Tone VI:
Ode I, Irmos: When Israel walked on foot in the sea as on dry land, * on seeing their pursuer Pharaoh drowned, * they cried: * Let us sing to God * a song of victory.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
O offspring of the barren woman: uproot thou the barren thoughts of my barren soul, as I begin to praise thy holy conception in thy mother’s womb.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
The sacred Zechariah, entering the temple, beheld the divine angel, who manifestly proclaimed to him: O priest, in thine old age thou shalt receive a son, the Forerunner.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The great Forerunner, the radiant beacon of the Sun of glory, is conceived to shine forth in his mother’s womb, by whom the darkness of the passions hath been rent asunder and the bonds of barrenness have been loosed.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
Perceiving the Master borne in thy womb, O most pure Theotokos, John, as His Forerunner, manifestly leapt for joy in his mother’s womb.
Ode III, Irmos: There is none as holy as Thou, * O Lord my God, * who hast exalted the horn of The faithful O good One, * and strengthened us upon the rock * of Thy confession.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
Today the barren one conceiveth the sacred fruit, who in later times will cut down all the barrenness of souls with grace, the noetic axe.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
Having been struck dumb within the temple, the great Zechariah receiveth the yoke of the Word by an awesome announcement, and radiantly magnified the compassionate Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The glorious Forerunner, who hath shown the faithful the firm path of repentance, by divine counsel surpassing hope hath at the angel’s command sprung forth in his mother’s womb.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
As he who was born of the barren woman perceived Christ borne in the Virgin’s womb, he leapt up, heralding the Joy which had come into the world, delivering all from grief.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Sessional Hymn, in Tone IV: From heaven Gabriel came down and stood before the sacred Zechariah as he was censing in the temple; and he said unto him: “In thine old age thou shalt bear a right glorious fruit, and the former sterility of Elisabeth shall now straightway be loosed, and the barren one shall give birth. And having conceived, she shall bear the Forerunner and herald of Jesus.” By their entreaties, O Savior of the world, save Thou our souls. (Twice)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokion, Tone IV: O pure and all-immaculate one who knewest not wedlock, thou who alone hast given birth in time to the timeless Son and Word of God: with the holy and honorable apostles, martyrs and prophets, and the venerable, do thou beseech Him to grant us cleansing and great mercy.
Ode IV, Irmos: Christ is my power, * my God and my Lord, * the holy Church divinely singeth, * crying with a pure mind, * keeping festival in the Lord.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
O blessed Forerunner, the voice of the angel proclaimed thee in a sacred manner to the priest as the herald of the coming of Christ, who wast to spring forth from a barren womb.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
O barren one, who before wast childless and hadst not given birth, be thou now glad, for all-gloriously wilt thou bring forth as fruit the Baptist and Forerunner, O right wondrous Elisabeth.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O Forerunner, with the axe of thy prayer hew down the thorns of my passions and remove the stumbling block of mine evil thoughts; and by thy virtues render my mind fertile, O all-blessed one.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
The womb of the Virgin held Thee Who holdest all things, O Christ; and when the Baptist, borne in his mother’s womb, worshipped Thee, he rejoiced, leaping up.
Ode V, Irmos: Illumine with Thy divine light, I pray, O Good One, * the souls of those who with love rise early to pray to Thee, * that they may know Thee, O Word of God, * as the true God, * Who recalleth us from the darkness of sin.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
To the prophet who entered the sanctuary and was offering up to the Creator the services of the Law, the holy angel appeared, announcing the divine conception of the Forerunner.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
“How can this happen to me, for I am an old man, as thou seest, and I have a barren wife?” Zechariah said to the archangel. “Thou dost utter to me words which are contrary to nature!”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
“Look at Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and behold how she brought forth Isaac in her old age, O man; and believe thou those things which have been justly spoken,” the great angel exhorted the elder.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
“Blessed art thou among women, O thou who art full of the joy of God,” Elisabeth manifestly cried to thee when she knew thee to be her who would give birth without having known a man, her who alone would remain incorrupt after giving birth.
Ode VI, Irmos: Beholding the sea of life surging with the tempest of temptations, * I run to Thy calm haven, and cry to Thee: * Raise up my life from corruption, * O greatly Merciful One.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
“My thoughts are filled with doubt, and I shall not believe thy words,” the priest said to the archangel, “for I am asking for the salvation of the people, not for the fruit of my loins.”
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
“The Creator of nature, the King of angels, hath been well pleased that thou give birth unto the herald of His own coming,” the ministering angel replied; “Do not disbelieve my words, O man!”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
“Fiery is thine aspect, awesome thy visage, and wondrous thy discourse,” said Zechariah to the servant of God; “yet I will not believe thee who utterest words strange to me, and which surpass nature!”
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
In the dark abode of the womb, the lamp of the Sun offered worship and leapt up, rejoicing, recognizing the One concealed in the cloud of His Mother’s womb.
Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone I: Rejoice with splendor, O great Zechariah * and all-glorious Elisabeth, his spouse, * in conceiving John the Forerunner as is meet, * whom the archangel announced, rejoicing. * O ye mortals, let us right worthily honor him ** as the initiate of the mystery of grace.
Ikos: Let us open the hallowed Gospel which the sacred and wondrous Luke hath recorded for us, and let us behold the radiant and honorable conception of the Forerunner. For he saith that, as the righteous elder Zechariah entered into the Holy of Holies to cense when it was his turn so to do, Gabriel stood before him, proclaiming and saying: “O priest, in thine old age thou shalt have a son, the prophet and Forerunner, the voice and herald, the ever-radiant beacon and initiate of the mysteries of grace!”
Ode VII, Irmos: An Angel made the furnace bedew the holy Children. * But the command of God consumed the Chaldeans * and prevailed upon the tyrant to cry: * O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
“Since thou dost not believe my words, receive thou manifest muteness; and when thou shalt see the voice of the Word born, receive again thy voice, crying out: ‘Blessed art Thou, O God of Israel!’“
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
As radiant as the sun, Zechariah, cleaving unto Elisabeth, the moon, begat the light-bearing beacon of the Light, which shineth upon us who are cruelly held fast in the darkness of the passions.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Using leaps instead of words, the great Forerunner worshipped Thee in the Virgin’s womb, O Christ Jesus, while he himself was borne in the womb of Elisabeth. O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
Elisabeth, the moon, bearing within herself a star, the divine Forerunner, bowed down before Mary, the radiant cloud, who was bearing Christ, the Sun, Who had taken flesh of her for our salvation.
Ode VIII, Irmos: Thou didst make flame bedew the holy children, * and didst burn the sacrifice of a righteous man with water. * For Thou alone, O Christ, dost do all as Thou willest, * Thee do we supremely exalt throughout all ages.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
The friend of the Bridegroom hath been prepared; the voice of the Word receiveth his beginning; the great warrior of the King of all is now nourished in the womb of the barren one.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
A husbandman hath come forth to tend barren hearts; an axe is already forged to fell the passions; an honorable bullock is nurtured on abstinence: the great Forerunner. Be glad, O ye people!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Break thou the stoniness of my mind, O Forerunner, as of old thou didst loose the bonds of the barren woman; and cause me to increase the fruits of repentance that I may live forever.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
As Elisabeth beheld thee pregnant, O Maiden, she rejoiced in a godly manner, while within her the babe leapt as he recognized his Master.
Ode IX, Irmos: It is impossible for mankind to see God * upon Whom the orders of Angels dare not gaze; * but through thee, O all-pure one, * did the Word Incarnate become a man * and with the Heavenly Hosts * Him we magnify and thee we call blessed.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
Now having thrown wide the gate of the barren one, the great and divine Forerunner of Christ taketh up his abode within his mother’s womb, as within a royal chamber, that he may issue forth as a warrior, preparing the way for the King of all.
Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
Dance thou, O prophet of God and elder, for thou shalt bring forth a son, of whom none greater shall arise among mankind: John, the Forerunner of the Lord! Leap up, O Elisabeth! Rejoice, all the earth, and offer praise to God, the Creator of all!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O prophet and Forerunner of the Lord, remember us now who praise thee in faith, and deliver us from spiritual passions. Save us from misfortunes, and guide us in a godly manner along the path to heaven, O ever-blessed one.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
Sensing herself loosed of the bonds of barrenness and bearing the Forerunner of Him Who dwelt within thy womb, Elisabeth manifestly acknowledged thee to be the pure Mother, O pure Virgin Mary, full of the joy of God.
Such is the importance of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, that the Church even celebrates his conception, as we do today on the Patristic Calendar.
Within the unfolding of the history of salvation, as determined and willed by Almighty God, and revealed by the prophets, St John’s life and ministry was a necessary prelude to the Incarnation, the Saviour’s earthly life, the preaching of the Gospel, and His voluntary and life-giving cross, passion, death and resurrection.
Through the prophets, God had announced that the herald and teacher of repentance would prepare the way for the Messiah, and in this feast of his conception we celebrate the very beginning of the life of the “Friend of the Bridegroom”, and this feast reinforces the moral and spiritual truth:
HUMAN LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION…
That small cluster of human cells within the womb of the righteous Elizabeth, was not impersonal and arbitrary, but the very human life that would be the herald of our salvation. He – not it – already had an identity and already had the God-chosen name that St Zachariah would write on a tablet and that every generation would celebrate before all other men.
“HIS NAME IS JOHN”.
Wishing you a blessed and holy feast, with the hope that you will be able do something to honour the Forerunner, such as chanting a canon or akathist – or simply turning to him in prayer with your own words.
Holy, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist, John, pray to God for us.
May God bless you.
In Christ – Fr Mark
The holy Prophet Malachi prophesied that before the Messiah’s birth His Forerunner would appear, and would indicate His coming. The Jews therefore in awaiting the Messiah also awaited the appearance of His Forerunner.
In a city of the hills of Judea in the land of Palestine lived the righteous priest Saint Zachariah and his wife Saint Elizabeth, zealously observing the commandments of the Lord. The couple, however, had a misfortune: they remained childless in their old age, and they prayed unceasingly to God to grant them a child.
Once, when Saint Zachariah took his turn as priest at the Temple of Jerusalem, he went into the Sanctuary to offer incense. Going behind the veil of the Sanctuary, he beheld an angel of God standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
Saint Zachariah was astonished and halted in fear, but the angel said to him, “Fear not, Zachariah, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.” But Zachariah did not believe the words of the heavenly messenger, and then the angel said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you the good news. Behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words….”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zachariah and they were astonished that he had not come out from the Sanctuary after so long a time. And when he did come out, he was supposed to pronounce a blessing upon the people, but could not do so because he had been struck speechless. When Zachariah explained by gestures that he was unable to speak, the people then understood that he had experienced a vision. The prophecy of the Archangel was fulfilled, and Righteous Elizabeth was delivered from her barrenness, and gave birth to John, the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord.
This Sunday’s resumption of the Divine Liturgy will be especially timely, given that it is the feast of St John the Theologian, and therefore the patronal feast of our present home in Canton.
It will be the first time we have been in St John’s for the feast, and it will be a joy and blessing to honour the Holy All-Praised Apostle and Evangelist on his day.
As Allan and Olga will have the good fortune to be worshipping in our San Remo parish on Sunday, and matushka Alla will be attending a conference in Morocco, may I prompt parishioners to bring flowers to adorn the church during Liturgy.
Other parishioners will be heading to Llanelli Liturgy with the newly completed icons for the ikonostas in the little Chapel of St David and St Nicholas, and I very much look forward to seeing them in situ on my return home from our Cardiff Liturgy.
As other parishioners go away, we look forward to the return of our young pilgrims and their accounts of their travels in Greece. Alexander is in our prayers, as he has been off-colour since his return. May God give him good strength. I hope that Oswald will be selling icons after the service, so be prepared!
It has been very good to be able to rest, pray and read in Glastonbury, spending much of yesterday in the abbey and the gardens at Chalice Well with its iron-rich spring waters flowing through the beautiful gardens at the foot of Chalice Hill.
Glastonbury Abbey, a short distance away, claimed the presence, long-stays, pilgimage-visits and relics of many saints, but whether the great monastic house was ever visited by all the saints that the annals claimed, we shall never know, just as we shall never know the voracity of the many relics the monks claimed to possess – some in direct opposition to other claimant-establishments.
Around the margins of the Glastonbury Icon of the Mother of God, we see many Celtic saints that link Ireland, Wales, Brittany and Somerset – y Gwlad yr Haf – together with the Archangel Michael, St Aristobulus and St Joseph of Arimathea.
The monastic preeminence of Glastonbury Abbey, and its centrality in the growth of Christianity in this part of the British Isles is undeniable, and given the great importance of Glastonbury, it should not surprise us that such eminent saints as David, Patrick and Brigid should be linked with what came to be called Glastonbury with the coming of the English, but was still Ynys Witrin in the age of our great Celtic saints.
As sanctuaries of holiness, culture and learning, the great religious houses of their time were not islands and isolated, but closely interlinked and connected by the much-sailed sea-roads on which monastics – saints among them – visited one another’s communities. Glastonbury was of course an island at that time, making it particularly accessible for those coming from South Wales, with its great religious centres at Llancarfan, Llanilltud-Fawr.
Even though there is now so little to see of the greatest English Abbey that claimed precedence over every other monastic establishment in Britain, and whose abbot sat in the House of Lords, people are still drawn to the ruins, though many through a concocted belief system of their own making.
Yet, whatever people may believe, their coming and going (and I’ve encountered people that repeatedly and regularly come from the far corners of the world) means that the site is loved and cared for, even though it sometimes feels like the Anglican custodians of the ruined abbey have consciously tried to quash any manifestation of spirituality and piety since the millennium: quite ironic considering what the millennium marked.
But, praise God, the site is preserved, even if one can only wonder at the glory of the once great abbey that stood here, and equally wonder at the wanton violence and demonic acts of those who desecrated the great sanctuary on England’s holiest earth. Whilst, in Walsingham England has its Nazareth, in Glastonbury the whole of Britain had its Jerusalem.
Gone are the dazzling colours of gold, paint, jewels and enamel which once adorned the shrines and their treasured relics, but now the colours of nature shine here, especially in autumn.
The abbey has a great many species of trees, soon to be resplendent in their autumn colours, and the flower and herb beds still manage a few flowers after the passing of summer.
I always say to those put off Glastonbury by the New-Age, occult, and and do-it-yourself-pseudo-religious commercially lucrative rubbish, to not be robbed of our holiest site by these works of darkness.
I recall seeing a documentary on the growth of occultism in Glastonbury when I was a teenager, with the camera looking down on the town form the tower of St John’s Church, and its vicar saying what no Anglican incumbent in the town would dare to say now – that the cosmic battle between good and evil is going on right here in this little Somerset town.
This is why must come!
We must come to worship, pray and venerate the holy sites, as I have been doing since I was a teenager – back then, sometimes with the most wonderfully devout friends on the West of England Pilgrimage – a very English, but also very Anglo-Catholic and in-your-face (with all of the senses) demonstration of Christianity.
Much has changed since then. The obvious Christian presence is much diminished, despite the imposing Catholic Parish Church, served by Benedictine monks.
Christianity seems very much in the shadows… which is why we MUST come, honouring the Mother of God in the place of her first British shrine, with David, Patrick, Brigid, Collen, Rumon, Fili, Kea, Indract, Dominica, Beon, Gildas the Wise, Dunstan, and all of the saints who shone forth in Glastonbury.
May they pray for us and for this confused and suffering holy-place.
Even though today only saw the celebration of the Hours, Typika/Obednitsa with Holy Communion, and a moleben before the veneration of the Cross, and no Divine Liturgy, I must admit that it felt so different to last week’s similar liturgical scheme and was such a joyous gathering.
The festal nature of the Sunday after Exultation shone through our aggregate of services, with the chanting of ‘Krestu Tvoyemu’, the veneration and ‘krestotselovanie’ and anointing with oil from Godenovo giving our services a profound spiritual focus.
Thanks are particularly due to matushka Alla for arranging the floral frame for the Cross at very short notice, and to our singers and readers. Thanks are also due to our sisters who provided such excellent home cooked food for trapeza.
We were very happy to congratulate Ludmilla Borisevna on her recent nameday, and I know that her sharlotka was greatly enjoyed by parishioners, and a wonderful autumnal addition to the celebration!
The half-marathon clearly failed to dissuade parishioners from getting to church today, and even though we were without our young pilgrims and a few other parishioners who have commitments elsewhere, there was still a good number of worshippers, and it was lovely to see such a social gathering during trapeza.
It was lovely to have Father Luke and Swansea parishioners with us, and we are very grateful for help with confessions. This made a tremendous difference, and we always value this assistance with the Holy Mysteries.
The appearance of Oswald, fresh from the coach from London, after his return journey from Greece was most welcome, and he has now reactivated his eBay icon-shop, after our having the stock at St John’s and selling icons after Liturgy for the last few weeks.
As I sit typing this greeting, in Glastonbury, the Saviour of the Burning-Eye, bought from his lavka today is the focus of my prayers and a most welcome and powerful addition to my ‘travelling icon-corner’.
I hope that icons will continue to be available after Liturgy.
The afternoon saw the baptism of Maxim, who was our first child to desperately want to go back into the font, though last Sunday it was clear at little Pavel’s baptism that four years after his own, Yuriy would have happily done the same! We pray for the newly enlightened Maxim, and for Yevgeniy and Maria his sponsors. May God grant them many blessed years.
I shall be in Glastonbury for a few days of prayer and quiet, having already felt the benefit in just four hours. This is, of course, a place central to the coming of the Gospel to Britain and was the first and most important monastery of these islands. Despite the nonsense and sinister practices that go on here now, it is important that we value the local sacred sights and pray and worship here as Christians grounded in the continuance of the apostolic Church. Saints of Glastonbury, pray to God for us!
Thanks to Father Deacon Mark for dropping me here on his journey to Devon, and thanks to Nataliya for dispatching me with a box of pirozhky for tea.
Again, we will schedule confessions for Saturday, and we greatly look forward to the resumption of the Divine Liturgy. As I said before Holy Communion, remembering the impossibility of Liturgy for so many people during the Soviet period, let us never take it for granted, and thank God for every day that is blessed by the celebration of the Holy Mysteries.
Please email requests for confession by 22:00 on Wednesday, please.
May God bless you all, and I ask you to continue to remember me in your prayers, rejoicing that they are being answered by the All-Merciful Lord.
Egypt had St Athony the Great and the God-bearing fathers of the Thebaid; Palestine had St Savas; Athos had St Athanasius the Athonite; Kievan Rus had Saints Anthony and Feodosy; and as the father of Muscovite monasticism St Sergei embodies the ascetic life of the forested desert to which he and his brother monastics fled to escape the world and climb to heaven, becoming earthly-angels and heavenly men.
As Allan and Olga will have the good fortune to be worshipping in our San Remo parish on Sunday, and matushka Alla will be attending a conference in Morocco, may I prompt parishioners to bring flowers to adorn the church during Liturgy.
