The Translation of the Relics of St Ignatius the God-Bearer

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January 29 / February 11

After the holy hieromartyr Ignatius was thrown to the lions in the year 107 on the orders of the emperor Trajan, Christians gathered up his bones and preserved them at Rome.

Later, in the year 108, the saint’s relics were collected and buried outside the gate of Daphne at Antioch. A second transfer, to the city of Antioch itself, took place in the year 438. After the capture of Antioch by the Persians, the relics of the Hieromartyr Ignatius were returned to Rome and placed into the church of the holy Hieromartyr Clement in the year 540 (in 637, according to other sources).

Saint Ignatius introduced antiphonal singing into Church services. He has left us seven archpastoral epistles in which he provided instructions on faith, love and good works. He also urged his flock to preserve the unity of the faith and to beware of heretics. He encouraged people to honor and obey their bishops, “We should regard the bishop as we would the Lord Himself.” (To the Ephesians 6)

In his Letter to Polycarp, Saint Ignatius writes: “Listen to the bishop, if you want God to listen to you… let your baptism be your shield, your faith a helmet, your charity a spear, your patience, like full armour.” (Compare Eph. 6:14-17 and the Wisdom of Solomon 5:17-20. Also The Ladder 4:2)

The Canon of the Saint, the acrostic whereof is:  “In songs do I hymn Ignatius, the star of the East”, the composition of Theophanes, in Tone IV

Ode I, Irmos: Having traversed the depths of the Red Sea with dryshod feet, Israel of old vanquished the might of Amalek in the wilderness by Moses’ arms stretched out in the form of the Cross.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Guiding my life to virtue, O God-bearer Ignatius, illumine me with the light of the grace which shineth in thee, and by thy supplications set at naught the tumult of the passions.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Thou wast like most fertile soil, increasing its seed a hundredfold at the harvest, O God-bearer Ignatius, for Christ Who watereth souls with the rain of the Spirit.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

The Master and God of all, perceiving with the power of His foreknowledge the nobility of thy soul, O God-bearer Ignatius, illumined thee with the divinely splendid radiance of grace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Illumined by the rays of the noetic Sun, O most wise one, thou didst hasten in splendor from the East like the material sun, casting light upon the darkness of the West by thy preaching.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O most pure Bride of God, thou gavest birth to One of the all-divine Trinity Who through thee revealed Himself as like us in the flesh, as the Father willed and with the coöperation of the most Holy Spirit.

Ode III, Irmos: Thy Church rejoiceth in Thee, O Christ, crying aloud: Thou art my strength, O Lord, my refuge and my consolation!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Heal thou my mind which hath been afflicted with grievous carnal passions, O ever-memorable Ignatius, martyr of Christ.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Knowing well that thou wast of one mind with the apostles, Christ appointed thee as a teacher shining with divine light upon all the Churches.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Having beheld the Bestower of life slain for thy sake, O Ignatius, with love thou didst hasten to endure death for His sake.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Cleansed by the Spirit beforehand, O pure one, thou gavest birth to the Word of the Father, for the benefit of rational nature.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Sessional hymn, Tone III, Spec. Mel. “Of the divine Faith…”: Illumined by the divine Spirit, with pastoral boldness and great wisdom thou didst put to shame the savagery of the tyrants; and, drawing thyself across the chasm of falsehood, O venerable father, thou didst reach the divine haven. Entreat Christ God, that He grant us great mercy. (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: Without separating Himself from the divine Essence when He took flesh in thy womb, the one Lord remained God though He became man; and even after thy birthgiving He preserved thee, His Virgin Mother, as immaculate as thou wast before giving birth. Him do thou earnestly beseech, that He grant us great mercy.

Stavrotheotokion (replaces the Theotokion of Wednesday and Fridays): The unblemished Ewe-lamb of the Word, the incorrupt Virgin Mother, beholding Him Who sprang forth from her without pain suspended upon the Cross, cried out, lamenting maternally: “Woe is me, O my Child! How is it that Thou dost suffer willingly, desiring to deliver man from the indignity of the passions?”

Ode IV, Irmos: Beholding Thee lifted up upon the Cross, O Sun of righteousness, the Church stood rooted in place, crying out as is meet: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Fittingly called God-bearer, in that thou didst clothe thyself with life in Christ, thou dost radiantly anoint all to receive crowns through desire, O confirmation of martyrs.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Thou wast animated by the power of Him Who for thy sake was nailed to the Cross, O God-bearer Ignatius; for thou didst permit the wild beasts to separate thee from the world, enabling thee to go to Him Whom thou didst desire with love.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Desiring the beauties of the Master, and loving Him with unwavering devotion, O God-bearing martyr Ignatius, thou didst diligently emulate His sufferings.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Adorned with the purple robe of thy blood and the oil of thy priestly anointing, O holy hierarch, initiate of the mysteries of God, thou shinest forth with joy, crying unto Christ: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

He Who by His divine power created all things out of nothing, O Mother of God, was born of thee, illumining the world with the radiant beams of divinity and the splendour of divine knowledge.

Ode V, Irmos: Thou hast come, O my Lord, as a light into the world: a holy light turning from the darkness of ignorance those who hymn Thee with faith.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Beholding Christ now face to face, no longer as though reflected in a mirror, O Ignatius, thou hast truly united thyself to Him Who loveth thee.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Thou hast truly drawn forth enlightenment from the wellspring of the Bestower of light, O Ignatius; for Christ, holding thee in His all-pure hands, did hallow thee.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Acquiring a mind illumined by the Spirit of God, O Ignatius, thou sendest forth the divinely inscribed laws of grace like tablets.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

From on high the angel joyously let his cry ring forth unto thee, O Theotokos, announcing to thee the ineffable conception of the Master.

Ode VI, Irmos: I will sacrifice to Thee with a voice of praise, O Lord, the Church crieth unto Thee, cleansed of the blood of demons by the blood which, for mercy’s sake, flowed from Thy side.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Possessed of the hypostatic Wisdom of God, thou didst set at naught the dogmas of the wisdom of the Greeks, O initiate of sacred mysteries, and with a great noise thou didst consign to oblivion all memory of their falsehood.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Cease thou never to pray for those who celebrate thy memory, O most blessed one, that they be delivered from most grievous temptations and misfortunes, in that thou art a right acceptable priest.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Excelling in courage and wisdom, O venerable and God-bearing martyr, thou wast shown to be adorned with the beauty of righteousness and chastity and surrounded by the virtues.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Finding thee alone like an all-pure rose, a lily of the valley, in the midst of thorns, O Mother of God, the Bridegroom and Word issued forth from thy womb.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Kontakion, Tone IV, Spec. Mel. “Thou hast appeared today…”: Thou didst shine forth from the East today, illumining all creation with thy doctrines, O God-bearing and divine Ignatius, and art adorned with martyrdom.

Ikos: Sanctifying Jeremiah from his mother’s womb and, as the Omniscient One, knowing beforehand when he would be born and that he would be a habitation of His Holy Spirit, God straightway filled him with life from his youth and sent him, as His prophet and herald, to proclaim His holy coming to all on earth. And when God Himself was born of the Virgin and went forth to preach, He found the God-bearing and divine Ignatius to be a disciple worthy of His grace from infancy.

Ode VII, Irmos: The children of Abraham in the Persian furnace, afire with love of piety more than with the flame, cried out: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Adorned with the divine myrrh of the priesthood, O venerable one, and with the blood of thy martyrdom, in both thou didst shine forth, crying: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Having enlightened the whole world with thy laws, with the Bread of heaven thou didst feed the faithful who cry out to thy Master: Blessed art Thou in the temple of Thy glory, O Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Illumined with radiant beams and shining with the splendor of the effulgence of the Origin of light, thou didst receive heavenly delight, rejoicing, O God-bearer, thou boast of martyrs.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As thou didst say, O ever all-memorable martyr, thou wast ground as the grain of God by the teeth of wild beasts, and becamest a most pure bread for Him Who nurtureth all things in His divine goodness.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Rejoice, O sanctified and divine habitation of the Most High; for through thee, O Theotokos, hath joy been given to those who cry: Blessed art thou among women, O most immaculate Mistress!

Ode VIII, Irmos: Stretching forth his hands, Daniel shut the lions’ mouths in the pit; and the young lovers of piety, girded about with virtue, quenched the power of the fire, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Standing before the tribunal, O wise and holy one, with purity of mind thou didst theologise concerning the uncreated Trinity; and, undaunted before the thrones of the savage tyrants, with noetic splendour thou didst cry out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Rationally governing thy mind with divine dogmas, O blessed Ignatius, with torrents of wisdom thou didst utterly drown the wicked demon-tyrant, the prince of deception, crying out: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Shining with the boundless light of the Godhead, O invincible martyr, thou didst dispel the unstable darkness of ungodliness, sending forth radiant epistles to those who chant: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou didst not fear the savagery and rapacity of the wild beasts, O godly Ignatius; for the power of the Most High Who shone forth from the Virgin arrayed thee in the armour of the Cross as thou didst chant: Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord!

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thou, alone among all generations, O all-pure Virgin, wast shown to be the Mother of God; and thou wast a dwelling-place of the Godhead, O most immaculate one, unburnt by the fire of the unapproachable Light. Wherefore, we all call thee blessed, O Mary Bride of God.

Ode IX, Irmos: Christ, the Chief Cornerstone uncut by human hands, Who united the two disparate natures, was cut from thee, the unquarried mountain, O Virgin. Wherefore, in gladness we magnify thee, O Theotokos.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Most divine love, holding thy soul fast, O blessed one, burned up all the material griefs of the world with immaterial fire, and presented thee as crowned to the Summit of all desires.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Thou didst hasten to the most calm and radiant haven, O God-bearer, escaping the raging of both savage and rational beasts as though they were a tempest of threefold waves; and now thou art transported in ecstasy, receiving everlasting delight.

Holy Hieromartyr, Ignatius, pray to God for us.

Adorned with an ornate crown, O initiate of the sacred mysteries, thou dost excel; for in thee the glory of the priesthood and martyrdom are conjoined, and as one who shareth in both thou hast been glorified by thy Master.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As one of manifest sanctity, possessing boldness before thy Master and God, O Ignatius, pray thou, that those who with faith celebrate thy memory be delivered now from temptations.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Quench thou the flame of my passions with the shining dew of thy prayer, O most pure one, in that thou didst receive the divine Fire in thy womb without being consumed; for thee do I have as the hope of my salvation, O Bride of God.

Troparion, Tone IV: As thou didst share in the ways of the apostles and didst occupy their throne, thou didst find thine activity to be a passage to divine vision, O divinely inspired one. Wherefore, ordering the word of truth, thou didst suffer for the Faith even to the shedding of thy blood, O hieromartyr Ignatius. Entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

Prayer: O great hierarch, Ignatius the God-Bearer! We bow down before thee and beg thee: look upon us, sinners, who resort to thine intercession! Beseech the Lord to forgive us all our sins. As thou didst lay down thy soul as a martyr for the faith, grant us also courage to imitate thee in all things. Nothing in life could separate thee from thy love for the Lord: neither flattering promises, nor prohibitions, nor threats, nor the worst of torments. Thou didst joyfully appear before the beasts of fierce death, and, like an angel, thou wast in the abodes of our Heavenly Father, and thy prayer is greatly powerful before the Lord. Be, then, O holy God-Pleaser, an advocate before the Lord, asking for us a prosperous and peaceful life, health, and salvation, and in all prosperity, and victory over our enemies, that He, the Merciful One, may overshadow us with His grace and protect us in all ways with His holy angels. Help us by thy holy prayers to Almighty God, to deliver us from hunger, earthquake, drought, lack of rain and deadly diseases. Be a quick helper for us in every sorrow, especially at the hour of our death; appear to us as a bright protector and intercessor and beg the Lord to favour all of us, who now fervently pray to thee, who hast received the Kingdom of Heaven after a Christian death; for all the saints together with thee eternally glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Canons to Saints Ephraim and Isaac the Syrians

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Canon of the venerable one, the acrostic whereof is: “I honour Ephraim, the noetic Euphrates”, the composition of Theophanes, in Tone VI:

Ode 1, Irmos: When Israel walked on foot in the sea as on dry land, * on seeing their pursuer Pharaoh drowned, * they cried: * Let us sing to God * a song of victory.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

With the Euphrates-like flood of thy supplications water thou my soul, which hath become dry with the burning heat of the passions, and inspire discourse within me who praise thy festival, O all-blessed one.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Shining forth noetic light, thou didst show thyself to be a radiant sun, O Ephraim, illumining all the fullness of the faithful with brilliant virtues and teachings.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Extinguishing the flame of the passions with the streams of tears, O divinely blessed Ephraim, thou wast a precious vessel of the Holy Spirit, pouring forth wellsprings of doctrines.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Having received the incorrupt Word in thy womb, thou hast given birth to Him Who delivereth from corruption those who ever worship Him, O pure Mother and Virgin, who art truly the portal of Life.

Canon of the venerable one, the composition of Gerasimus of the Little Skete of Saint Anna, in Tone VIII:

Another Irmos: The wonderworking staff of Moses, * striking and dividing the sea in the figure of a cross, * once drowned Pharaoh the pursuing charioteer, * while it saved the fleeing people of Israel * as they fled on foot, * chanting a hymn unto God.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Give strength and words to my lips, O Word of God and God, that I may hymn the venerable Isaac, who hath radiantly glorified Thee with a perfect life and instructed the ranks of monastics with divinely inspired discourse.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Having from thy youth hated all carnal luxury, O blessed Isaac, and been wounded by divine love, thou didst take the Cross of the Lord upon thy shoulders, and with thy brother didst choose a life of asceticism.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Borne aloft by the love of Christ the Bestower of life, O venerable one, thou didst soar to the heavenly life, and through ascetic labours wast shown to be a stranger and sojourner on the earth, O most blessed father Isaac.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Without knowing wedlock, thou didst conceive God Who for our sake didst become immutably incarnate as we are, through thy pure blood, O most pure Mary Theotokos. Wherefore, deliver us from changing to the worse.

Ode 3, Irmos: There is none as holy as Thou, * O Lord my God, * who hast exalted the horn of The faithful O good One, * and strengthened us upon the rock * of Thy confession.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Having purified thyself of the mire of the passions, thou didst reveal thyself to be a true receptacle of the virtues and a vessel containing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

In nowise giving slumber to thine eyes, thou didst show thyself to be a temple of the Holy Trinity and a treasury of wisdom, enriching the world with the golden rays of teachings, O blessed one.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

The honoured Church of Christ doth recognize thee as a golden-streamed Euphrates, flowing with torrents of wise doctrines and watering all creation.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

 Incarnate of thy precious blood, One of the Holy Trinity divinely issued forth in two natures, saving by grace the children of Adam, O all-pure one.

Another Irmos: O Lord, Creator of the vault of Heaven * and Builder of the Church, * do Thou strengthen me in Thy love, O Summit of desire, * O Support of the faithful, * O only Lover of mankind.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

In that thou didst rid thy heart of the bonds of the passions, thou wast shown to be a receptacle of dispassion and a vessel fit for the effulgence of spiritual life, O blessed Isaac, dweller with the angels.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Full of the graces of heaven, O venerable one, who didst emulate the angels in thy conduct, at all times pouring forth from thy mouth a discourse of salvation, as it were the sweetness of incorruption.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Putting off the burden of the flesh, O father, thou didst elect to make thine abode in the wilderness, uniting thyself unto God with great stillness, prayer and fasting. Wherefore, thou didst become the dwelling-place of the divine Spirit.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O all-hymned Maiden who hast given birth unto God and destroyed the ancient sin, by thy grace do thou restore my mind, which hath been marred by the decadence of the passions which sorely afflict me.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Kontakion of St Ephraim, in Tone II, Spec. Mel “Seeking the highest …”: Ever looking forward to the hour of judgment, * thou didst bitterly lament, O Ephraim; * and though a lover of stillness * thou wast also a teacher of activity, O venerable one. ** Wherefore, O universal father, thou dost motivate the slothful to repentance.

Ikos: Do thou let but a drop of the waters of thy grace bedew my soul, purifying it of every unclean defilement, that cleansed, it may complete the remaining time of life zealous in all things profitable, and partake of the divine sweetness which thou didst enjoy, for thou dost quench the thirst of all who burn with passions, inspiring the slothful to repentance by thy discourses.

Sedalion of St Ephraim, in Tone V, Spec. Mel “The Word Who is co-unoriginate …”: O ye faithful, on the day of his commemoration let us hymn the treasury of the wisdom of the mysteries of Christ, the cup of divine compunction, for in accordance with his name the godly Ephraim doth ever gladden the hearts of the faithful with divine discourses, as a performer and initiate of the mysteries of the revelations of the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Sedalion, in Tone IV, Spec. Mel., “Go thou quickly before …”: As a divinely radiant lamp of stillness thou shinest the never-waning light of a virtuous life upon the ends of the earth, O wise one; wherefore, we, the choirs of monastics, hymn thee as a divine luminary, O God-bearer Isaac, and we study thy radiant discourses with love.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Theotokion in Tone IV: O pure Virgin Mother, unceasingly beseech Christ our God, Who in His ineffable tender compassion didst become incarnate of thee, that He grant us forgiveness of sins, O Maiden, and deliverance from the grievous woes of life; for unto thee, O Mother of God, do we have recourse in faith.

Ode 4, Irmos: Christ is my power, * my God and my Lord, * the holy Church divinely singeth, * crying with a pure mind, * keeping festival in the Lord.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

The power of thy words hath passed through the whole world, O blessed one, driving away the blindness of men’s souls by the exalted radiance of humility.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou didst render thy life blameless, cleansing thyself with tears, O right wondrous and divinely revealed one, and by thy wise discourses hast described to all the coming of the Judge.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Having beheld the most glorious height of thy humility, the Lord gave thee exalted  discourse, whereby the grievous uprisings of heresies have been humbled.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Strengthened by the grace of the Almighty, thou didst array thyself against the princes of the demons, O father, and having vanquished them, fervently pray on behalf of us who praise thee.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Let us bless the Virgin as a divine temple, as a holy mountain, as a wellspring of incorruption, as the one who alone was the chosen of God our Creator.

Another Irmos: Thou, O Lord, art my strength and Thou art my power, * Thou art my God and Thou art my joy, * Thou Who, while never leaving the bosom of Thy Father, * hast visited our poverty. * Therefore with the Prophet Habbakuk I cry unto Thee, * ‘Glory to Thy power, O Lover of mankind!’

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Irrigated with the streams of thy sacred teachings, O wise Isaac, multitudes of monastics splendidly produce abundant fruit: the purity of abstinence, prayerful contemplation, and the grace of dispassion, chanting: Glory to Thy power, O Lover of mankind!

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

With thy whole mind conversing and uniting thyself with the one God, the sight of Whom is beyond comprehension, O venerable one, thou wast filled past understanding with enlightenment, and wast shown to be a light-bearer, a tower of stillness and a most radiant beacon for monastics.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Living in the flesh like an incorporeal being, thou didst serve God in stillness, O God-bearer Isaac, and wast granted many graces by Christ, of which do thou grant, if only a small portion, unto me who doth cry aloud: Glory to Thy power, O Lover of mankind!

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O Theotokos, having given birth unto God in the flesh, without seed, without corruption, in a manner beyond understanding and comprehension, thou hast annulled the condemnation of Eve, at the hour of my judgment do thou also free me from the dread sentence.

Ode 5, Irmos: Illumine with Thy divine light, I pray, O Good One, * the souls of those who with love rise early to pray to Thee, * that they may know Thee, O Word of God, * as the true God, * Who recalleth us from the darkness of sin.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

With torrents of tears, O father, thou didst utterly dry up the depths of pleasures; and with the outpourings of thy doctrines thou hast staunched the torrents of heresies, O blessed one.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thy mind, illumined by seeking God, O father Ephraim, began to take pleasure in the full vision of God, receiving immaterial revelation as if a mirror of the divine Spirit.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou didst truly become a temple imbued with the Trinity, adorned with grace and the radiance of pure virtues, and the fullness of teaching, O father.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Eating of the tree in Eden through the wicked treachery of the serpent I was revealed to be mortal; but thou, having given birth to Christ, the Bestower of life, hast brought me to life, O thou who alone art full of God’s grace.

Another Irmos: O Light never-waning, * why hast Thou turned Thy face from me * and why has the alien darkness surrounded me, * wretched though I be? * But do Thou guide my steps I implore Thee * and turn me back towards the light of Thy commandments.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Lifting thy mind to the undefiled good, O saint of Christ, thou didst reveal thyself by thy way of life, to be alien to the things that are in the world, O Isaac, teaching all to disdain that which is corruptible, and in nowise to desire those things that are temporal.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Thou wast shown to be a scribe and model of the angelic life, O divinely wise Isaac; wherefore, the grace of the Spirit hath revealed thee to be a divine pastor and a God-bearing hierarch of the Church of Christ.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Having been inducted into the divine mysteries because of the purity of thy way of life, O God-bearer, thou didst attain to yet greater deeds, O divine Isaac, archpastor of Nineveh, explaining the words of the Gospel to all, and cleansing the wounds of their souls.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Slain by the deception and delusion of the serpent, O most pure one, I flee unto thee who hast given birth to eternal Life. Enliven my mind by thy vivifying help, and guide me to a blameless life.

Ode 6, Irmos: Beholding the sea of life surging the flood of temptations, * I run to calm haven, and cry to Thee: * Raise up my life from corruption, * O Most Merciful One.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Setting thy foundation not on sands, but on the inviolate Faith, O God-bearer, thou didst remain undaunted by all the assaults of the enemy, guided by the hand of the Invincible One.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thy tongue was truly like the pen of a swiftly-writing scribe, showing forth a most pious intellect and tracing the law of the Spirit upon the tablets of our hearts, O father.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Those who navigate the calm expanse of thy dogmas, O divinely wise Ephraim, are delivered from the soul-destroying billows of the abyss and, awakened, are saved by faith from the storm of heresies.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Incarnate, He Who as God is above all noetic beings and visible creatures, issued forth from thy womb, preserving thee incorrupt as thou wast before birthgiving, O Virgin Mother.

Another Irmos: Cleanse me, O Saviour, * for many are mine iniquities; * lead me up from the abyss of evils I pray Thee, * for unto Thee have I cried, * and Thou hast hearkened unto me, * O God of my salvation.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Thou didst brighten thy hierarchal vestments through strict observance of the commandments of God, O divinely-inspired Isaac; wherefore, the Saviour hath received thee as one of His own.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Directing thy life towards the uttermost Judge, thou didst show thyself to be a true and venerable hierarch, O Isaac, revealing the commandments of the laws of grace unto all.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Adorned with the spiritual wisdom which cometh from doing good works, thou wast revealed to be a pious teacher of monastics, O Isaac, guiding them to perfection by thine instructions and deeds.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O most pure one, who hast given birth in the flesh to the transcendent God, from the fall hast thou raised the nature of mortals to the heights of their former nobility; wherefore, we glorify thee.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Kontakion of St Isaac, in Tone VIII, Spec. Mel, “To thee, the champion leader…”: By thine angelic way of life thou wast shown to be a divine instrument of the Comforter, * and a model for monastics in all things, O blessed Isaac. * As the habitation of divine grace, ask thou grace and heavenly light for us ** who cry out to thee: Rejoice, O divinely wise father!

Ikos: Thou wast revealed to be an angel in the flesh in thine ascetic labours, O Godbearing Isaac, and by thine angelic voice hast thou set before us the words of salvation, whereby guided to a higher life, we cry out to thee: Rejoice, star coming forth from Syria; rejoice, lamp of stillness! Rejoice, thou who art more sublime than earthly thoughts; Rejoice, partaker of heavenly enlightenment! Rejoice, divinely inscribed pillar of hesychasts; Rejoice, mouth flowing with the honey of spiritual teachings! Rejoice, for thou wast filled with God-given wisdom; Rejoice, for thou deliverest from the evil of the passions! Rejoice, most fervent of the servants of Christ; Rejoice, our godly teacher! Rejoice, wise God-bearer Isaac; Rejoice, our instructor, guided by God! Rejoice, O divinely wise father!

Ode 7, Irmos: An Angel made the furnace bedew the holy Children. * But the command of God consumed the Chaldeans * and prevailed upon the tyrant to cry: * O God of our fathers, Blessed art Thou.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou wast shown to be a most excellent giver of laws for monastics, O most honoured one, rescuing them from all the machinations of the enemy. Wherefore, O blessed one, they honour thine honoured and sacred memory on earth.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou wast shown to be a most excellent giver of laws for monastics, O most honoured one, rescuing them from all the machinations of the enemy. Wherefore, O blessed one, they honour thine honoured and sacred memory on earth.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou wast an excellent instrument of the Spirit, ever sounding forth thine inspirations and playing the saving hymn of repentance for us who hymn thee, O ever-memorable one.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Thy conception was beyond description, O Bride of God, for thou hast given birth to the Word of God Who hath delivered all mankind from irrationality granting them the words to cry: O God of our fathers, Blessed art Thou!

Another Irmos: Once in Babylon the fire stood in awe * of God’s condescension; * for which sake the youths in the furnace, * dancing with joyous steps as in a meadow, chanted: * O God of our fathers, Blessed art Thou!

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Having shone forth like a most radiant sun among the choirs of monastics, O father, thou dost illumine with the radiance of thine instructions, as with beams of light, all who cry out with faith: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

O father, the honourable choirs of monastics know thee to be a divinely-wise describer and guide to the higher life, and as is fitting, celebrate thy memory, O wise father Isaac, thou rule of hesychasts.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Caught up by the Spirit to the vision of the mystical mysteries of a higher glory, which passeth understanding, and deified by partaking thereof, thou didst cry aloud: Blessed is the God of our fathers!

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

With the rich streams of thy mercy purify my heart, which hath been defiled by the passions of the enemy, O Maiden; and dispel the darkness of my mind, that I may gaze upon the Light which shone forth from thee.

Ode 8, Irmos: Thou didst make flame bedew the holy children, * and didst burn the sacrifice of a righteous man with water. * For Thou alone, O Christ, dost do all as Thou willest, * Thee do we exalt throughout all ages.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou wast shown to be like another sun, O blessed one, and, emitting the beams of thy teachings upon the ends of the earth, thou hast driven away the lightless gloom of all sin with the light of repentance.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Surrounded by the streams of divine dogmas, thou didst flow forth like another river from Eden, watering the face of the earth, O wondrous one, inundating the tares of ungodliness.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Confessing thee to be the true Theotokos, like the angel we cry out to thee with faith: Rejoice! For thou alone hast given birth to Joy on earth, O ever joyous and blessed one.

Another Irmos: In his wrath the Chaldean Tyrant made the furnace blaze, * with heat fanned sevenfold for the servants of God; * but when he perceived that they had been saved by a greater power * he cried aloud to the Creator and Redeemer; * ‘ye children bless, ye priests praise, * ye people, supremely exalt Him throughout all ages’.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Thou didst live an angelic life, O most blessed Isaac, and through stillness and the mortification of the passions didst bring forth the first-fruits of the life to come. And now thou dost cry aloud with the angels in the highest: Ye, children, bless! Ye priests, hymn! Ye people, supremely exalt Christ forever!

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Offering up most earnest prayers and supplications, thou didst unite thyself unto God through purity of mind, and wast shown to be blessed and full of divine grace while yet amid the threefold waves of the flesh. And now in the highest, freed from material things, thou dost manifestly enjoy things ineffable.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Having been sacredly arrayed in the vesture of a bishop, O God-bearer, by thy venerable labours and virtuous struggles thou hast rendered it yet more splendid. And now, O Isaac, with the holy hierarchs and the choirs of the venerable thou dost offer up the mystical sacrifice of immaterial praise unto the Lord.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Preserving the seal of thy virginity intact after birthgiving, thou gavest suck to the Lord to Whom thou hadst given birth, bearing him as a babe, O Virgin Sovereign Lady, Mary Theotokos. Him do thou beseech, that He grant the cleansing of offences unto those who hymn thine ineffable glory.

Ode 9, Irmos: It is impossible for mankind to see God * upon Whom the orders of Angels dare not gaze; * but through thee, O all-pure one, * did the Word Incarnate become a man * and with the Heavenly Hosts * Him we magnify and thee we call blessed.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Wounded by the love of the Almighty O venerable one, thou didst reach the end of thy life, lamenting and crying out with fear: “Assuage my passing with the waves of thy grace, O Saviour, richly preserving me therewith in the life to come!”

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thy sweet discourse was replete with compunction and full of enlightenment for those who have recourse to thee, O right wondrous God-bearer Ephraim; and thy life was blameless, adorned and illumined with all manner of divinely radiant virtues.

Venerable Father, Ephraim, pray to God for us.

Thou wast a temple of the Spirit, a river full of life-giving waters, the unshakable foundation of the Church, the confirmation of monastics, and an ever-flowing stream of divine compunction, O right wondrous Ephraim.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

The mind of man cannot understand the mystery of thy birthgiving which passeth understanding, O Virgin; for, making His abode within thy womb, God did not violate the seal of thy virginity, as He, Who is unapproachable alone knoweth.

Another Irmos: Heaven was stricken with awe, * and the ends of the earth were filled with amazement, * for God hath appeared in the flesh, * and thy womb was rendered more spacious than the heavens. * Wherefore, the ranks of men and of angels * magnify thee as the Theotokos.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Let Isaac, great among the venerable ascetics, the scion of Syria, the God-bearing initiate of the life which is in Christ, the most excellent recorder of the mysteries and the enlightener of monastics, be worthily hymned as one who entreateth God, for he prayeth that great mercy be granted unto us.

Venerable Father, Isaac, pray to God for us.

Thou didst engage in the pious struggle of holy ascesis, O venerable one, and thereby didst piously learn the mysteries of all the wisdom of asceticism, that wisely teaching us to avoid the sophistries of the enemy, we may live virtuously, O Godbearer.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou hast passed over to the true glory, whose revelation thou didst acquire beforehand; and face to face thou dost gaze upon the effulgence of Christ which is beyond comprehension, O Isaac, adornment of the venerable. Cease not to pray for us who praise thee with love.

Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O unwedded Virgin Mother who ineffably gavest birth to God in the flesh, deliver me from diseases of the flesh, redeem my greatly sinful soul from grievous insensitivity, and illumine my mind with the light of repentance, that I may hymn thee, O greatly hymned one.

Troparion of St Ephraim, in Tone VIII: With the streams of thy tears thou didst irrigate the barren desert, * and with sighs from the depths of thy soul thou didst render thy labours fruitful an hundredfold, * and didst become a beacon for the whole world, resplendent with miracles. ** O Ephraim our father, entreat Christ God, that our souls be saved.

Troparion of St Isaac, in Tone V: Illumined by rays of the virtues, * O God-bearer Isaac, * in spirit thou wast shown to be a most radiant beacon * of the life which is in Christ; * and by thy divinely inspired teachings, O father, * thou dost guide safely to the way of salvation * those who bless thee ** as a godly servant of Christ.

Parish News: 10 February

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Dear brothers and sisters,

How strange it is to write weekly news in which the headline is that our parish is now homeless in terms of Sunday Liturgy, as we await permission from the diocese of Llandaff for our eastward relocation. In these days we must continue to pray, hoping in the Lord’s plan for our parish.

Thanks to those who helped in the packing and moving, and those who have kindly agreed to store things in their homes, and especially to the fathers of the Oratory, who are so kindly keeping large items in St Alban’s Church, where we are so blessed to meet and worship week by week.

Thanks to all who gathered in Canton for our well-attended final Liturgy, and for those who sang and read, set up and helped pack the remaining things for our exit. After a tiring week, and yesterday’s celebration in Warminster, I was very glad that Father Mark the Younger celebrated, allowing me to sing and read.

St John’s has been a valued spiritual base for parishioners not only living in South Wales, but also those coming from the west of England and the Marches, and I know that parishioners have enjoyed the parish’s sojourn in Canton.

We have some excellent memories of St John’s, of episcopal visitations, the visit of the Kursk-Root icon, the Great Water Blessings of Theophany, radiant Paschal services, of the arrival of so many people, some as short term parishioners fleeing the war in Ukraine, some as seekers and catechumens who are now part of our community.

In the last few months, it has been a joy to not only baptise Joseph and Maxim, but even on our last day to receive three young catechumens, who have brought youth and energy to our community.

In the week ahead, we will have our usual services in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, and in the Oratory at 15:00, on Friday. These gatherings continue to allow ample opportunity for weekday confessions, and I am very happy to hear confessions before and after the services. I will be in Nazareth house from 17:00, and in the Oratory from 14:00.

Saturday sees our Cheltenham Liturgy in Prestbury United Reformed Church at 10:00, and this time of waiting and uncertainty could be a prompt for Cardiff-based parishioners to visit our outposts in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, seizing the opportunity to attend Liturgy whenever possible.

Although we had planned to make a morning pilgrimage to Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday 22 February (St Teilo’s Day), I will cancel that visit if we receive no answer from the diocese of Llandaff in the next few days. Given that our liturgical requisites are scattered across the catchment area of our parish pilgrimages will be difficult until we have a Cardiff base and are able to transport everything needed for Orthodox services.

If we receive no permission for our move to the east of the city in the next few days – as announced in church – we will gather in the Oratory Church in Swinton Street at 12:30, to chant the Typika and administer Holy Communion from the reserved Holy Gifts. In that case, I will hear confessions during the service, with Father Mark the Younger leading our worship. After some simple refreshments, we will take the welcome opportunity to offer a moleben to the Mother of God in honour of her Kazan Icon.

Having commenced the use of the Lenten Triodion / Triod Postnaya, and approaching the beginning of the Great Fast, we must not let our challenging situation distract us form the life of the Church and the season of repentance that lies before us. The persecutions of the Soviet Yoke failed to destroy Church-life behind the Iron Curtain, and we know that on a personal level our individual  laziness and indifference can be even more destructive than the godless persecutions of governments and states. Let us remain, resolute, steadfast and watchful!

Our times may be challenging, but the history of our Church has taught us that adversity is a God-given opportunity to struggle and grow stronger in Faith and spiritual resilience.

As the Church in Exile, our Russian Church Outside of Russia was born out of homelessness and we are the spiritual heirs of the strength, resourcefulness and determination of those who did not allow this to undermine or rob them of Church life.

In these islands, these determined and dedicated people – among them Archbishop Nikodem, Bishops Nikolai and Konstantin, the Abbesses Elizabeth and Seraphima, the Archpriests Evgeniy Smirnoff, Georgy Sheremetev, and Mikhail Polsky – are the spiritual pillars upon which our diocese is founded, and as we face trials and uncertainty, we must be inspired by their determined Faith and labours for the Church.

Let us be joyful, strong and unified.

God is with us! Съ нами Богъ!

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Weekly News: 3 February

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Dear brothers and sisters,

The countdown to our exit from St John’s is now very real, and after long hours of packing, yesterday evening, most things can be removed on Wednesday.

Sunday Liturgy will be minimal, leaving only the bare necessities of worship for a sort of “catacomb Liturgy”.

I hope that some of our sacred items can be used in other places, until we have somewhere to use them in Cardiff, again.

I was very glad to be able to celebrate Sunday Liturgy yesterday, after a period of having to stand in for other rôles since Nativity, and thought it a very prayerful and joyful celebration.

Once again, it was good to see recently arrived faithful and some new faces.

Thanks to everyone for their labours for the glory of God! Spasi Godpodi!

As I’m still in Cardiff, there will be afternoon prayers in St Alban’s Church this afternoon, where we will pray the akathist to the Holy Archangel Michael, given that Monday is dedicated to the angelic powers.

We will also chant an akathist in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday. With confessions possible both before and after the service.

Given the move from St John’s, I do not have concrete plans for Friday, as we need to see how the week progresses in terms of removals. I will make any service announcements on WhatsApp.

This coming Saturday – 8 February – will see the monthly Liturgy for our West of England parishioners, and we will celebrate, as usual, in the lovely Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster Market Place, with the Hours commencing at 10:30.

We also look forward to our Gloucestershire Liturgy, in Cheltenham the following Saturday (15 February) – the feast of the Metting of the Lord.

As you will be aware, we are still awaiting an answer regarding use of St Philip’s, Tremorfa, and are becoming concerned that this is threatened by negative voices and influences connected with our imminent eviction from St John’s.

Looking forward to Sunday 16th February, I will discuss the possibility of a noonday celebration of the typica and administration of Holy Communion with Father Sebastian, and report back to you.

We are delighted that the Oratory will house some of our larger church items, knowing that this will make it easy to create an Orthodox setting for worship.

Despite the uncertainties ahead, we must remain hopeful and fervent in our prayers!

We ask for prayers for Ludmila and Brigid among the sick; for David in Gower, as he becomes increasingly frail in his old age; for Xenia and Isaac in Cheltenham as they reluctantly move out of a much loved home; and for the newly departed Sergei and Elena, and for Valentina, whose eight anniversary of repose falls tomorrow.

With so much having been put on hold due to the move out of St John’s, I look forward to a subsequent busy few weeks of Theophany house-blessings. Thank you for your patience!

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

Hieromonk Mark

Parish News: 27th January

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings for the feast of the Holy-Equal-to-the-Apostles, St Nino of Georgia, the niece of the Holy Great-Martyr George, to whom the Mother of God appeared, commanding her to leave Palestine to preach the Gospel.

The glory of the Georgian Church is build upon her apostolic labours, and she is dear to Orthodox people across eastern Europe as well as the land she adopted.

May her prayers be with us at this crucial time in parish life!

Here we are in the last fortnight of our parish presence in St John’s, packing and waiting for the hoped-for higher permissions for the use of St Philip’s, Tremorfa. As the matter is now out of our hands, at the end of a very slow process of searching for a new location, all we can do is pray as we wait.

As next Sunday will have to see us packing, our trapéza will need to be kept to tea and biscuits/cake, as there will be much to do, and helping hands will be needed. Presuming that the following Cardiff Liturgy on Sunday 9th February is also in St John’s, this will be celebrated minimally, and our setting will be unfortunately, but necessarily bare.

Subsequently, if things continue to go slowly, we may have to be flexible in a stop-gap period, adapting liturgics, services and the opportunity to commune to suit our circumstances, as we have before. However, even if Holy Communion is administered during the Typika/Obednista in the Oratory Church after the late morning Solemn Mass, it would be no later than communion in St John’s.

The weather, studies/exams, and personal commitments dented yesterday’s attendance in St John’s, but we were very happy to welcome new Orthodox faithful. As Fr Mark the Younger announced, we will be very happy to welcome new singers and servers to the kliros and sanctuary, and see more people participating in obediences.

In the week ahead, we will chant an akathist in Nazareth House at 18:00 on Thursday, with the opportunity for confessions before and after the service.

There will be devotions in honour of the Cross and Passion in the Oratory at 15:00, on Friday, and having forgotten that I had said I would be available for confessions before last Friday’s service (apologies again to the parishioner who wasted time and petrol heading into town), I will be in the Oratory from 14:00. Confessions may also be heard after our service.

As shared on WhatsApp, I will be heading to the Church of the Holy Prince Lazar, in Bournville, for the feast of St Mark of Ephesus on Saturday, and would be very happy to see any parishioners who might be able to join the celebration. The Hours and Liturgy are at 9:00.

Our next Wessex Liturgy will be celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence, Market Place, Warminster, on Saturday 9thFebruary, with the Hours and Liturgy commencing at 10:30.

The next Cheltenham Liturgy will be celebrated in the United Reformed Church in Prestbury on Saturday 16thFebruary. Now that we have two clergy, we have returned to our old service time of 10:00.

After last Saturday’s West Wales pilgrimage to St Anthony’s well in Llansteffan, next month’s pilgrimage on the feast of St Teilo – Saturday 22nd February (9th Church style) will be a very local one, to Llandaff cathedral, where we will serve a moleben in the St Teilo chapel at 10:00. 

Following Leprosy Sunday,  yesterday, we will be pleased to continue accept any donations towards the work of the Leprosy Mission of England and Wales in eastern India: ideally SEALED in an envelope marked   “leprosy collection”. Such as the poverty in Orisha, that people with bodies eaten away by leprosy lack the most basic needs… including shoes and clean drinking water. Please help if you can. Every pound makes a difference. Any funds will be passed to the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem, who are coordinating fundraising to support the mission’s work.

As we begin the new civil year, may we once again, stress the importance of Church calendars in our spiritual life, as the seasons, feasts and fast are all part of Orthodox living… and Orthodox living is calendric!

Who are the saints of the day? What are the readings of the day? What righteous people may have the anniversary of their death today? What are today’s readings? Is it the name-day of one of your fellow parishioners?

The beautiful, rich cycle of feasts and fasts that shape the Church’s year, is the sign of God’s grace in the life of the Church – through the saints He has glorified, through the Great Feasts that commemorate the events in the life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, in the God-given fasts and seasons of repentance and preparation. 

We cannot be part of the life of the Church without living the calendar. So, please… whether on-line or on paper, make the Church calendar part of your spiritual life EVERY day!

If anyone wishes to buy the English language St Herman calendar (dedicated to the saints of Wales, this year) please ask the clergy. The cost-price is £10. 

We “give up” the feast of the Lord’s Baptism today, and as we look forward to Lent and Pascha, it will be useful to remind ourselves of important dates.

  • Sunday 23rd February: Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare: the last day for eating meat)
  • Sunday 2nd March: Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare – the eve of the fast)
  • Monday 3rd March: Clean Monday, first day of Great Lent
  • Monday 7th April (25th March old-style): the Annunciation
  • Sunday 9th March: First Sunday of the Great Lent – the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
  • Sunday 16th March: Second Sunday of Great Lent. St Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica
  • Sunday 23rd March: Third Sunday of the Great Lent: Adoration of Cross.
  • Sunday 30th March: Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. St John of the Ladder
  • Sunday 6th April: Fifth Sunday of Great Lent. St Mary of Egypt
  • Saturday 12th April: Lazarus Saturday (Warminster Liturgy)
  • Sunday 13th April: Palm Sunday
  • Thursday 17th April: Holy and Great Thursday – Institution of the Holy Communion of the Lord’s Most Holy Body and Blood
  • Friday 18th April: Holy and Great Friday of the Lord’s Passion
  • Saturday 19th April: Holy and Great Saturday
  • Sunday 20th April: Sunday of Pascha
  • Saturday 26th April: Thomas Saturday (Cheltenham Liturgy)

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

In Christ –  Mark

Saint Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow & All Russia, the New Confessor.

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Dear brothers and sisters, greetings for the feast of the Holy New-Hieromartyr, Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus.

He remains a great and inspiring model of Christian life for all of us, reminding us that it is our Christian duty to put the Law of God above all things, and to not turn aside from the precepts of Christ’s Gospel and our Christian principles to please and conform to the expectations of  “the world”.

Having exalted Truth and faithfulness to the Saviour and the Gospel above all earthly comforts, reputation, security and even life itself, St Philip reminds us that the Christian life is dangerous, if we live it properly.

His steadfast opposition to the tyranny and violence of Tsar Ivan, and his resulting martyrdom, showed that our discipleship has a cost, and we see this continuing in the world as employees, students and pupils, prospective adoptive parents, employment interviewees, Christian doctors, nurses and health care workers, and all manner of other people of Faith face persecution, exclusion and prejudice for their faithfulness to the Gospel and the Law of God.

Let us turn to St Philip, in prayer, for his help in our Christian witness, and for strength and faithfulness in times of uncertainty, injustice, inequality and tyranny, where the Herod’s and Caesars of government, globalism, world finance, international conglomerates, giant pharmaceutical companies and powerful NGO’s seek to mould humanity to their own image and conform it to their agendas.

Like St Philip, we are called to oppose falsehood with the Truth of Christ; darkness with the Light of Christ; the hate of the world with the Saviour’s love; and to oppose the fallen, perverted agendas of world powers with the Law of God – for like him, we belong to Christ, His Law is our law, and our Christian calling is to not be of this world, but as the Church to be the Saviour’s abiding Presence in the world.

The Church’s prophetic voice is needed, not simply through the giants like St Philip, but through each and everyone of us, however weak and seemingly insignificant we are. Together, we are the Church, and the gates of hell and death will not prevail against it!

May St Philip pray for us, and may his example give us the courage to live the Christian life with all of the risks and dangers that professing the Gospel and swimming against the political, sociological and ideological tide pose for us – and may we have the courage to do so heedless of the threats of governments, societies, and even those in the Church who oppose the Gospel with agendas that betray the Orthodox Faith of the Holy Fathers, of the Sacred Councils, and of the Saints, among whom St Philip is glorified.

Holy Hieromartyr and Wonderworker Philip, pray to God for us!

Theophany Parish News: 6/19 January 2025

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Dear brothers and sisters, S prazdnikom! Happy feast!Where do we begin in expressing our joy and thanks for today’s wonderful feast of Theophany in Canton?

What a glorious celebration of the Lord’s baptism, and how wonderful it was to have so many people join us in St John’s, not only from South Wales and the West of England, but also from as far away as Oxford.

It was lovely to see St John’s so full, and to have so many confessions and people communing! We congratulate all who partook of the Most Pure and Holy Mysteries.

Many thanks to our dedicated readers and singers who energetically served for four and a half hours, and to our sisters for flowers, catering and practical organisation. Thanks also to the children who greatly enjoyed filling our vessels with over fifty litres of water for the Great Blessing.

As our time in St John’s draws to a close, it is good that today’s joyful celebration will be a happy memory to counter the sadness and negativity that overshadows our unexpected and undesired exodus from Canton. 

Let this feast and the consecration, not only of the waters but also of the place where have worshipped, be our offering and an imprint of holiness.

Please contact the clergy to arrange Theophany house blessings, and ensure you keep the eight days of the feast with joy and gladness!

The joy of today’s celebration came after a lovely celebration of the forefeast in Cheltenham, where we had a goodly sized congregation for our Gloucestershire mission, and were spiritually refreshed and blessed by our Liturgy, which is now celebrated by Father Mark the Younger, freeing me to sing with our little group of sisters.

This coming Tuesday will see another visit to hopefully sort arrangements for our future worship-place, so your prayers will be greatly appreciated.

Rather than rush between churches on Thursdays, we will now simply have our evening devotions and confessions in Nazareth House, allowing after work visits for our parishioners who are unable to attend in the daytime.

This week, we will have our newly established akathist devotions in. Nazareth House at 18:00, and this week we will chant the akathist to the Mother of God in honour of her icon “The Increase of Reason – Pribavlenie Uma”, with a short talk on the origin of this sacred icon.

We have very much enjoyed praying the akathists to St Nicholas and St Panteleimon in Nazareth House over the last few weeks, and agreed that we would like a weekly akathist between confessions. I will be available for confessions for an hour before the akathist, and hope that it will be possible for the Psalter, or other prayers to be offered at this time. Confessions will continue after the akathist.

We will meet as usual in the Oratory at 15:00 on Friday, and I would like this to be our weekly devotion to the Cross and Passion before the relic of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. I will be available to hear confessions before and after.

As I stressed in Cheltenham, yesterday, please remember that the clergy are here to pray for your intentions seven days a week, so please communicate intercessions for the living and departed to us for services.

We ask your prayers for Alexander, Porphyrios, Valentina, Nataliya and Ludmilla, Lyubov who are unwell, and for the newly departed Dumitru.

Please also pray for Tara and Stefan as they sit mock O levels, and keep the students in your prayers: Ambrose, Henry, Kalina, Mark, Alexander, Nikolai, Valeria, Anastasia, Xenia, Christopher, Elizabeth and Lloyd.

We congratulate Lloyd on his formal entry into the catechumenate, conducted after the Great Blessing of the Waters: the feast being a wonderful day to formally begin the baptismal journey.

I look forward to us repeating the prayers and blessing the catechumenate of some of our other young people next week.

After having no reply regarding Saturday’s intended Llantwit pilgrimage, Father Luke and I have decided to make our own little local pilgrimage to St Anthony’s Well in Llansteffan at the mouth of the River Towe, South of Carmarthen. We do not expect Cardiff and Vale parishioners, but hope that ROCOR faithful in West Wales might be able to join us. We will meet in the carpark at Llansteffan beach for an 11:30 departure on the cliff path walk to the holy well.

Finally, next Sunday, 26th January is World Leprosy Day, and I very much hope that once again, members of our communities will support initiatives to continue the fight against this horrendous, cruel and debilitating disease.

In Odisha, in eastern India, the Leprosy Mission of England and Wales has located a leper colony with the most appalling conditions they have ever encountered, with a desperate need for water, sanitation, medical supplies, and footwear for leprous feet unable to feel pain and injury, in addition to educational and training needs.

Few of us can understand the terrible suffering, poverty and misery of those afflicted with leprosy, and I urgently urge you to support those seeking to alleviate suffering and poverty.

Any donations can be given at the end of Liturgy for the next two Sundays, and a short litia to St Lazarus, the patron saint of lepers. Will be chanted at the end of next Sunday’s Liturgy.“

Verily, I say to you, inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me.”

Let us love the Lord through our mercy for those who suffer, that we might obtain mercy.

May God bless you.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Weekly News: 13th January

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Thanks to all who have laboured so positively and willingly, working hard to ensure a glorious celebration of the Lord’s Nativity in which our has ensured beautiful, joyful services.

It was a great blessing to celebrate the Nativity Vigil and Liturgy in St Alban’s, with a goodly congregation of around sixty souls on Christmas morning, which was very good for a weekday.

I was very pleased that so many stayed for our wonderful trapéza, with lovely food, fellowship and conversation. Thanks to all who were so generous in providing such plentiful food and drink.

The day ended with a quiet and prayerful celebration of Great Vespers for the Synaxis of the Mother of God in the baptistery chapel, which we now intend to use for Orthodox services, having found it such a lovely place to pray. One of our parishioners has kindly ordered some icon tapestry banners for the walls to enhance worship even more.

Wednesday saw a moleben to the Mother of God, and Thursday a noontide moleben to the Holy Protomartyr and Apostle Stephen.

It was a great joy to lead the prayers for Branka’s family slava in the evening, honouring St Stephen and praying for God’s blessing and protection for the Terzić family. Srećna slava!

We celebrated the feast of the Holy Innocents in Warminster on Saturday, followed by our festive lunch, and enjoying time together.

With some of our parishioners away, yesterday’s congregation was a little reduced, but we were blessed to have Ed leading the kliros and Fr Mark the Younger and Hierodeacon Avraamy celebrate the service for us.

As announced after Liturgy,  Menna has stepped down from the rôle of starosta, and for the meantime this position will remain abeyance whilst we concentrate on addressing the immediate challenges of finding a new place of worship. We are grateful for her labours over the last six months.

As updates, on the building front, I would like to report that I will visit St Faith’s Llanishen to view the building on tomorrow., and ⁠I am awaiting confirmation of when I can meet the ministry lead for Tremorfa to discuss possible use of St Philip’s in Tweedsmuir Avenue.

Also, Fr Dean of St Mary’s is discussing requested use of St Dyfrig and St Samson in Grangetown with the church officers.

Our final day in St John’s will be Sunday 9th February, though it would be unrealistic to expect to celebrate Liturgy that day and then remove our remaining liturgical requisites.

This week will see a return to Thursday and Friday services in the Oratory at 15:00 and an evening akathist at 18:00 in Nazareth House, between Thursday confessions. 

As I will be in Cardiff to visit St Faith’s tomorrow morning, I will go to the Oratory Church to chant the canons for the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and St Basil at 15:00.

On Saturday, Fr Mark and I will head to Prestbury for the monthly Cheltenham Liturgy, and being the Eve of Theophany, we will perform the first Great Blessing of the Waters. We will commence the Hours at our old time of 10:00, and given the long service we need to start on time!

The second Great Blessing of the Waters will be celebrated after Sunday Liturgy in St John’s. Please remember to bring a clean bottle for Jordan water. Variables for the Liturgy may be found here:

Liturgy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P7dlZ80L9RMotnaXGuX9DJStPYjdOAC-/view

Water Blessing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PvBkLRC0nh_k1YN7eiE_-rdYqAZs9lDC/view

If you would like the traditional Theophany house blessing, please arrange this with the parish clergy. With two priests, this should be easier, and we should endeavour to do so in the Octave of the Feast!

Would those who have ordered St Herman calendars please ensure that they collect them as soon as possible. The cost is £10.

Just a reminder that as the fast-free sviatky period, ends on Friday,  Saturday is a fast day (without fish, wine and oil) in preparation for Theophany on Sunday.

Finally, some of our young men are beginning to learn some chants for Divine Liturgy, and any other gentlemen of the parish would be welcome to join us in trying to expand the choir and form a small group of men’s voices to help bring more English in worship.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

 

Christ is Born! Glorify Him By Your Love!

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

Dear brothers and sisters:  Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

How blessed we have been to have such wonderful Nativity services in the Oratory Church, blessed by the warmth and generosity of the Oratorian Fathers, knowing that St Alban’s is a place where we are welcome: a place of love, generosity and boundless good will – reflecting the love which is the very meaning of the Incarnation of the Saviour, and of His glorious Nativity.

We celebrate the Nativity as the feast of Love-Incarnate, born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, where we see the realisation of God’s immeasurable and selfless Incarnate-Love in action: love, which is neither abstract, nor an emotion, feeling or sentiment, but Love Who is a Person – and not any person, but the Creator-Saviour of all things, coming and dwelling among us, through Whom the whole Holy Trinity loves us and embraces us from within humanity itself – as Emmanuel: “God with us”!

Though we shall never be able to fully comprehend the depth of that Incarnate-Love, born in the lowly Bethlehem stable and laid in the manger, we know that it was so strong that the Only-Begotten Son and Word of God came down to earth from heaven, and was ready to not only become man, but the Man of Sorrows, Who would be mocked and beaten, and go to the Life-Giving Cross like a lamb to the slaughter, with love so unshakeable and immovable that He would remain silent, enduring torture and the agony of the Cross for us: agony because He did not simply look human, but was truly human.

Love and mercy would render Almighty God mute and silent, as the works of His own hands beat Him, mocked Him, spat in His face, wounded and pierced Him: such was the power and enormity of His love!

In Him, born in the cave and laid in the manger, we see Love-Incarnate, Who accepted a human heart to overflow with love for His whole creation, and to be pierced on the Cross not only by salvific-love, but by the cold iron of the centurion’s lance;

Love-Incarnate Whose human hands reached out to heal and comfort;

Love-Incarnate Who accepted human feet, to journey the highways and bye-ways with His in His saving ministry of love and salvation, with human lips and tongue speaking the life-giving words of the Gospel;

Love-Incarnate Whose arms opened wide on the Cross to embrace the whole world;

Love-Incarnate Whose shoulders bore not only the Cross – the Tree of Life – but also the sin and weight of all humanity;

Love-Incarnate Whose body – victoriously lifted up on the Cross – flowed with the life-blood offered and shed in redemptive, sacrificial-love for us all.

In the Incarnation, we see the earthly manifestation of the love that is the very nature of God: eternally existing in the loving relationship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the physical realisation of a love that is the bond of divine-unity, in the reciprocal, self-giving of each of the Divine persons of the Holy Trinity to one another.

From within this perfect but expansive Triune fellowship of love, it was in actively seeking to love something outside of His Triune self, that God created heaven and the earth, with creation as the physical manifestation and material realisation of His love: something external and other than Himself that He could love, care for and sustain.

Within this creation, humanity manifested God’s desire to not only have creation to love, but to have a reciprocal and personal loving relationship with His creation. God created man to love Him, to be loved by Him and to be in a relationship of loving communion!

When humanity rebelled and fell away from God, His wonderful, all-embracing love then became the very meaning of the economy of salvation and the wonder of the Incarnation.

In a divine reaching-down to redeem and restore, this love was the very reason that God entered into creation in humanity itself, clothing Himself in human nature to heal and restore mankind, not to an earthly paradise, but to something far greater: the eternal glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.

As we joyfully announce “Christ is Born!” we contemplate the beginning of this heavenly calling and heavenward journey, lying quietly in the manger, as a new-born babe but a few hours old, worshipped by shepherds and given precious gifts by the eastern magi.

But beyond this apparent newness of this life, we recognise the Pre-Eternal Son, the Word of God, Who created heaven and the earth, and know that the Christ-Child is the same Lord, Who is the maker of heaven and earth,

Yahweh-the-Lord walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the coolness of the day;

the same Lord Who visited Abraham and Sarah to promise them a son and Who stopped the sacrificial hand of Abraham to save Isaac;

the same Lord Who wrestled with Jacob at Bethel;

the same Lord Who spoke to Moses from the Burning Bush and gave Him the Law on Sinai;

the same Lord Whom Ezekiel saw upon the awesome chariot-throne in the heavens;

and the same Lord Who Daniel encountered in the Ancient of Days.

As St John Chrysostom preached in his His Homily on the Nativity:

“The Ancient of Days has become an infant. The One seated on a high and exulted throne is now lying in a manger. The One Who cannot be touched and is bodiless is now held in human hands. The One Who breaks the chains of sin is now wrapped in swaddling clothes, for this is what He willed. He desired to transform dishonour into glory, to clothe shame with splendour, and to show the power of virtue through the humble form of a servant.”

And the whole meaning of this divine condescension can be encapsulated and summarised in that one word, LOVE: love which seeks not justice for humanity, but to overflow with God’s mercy and compassion, and His desire to restore the loving communion which He established when He created man from the dust of the earth and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life.

As we celebrate the Nativity, we must remind ourselves that God created humanity to not simply be a passive and inert recipient of His love, but to grow in perfection and holiness within the relationship and the communion it had, and still continues to have with Him – for despite the fall, and consequential sin and death, our All-Loving God has not abandoned this intention.

In the Incarnation He has restated this calling, through

“The Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself.”

(St Irenaeus of Lyons: Against Heresies, Book 5, Preface)

The Incarnation, the Nativity and the whole economy of salvation were acts of God’s new creation, to put right what had gone wrong – our calling to restoration through the Lord’s conjoining of our humanity with His divinity.

Through His love, we continue to be called to be children of God in eternal communion and blessedness with Him, and adopted children and heirs of the promise, called to grow in perfection, holiness, and perfect love.

But, unless we live to love not only God, but also one another, the Nativity and Incarnation become meaningless, as we fail to be icons of the Incarnate Word Who has ordered us,

“A new commandment “I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

(John 13:34-35, Matthew 22:34-40)

If we fail to love and thereby obey this divine command, we reject the Nativity, and as much as we celebrate the wonder of the birth of Christ, our hymns of praise will be hollow, our prayers meaningless, and our offerings an insult to our Saviour and Lord.

Whether the birth of the Saviour and the Incarnation have any real meaning in our lives will be reflected in whether we accept or reject God’s commandment to love not only Him, but also our neighbour.

By loving, or not loving, we choose whether we accept or reject the Prince of Peace, and whether His birth has any meaning and real significance in our lives.

We repeatedly greet one another and proclaim the feast with the joyful proclamation, “Christ is born!” and the joyful answer’ “Glorify Him!”, but we can only glorify Him if the love of His Incarnation is reflected and manifested in our lives, as the bond of communion, kinship, solidarity and unity with one another as well as with God.

If Christ truly dwells within us, each of our hearts must be a fitful and worthy manger, in which love abides as the condition for His Presence. His expansive and limitless love can only coexist with our reciprocal love, reflecting Him in our lives.

We must each proactively reflect the love-in-action of His Incarnation, and the world must encounter God’s love in us, not as something theoretical but real and tangible, through which the world knows that we are disciples of the Lord, Who was born in Bethlehem to call us to the glory of the Kingdom.

Not only our mouths, but also our deeds must gratefully and lovingly announce “Christ is Born!” and each day of our lives must proclaim “Glorify Him!” And, let them be lives of gratitude to the Lord, Who came from heaven to raise us to its glorious heights.

“Let us not be ungrateful to the Benefactor, but rather bring forth, as much as we are able, faith, hope, love, chastity, mercy, and kindness.”

(St John Chrysostom: Homily on the Day of the Nativity of Christ)

May our love proclaim the wonder of the Incarnation, and that “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us; full of grace and truth.”

Love was His meaning. Let it be our meaning, also – living and abiding in us, for His sake and to His glory.

Amen!

From Ur to Bethlehem: Humanity’s Salvific Journey of Faith

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

Dear brothers and sisters, on this forefeast of Christmas, as the white vestments of the clergy proclaim the nearness of the Lord’s Nativity, the ancient pre-festal hymns of the Church urge us to make ready and hasten to the city of David, and for Bethlehem itself and the land of Judah to be ready for the coming of the promised Saviour,

“Make ready, O Bethlehem, Eden hath been opened unto all. Prepare, O Ephratha, for the Tree of life hath blossomed in the cave from the Virgin…” 

“Гото́вися, Вифлее́ме, отве́рзися всем, Еде́ме, красу́йся, Евфра́фо, я́ко дре́во живота́ в верте́пе процвете́ от Де́вы…”

In the aposticha of vespers we hear,

“Behold, the hour of our salvation draweth nigh! Make ready, O cave, for the Virgin approacheth to give birth!

Се вре́мя прибли́жися спасе́ния на́шего, гото́вися, верте́пе, Де́ва приближа́ ется роди́ти…”

… and today’s pre-festal matins canon urges the created world and its people to celebrate because the Saviour is nearly here, even calling past generations to rejoice.

“Ye mountains and hills, fields and vales, people and generations, nations and every creature: exult, filled with divine gladness, for the deliverance of all, the Word of God, the Timeless One, Who in His loving-kindness hath come under time, doth come with haste.”

“Горы ́и хо́лми, поля́ и де́бри, лю ́дие и коле́на, язы ́цы и вся́кое дыха́ние, воскли́кните, весе́лия Боже́ственнаго исполня́еми: прии́де и приспе́ всех избавле́ние, Сло́во Бо́жие Безле́тное, под ле́том за милосе́рдие бы ́вшее.”

In today’s Gospel of Christ’s forebears, called to “exult, filled with divine gladness…”, we have heard great names from among these generations, from Abraham, called to be the the Father of the Promise, through the centuries Christ’s ancestors who were God’s human-preparation for the moment in which Godhood – divinity – would be joined with humanity, and born as a little Child, both divine and human and laid in a manger.

Once again, we have heard the familiar poetry of the genealogy of the generations of the ancestors of Christ: how “Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren…”, and in the succeeding generations, we have heard familiar names – Jesse, David, Solomon – as well as unfamiliar names, encountering the Old Testament and the Old Covenant established through Abraham, as the unfolding history of our salvation, as humanity drew closer and closer to the birth of the Saviour.

The oikos of the canon, addressing the Mother of God goes even further than this, saying that “the God-loving Abraham, the ever-memorable Isaac, Jacob and all the divinely assembled choir of saints rejoice, and, with joyous utterances, they lead creation forth to meet thee.” 

…a powerful image, teaching us that in God’s plan of salvation, not only humanity, but the whole of creation is led forward, towards the Mother of God and to Christ her newborn Son by the very generations of holy fathers that we commemorate in these Sundays before the Nativity.

These generations of the Messiah’s ancestors are God’s saving plan in action, and a reminder that though humanity was banished from paradise, that same humanity was NOT banished from taking a central place and an essential part in His plan of salvation.

Even though the fiery angel stood at the gates of Eden to stop exiled mankind returning to the Tree of Life, and  even though humanity was banished from Paradise, at the same time, human nature was being used by God to bring  His plan of salvation to fruition and realisation.

The All-Loving God, would not save humanity from the outside, through an external act of salvation. No! He would save humanity and the world from from the inside, having chosen that Abraham and his descendants would not only be included in His plan of salvation, but that they would be vital and absolutely necessary for this to be accomplished.

In an act of sacrificial-love, God Himself would not simply come and dwell within the human world, as a divine visitor, but would go so far as to to clothe Himself in humanity; the Creator putting on creation… and the Creator-Messiah-Saviour, would lift up His creation with Himself on the Cross; would restore that creation through His life-giving death; would raise that creation with Himself in His third-day Resurrection; and would translate that creation, in His humanity to the heights of heaven.

Abraham led his family and tribe from Ur, in Chaldea, to new life in Israel; Moses led the children of Israel from captivity to the freedom of new life in the Promised Land; but Christ, the God-Man, born in the cave and laid in the manger, came to ultimately lead His people not to an earthly promised land, but to everlasting glory and eternal life of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In history, time and space, the Creator-Saviour a set this heavenward journey of humanity into motion in the calling of Abraham to leave his homeland, to journey to a new land, with the divine promise, that in him, all the people of the world would be blessed.

Thus, we could say that the human-journey to Bethlehem began when Abraham was obedient to God.

The humanity that the Pre-Eternal Son put on in the womb of the Mother of God, through her obedience to God’s calling, is the fruit of Abraham’s obedience and faith, and the obedience and faith of all of those generations that link Abraham to Christ.

Starting with Abraham, today’s reading from St Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews says that,

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country…

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph…

By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel…

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 

Faith is the constant thread that runs through these successive generations, and the relationship of the righteous ancestors of Christ with God was built on the rock of this faith, but despite this, we hear, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise…”

Although they were essential to the promise, and though it came through them, they could not see that promise in their earthly lives, as Christ deigned that He would come after them in their flesh, but we rejoice that the day of their rejoicing did come when the Lord’s Body was placed not in the manger, but in the Life-Giving Tomb, in soul He descended into the depths of Hades, and stripped it bare of all of His righteous ancestors, who had played their part in the Divine plan to redeem mankind, and though they await the resurrection of the body, they dwell in heaven with Him Who their Lord and God, and yet also their own child, their own flesh and kin through the wonder of the Incarnation and the Nativity

When the Word became flesh in the wonder of the Incarnation, He was flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone, put on, in humility for their sake, and for their salvation.

When the Saviour spoke the saving words of the Gospel, it was with the tongue and lips that He – in divine humility – received from His forefathers.

When the Saviour walked through the towns and villages of Palestine, and even when He walked upon the waves of the see, it was on the feet that He – in divine humility – had received from His forefathers.

When the Saviour, touched the sick and healed them, when He took morsels of food and fed thousands, when He broke the bread and blessed the wine of the Last Supper, it was with the hands that He – in divine humility – received from His forefathers.

When the crown of thorns was thrust down upon His head, it was the head that He – in divine humility – received from His forefathers.

When He opened His arms wide on the Cross for the sake of the whole word, they were arms that He – in divine humility – received from His forefathers.

When saving and life-giving blood and water flowed from His pierced side, it was blood and water, which – in divine humility – He received from His forefathers.

When the Lord rose from the dead, and Thomas felt the wounds in His limbs, and placed his hand on the wound in the Saviour’s side, it was the risen, triumphant and risen body, that the Giver of Life – in divine humility – had received from His forefathers.

And when the Lord ascends in glory, surrounded by the holy angels, and takes human nature into heaven, to be glorified by all of the angelic ranks, it is the humanity that He, not only in divine-humility, but also in His sacrificial love received from His forefathers.

This is His sign of the final fulfilment of His promise to Abraham, which is ultimately not earthbound, terrestrial and material, but heavenly and spiritual.

In embracing humanity, and making that humanity part of His divine plan and economy of salvation, God calls the forefathers, the righteous of both the Old Covenant and circumcision, and the New Covenant through Holy Baptism, to be with Him in the everlasting glory of the age to come.

It is through the faith, obedience, and sacrifices of the forefathers, that we now approach the Nativity to worship and adore the new born Saviour together with the shepherds and the magi, celebrating all who were not simply human details in God’s divine plan, but the very rungs on which God came down from earth to heaven, to be Emmanuel: God With Us.

And it is through the willing and devoted part of the holy fathers in the divine plan, that we are called with them, not to an earthly paradise, but to the eternal glory of heaven to be with God, Who calls us to be children and heirs of the promise.

Amen!