The Wonderworking Kursk-Root icon of the Most Holy Mother of God will make its journey to Wales on Friday, and will make a station Chippenham, where a moleben will be served so that the faithful from Wiltshire and Bath will be able to pray and venerate the icon.
Having proceeded to Cardiff, with several further stations, the icon will arrive at St John’s Church shortly before 19:00. Please be in church in time to welcome the icon.
Having welcomed the icon to St John’s, we will serve a moleben and sing the Akathist to the Mother of God, in honour of the Kursk-Root Icon, and we look forward to welcoming the faithful from various parishes and communities, some from beyond Cardiff to be part of this offering of prayer.
The following day the clergy will celebrate a moleben in Prestbury United Reformed Church, Deep St, Cheltenham, GL52 3AW, at 09:00 on Saturday, allowing the local faithful some time for private prayer before the Cardiff clergy take the icon to our ROCOR parish in Telford.
For both services, please prepare commemoration lists for the living, to be presented before the moleben, so that the clergy are able to make your commemorations in the presence of Our Lady’s icon.
We had hoped to make home-visits in the Cheltenham and Gloucester area, but were then given the task of driving the icon to Shropshire by 13:00, so home-visiting will sadly not be an option this time.
I look forward to being with you in honouring the Lord and His Most Pure Mother by welcoming the Kursk-Root Icon of the Sign, which has consoled the faithful since its discovery in the 13th century.
We will join a countless multitude of saints and sovereigns, hierarchs, clergy, monastics, ordinary folk and needy souls who have brought their joys and sorrows, petitions and thanksgiving, worries and hopes to the Lord and the Mother of God, venerating this wonderworking icon with faith and love.
As we celebrate St David’s day according to the Orthodox calendar, I greet you all with the feast, wishing you every joy, praying for God to bless you in fulfilling the saint’s words: ‘Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things…’
It is in doing the seemingly little things that we remain steadfast in our faith and are then able to do the big things.
Real Christianity is not an impressionistic picture painted in approximate, broad and wide brush strokes, but one in which our faith is realised in the small details of living the Gospel in our daily lives, in our families and communities.
This doesn’t mean that there is necessarily something warm and cosey about these little things, as they often challenge us precisely because they are not vague, but exact, close-up and discernible – in action and in omission!
Common parlance likes to say that ‘the devil is in the details’. Maybe, but so too is FAITH, and St David knew that.
Gwnewch y pethau bychain!
This Friday will see the arrival of the wonderworking Kursk-Root icon in Cardiff, and it will be greeted at St John’s Church in Canton for a moleben with the akathist at 19:00.
We ask the faithful to be ready and waiting and not to be late. Treat the reception as the meeting of the Mother of God, who blesses us with the visit of her icon, through which the faithful have been consoled and healed since it was discovered amongst the oaks of Kursk in 1259. The moleben should commence at 19:00, so please try be in church by 18:45.
Church set-up will be from 18:00, and Father Luke will be there, which may allow time for some confessions before the greeting of the icon.
After the moleben and veneration, the icon will proceed to Cheltenham for a service on Saturday, and then to Telford.
Given the travels of the clergy, the only opportunity for confession with me will be during the day on Thursday on the way to London, so I need to receive confession requests NOW.
I also ask that confessions are precise and succinct, as Deacon Mark and I have to go to London on Thursday, to allow an early departure from London on Friday. This is also true of Sunday confessions now that we are celebrating the Liturgy of St Basil and cannot stall service times. This is the only opportunity in the week for those travelling from England, and we need to be able to fit in as many confessions as possible.
Contrary to what was said in church, I need confession requests for by TOMORROW night: otetzmark@hotmail.com
As announced in church on Sunday, the Great Canon of St Andrew is being chanted in Llanelli on the first four evenings of this week in the Chapel of St David and St Nicholas at 19:00.
Additionally, through the good offices of Father Dean and Georgina, we will chant Great Compline with the Great Canon in the church of St Mary Butetown on Wednesday and Thursday, at 19:00.
On Friday, we will continue our catechesis sessions for learners and ‘refreshers’, preceded by a moleben to St Theodore and the blessing of Kolyva. As on past Fridays, this will be in the parish room at St Mary’s at 19:00.
Saturday, being the second of the month, sees us head to Cheltenham to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, with confessions from 09:15 and the Hours at 10:00, followed by Liturgy as soon as confessions have finished. Location: United Reformed Church, Deep Street, Cheltenham. GL52 3AW.
Will all requiring confessions email me by Thursday please, with Thursday and Friday giving opportunity for confession, and Saturday, if needed? Any Cardiff parishioners heading to Cheltenham may confess there, after Liturgy, in preparation for Sunday.
With Sunday being the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, may I ask you all to bring an icon, so that we may make a procession / krestny khod around the church, at the end of Liturgy (weather permitting) to celebrate the restoration of the holy icons in 843.
Services will be in St John’s at the usual time, with confessions from 10:15, and the Hours and Liturgy at 11:00. As we will be celebrating the longer Liturgy of St Basil, it is important that we seek to avoid delay. We understand that those coming distances are unable to confess during the week, which makes it imperative that local parishioners confess before Sunday morning.
During Great Lent, priority will be given to those travelling from outside Wales; those travelling from West Wales; and those who have no possibility of weekday or Saturday confessions.
Please communicate with the clergy, so that we are able to make arrangements so that nobody is excluded.
The last notice is the reminder that the Wonderworking Kursk-Root Icon will be making a brief but very welcome visit to Cardiff on Friday 18th March, with a moleben being celebrated in St John’s at 19:00. We will hold a moleben in Cheltenham the following morning, before the Cardiff clergy take the icon to Telford. The visit may be short, but what a joy it will be to honour the Mother of God by receiving her grace-filled icon.
Now, for the head-masterish Lenten bit:
All should be following the Lenten Fast, whether communing or not, and not following a regimen of their own making. If there are personal obstacles to fasting, they need to be discussed with the priest or spiritual father.
If the fast has been broken this MUST be confessed. There is no self-absolution.
Before communing, the Sunday Fast is to be TOTAL, unless blessed to be otherwise for whatever reason. Despite the late hour of Liturgy and communion, this includes drinking. Again, if there is a problem, talk to the clergy, who are sympathetic and realistic. Again, self-given dispensations are to be avoided, and the usual one is simply defeatism, human weakness, and a self-justified ‘need’.
The Divine Liturgy, is not a ‘drive-by’ event, and unless living at a distance, those communing should be part of the week-by-week life of the Church. If you are local and have not been attending for some time, it is necessary to become part of the worshipping community again before a blessing to receive the Holy Mysteries will be given. This is not intended for our parishioners travelling from England, some of whom cannot make the journey too often, but for those on the doorstep.
According to our fasting traditions, we do not simply turn to sea-food as a Lenten larder. Octopus stew, lobster, crab and tiger prawns are hardly ascetical – whatever may be thought in Mediterranean climes about creatures lacking back-bones This may be normal elsewhere in the Orthodox world, but apart from Lazarus Saturday when ikra/caviar is permitted, and fish on the feast of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday – our Lenten diet should be VEGAN. For those with good reason, economia is applied, but this is given by the Church, not by self-determination and self-dispensation.
Olive oil and wine are permitted on weekends as a consolation with which we celebrate the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day.
Rather than having forty days of dietary substitution (potentially expensive), adults should all be eating as simply and as little as little as possible, unless this is not appropriate due to personal circumstances.
Instead of spending lots of money on substitute foods in the health-food shop or ‘free-from’ aisle of the supermarket, eat cabbage, kasha and potatoes and give the money to support homeless and destitute refugees.
But remember… it is far more important to pray more than eat less! Without this being a season of spiritual struggle and prayer, dietary fasting will have no meaning.
Wishing you all a good struggle during the season.
Here we are on the eve of the Great Fast, at the end of a week which would have normally had a festive character, but this year, few of us have even given a thought to Maslenitsa.
The life of the past week has been blurred by the tears of our communities, and the urgency of prayer has banished other concerns, as our supplications for the suffering Ukrainian people have been focussed by the personal lives and plights of the family members and friends of our parishioners: in Kiev, in Kharkov, in Mariupol, in Odessa and throughout Ukraine.
Doubts may enter our heads in the face of violence, tragedy and suffering, as we question the effectiveness or usefulness of our individual prayers in the geo-political turmoil of the present.
The spider’s web of doubt is the snare to catch us and stop us praying; to stop us struggling; to stop us turning Godwards; at a time when we should struggle through our human weakness by praying as we have never prayed before.
Each of us should pray as if we were the only soul in the world interceding for the Ukrainian people; and each of us should pray as if the whole weight of the Ukrainian land was on our shoulders.
When we pray with such zeal, and urgency, when our prayers are joined with those who pray in Ukraine and throughout the world, then a truly unimaginable force joins earth to heaven, and the power of this prayer is also manifested in how it can change each of us.
The human capacity to love is immense, but so too is the human capacity to hate, and in circumstances like those of today, it is so easy for hate to blind our spiritual eyes, and to deafen our ears to Christ’s command to love.
Hate dehumanises, and consequentially causes us to dehumanise, so that we no longer see the image and likeness of God in others, and it is in this dehumanised blindness and deafness that human beings simply become ‘collateral damage’.
The passions may boil and rise, so that we are subtly but effectively penetrated by the same dark, sinful forces manifest in the violent actions of others. We simply hide our violence and murderous feelings within our thoughts and in a darkening and hardening heart, in which the Light of Christ is smothered by hate, vengeance and intolerance.
As we see great suffering, as strong feelings and reactions are stirred within us, in praying for all caught up in the present tragedy, we must surrender ourselves to God, to allow Him to take us on what may seem an impossible journey to forgiveness, mercy and compassion, as the present events and our fallen instincts pull us in contrary directions.
We must heed the holy fathers in the strict custody of the mind and thoughts, knowing and understanding how easy it is to be drawn away from the path of prayer by what may seem justified and necessary thought, fact finding and analysis – when the greatest, most-powerful and most-loving thing we can do is to abandon ourselves to the Lord in prayer.
If we are honest, we are sometimes reluctant to pray, knowing that prayer will challenge our emotional and psycho-spiritual status quo, and may take us somewhere we do not wish to go or be, when we simply want our decided opinions and adopted position confirmed and approved, even if they are at odds with the radical and challenging demands of the Gospel.
As we see violence and aggression, we face the Gospel-challenge to recognise and affirm that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God, and that our shared humanity is the robe of God Incarnate.
Prayer is vital for this realisation, and we must pray recognising that prayer is the place and time in which we must surrender to God in the struggle not to hate; in the struggle to refrain from anger and violent thoughts; in the struggle to understand how it is possible to forgive inhumanity and tyranny, when we see indescribable suffering and cruelty.
We must pray, believing in the power of prayer and believing that faith may move mountains, but also pray so that Christ may work in us, making the seemingly impossible possible, and for the power of the Holy Spirit to enter and abide in us as the Comforter, the Giver of Life and Treasury of Blessings – to cleanse us of every impurity and grant us the spiritual gifts to counter anger, hate, intolerance, and violent and murderous thoughts.
Even as the war rages in Ukraine, the age-old cosmic battle between good and evil potentially rages within each of us, as the devil seeks to steal our souls through anger, hate, the inner lust for vengeance, and the clamorous scream for retribution in a rebellion against Christ and the counter-intuitive upside-downess of the Gospel of love.
So, as we begin the Fast, through prayer, we must seek the strength and capacity to love those who hate; to be merciful to the merciless; to forgive the unforgiving; to be gentle to the cruel; to face cruelty with compassion; to fight hate with tolerance; to face evil with good; to make our hearts overflow with God’s superabundant mercy.
Yet again, I think of the much-repeated and often-quoted words of Abba Isaac the Syrian:
“What is a merciful heart? It is a heart which is burning with a loving charity for the whole of creation, for men, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons – for all creatures. He who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without his eyes being filled with tears by reason of the immense compassion which seizes his heart; a heart which is so softened and can no longer bear to hear or learn from others of any suffering, even the smallest pain, being inflicted upon any creature. This is why such a man never ceases to pray also for the animals, for the enemies of truth, and for those who do him evil, that they may be preserved and purified. He will pray even for the lizards and reptiles, moved by the infinite pity which reigns in the hearts of those who are becoming united with God.”
These beautiful words are closely mirrored by Dostoevsky, on the lips of Father Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov:
“Love a man even in his sin, for that is the semblance of Divine Love and is the highest love on earth. Love all God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you have perceived it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day, and you will come at last to love the world with an all-embracing love.”
These words challenge us to the podvig of struggling to love by allowing Christ to love in us and through us, no matter how impossible it may seem for us to love and forgive.
On this Sunday of Forgiveness, many will be shaking their heads asking how they can possibly forgive; how to love, how to even consider loving enemies, and how God can expect us to do so.
The answer is for us to abandon ourselves to God as we immerse ourselves in prayer, so that by His working in us, the seemingly impossible may become not only possible, but a reality, and that like St Isaac we may feel love and compassion for the whole creation, even the offender and transgressor, who has been ensnared by the enemy of mankind.
Bereft of love, we must surrender ourselves to God, bowing down in fervent prayer and asking God to kindle love within our cold hearts, so that they may not only be warmed, but become enflamed with His love, that we may seek God in all things and all places, and see God in all things and all places, no matter how ugly, how broken, how dysfunctional or dangerous.
We must surrender ourselves to God and seek to begin the journey to love and forgiveness, holding our hands out to Christ when we are sinking into the depths that threaten to swallow us, so that He may lead us hand-in-hand over the waves to safety.
Brothers and sisters, let us be united in prayer during the Great Fast, as we have been united in the past sorrowful week, weaving our prayers together as an offering to the Lord, and in these prayers, let us beg Him to help us to forgive and love – becoming mirrors of the great, selfless outpouring of His mercy on mankind, heeding the unequivocal challenge of the Gospel:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
… words that are not easy, but the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.
If we believe that Christ is risen from the dead; if we believe that he changed water into wine; if we believe that He healed the blind and deaf, the possessed, the halt and lame; if we believe that He walked upon the waves; if we believe that He raised the dead… we must believe that He can lead each of us to forgiveness and love, against all the odds and every obstacle, and that as the Creator He is able to make us anew and renew a right spirit within us.
As we enter the Great Fast, let prayer be the path to this renewal and the radiant reflection of Christ, in each and every one of us.
Dame Edith Sitwell reciting her beautiful religious poem “Still Falls the Rain (the Raids, 1940, Night and Dawn)”.
Still falls the Rain – Dark as the world of man, black as our loss – Blind as the nineteen hundred and forty nails Upon the Cross.
Still falls the Rain With a sound like the pulse of the heart that is changed to the hammer-beat In the Potter’s Field, and the sound of the impious feet
On the Tomb: Still falls the Rain
In the Field of Blood where the small hopes breed and the human brain Nurtures its greed, that worm with the brow of Cain.
Still falls the Rain At the feet of the Starved Man hung upon the Cross. Christ that each day, each night, nails there, have mercy on us – On Dives and on Lazarus: Under the Rain the sore and the gold are as one.
Still falls the Rain – Still falls the Blood from the Starved Man’s wounded Side: He bears in His Heart all wounds, – those of the light that died, The last faint spark In the self-murdered heart, the wounds of the sad uncomprehending dark, The wounds of the baited bear – The blind and weeping bear whom the keepers beat On his helpless flesh… the tears of the hunted hare.
Still falls the Rain – Then – O Ile leape up to my God: who pulles me doune – See, see where Christ’s blood streames in the firmament: It flows from the Brow we nailed upon the tree
Deep to the dying, to the thirsting heart That holds the fires of the world, – dark-smirched with pain As Caesar’s laurel crown.
Then sounds the voice of One who like the heart of man Was once a child who among beasts has lain – “Still do I love, still shed my innocent light, my Blood, for thee.”
“Ivanushko, Ivanushko, eat our bread and salt, and not Christian blood.”
In February 1570, after a devastating campaign against Novgorod, Tsar Ivan the Terrible moved against Pskov, suspecting the inhabitants of treason. As the Pskov Chronicler relates, “the Tsar came … with great fierceness, like a roaring lion, to tear apart innocent people and to shed much blood.”
On the first Saturday of Great Lent, the whole city prayed to be delivered from the Tsar’s wrath. Hearing the peal of the bell for Matins in Pskov, the Tsar’s heart was softened when he read the inscription on the fifteenth century wonderworking Liubyatov Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God (March 19) in the Monastery of Saint Nicholas (the Tsar’s army was at Lubyatov). “Be tender of heart,” he said to his soldiers. “Blunt your swords upon the stones, and let there be an end to killing.”
All the inhabitants of Pskov came out upon the streets, and each family knelt at the gate of their house, bearing bread and salt to the meet the Tsar. On one of the streets Blessed Nicholas ran toward the Tsar astride a stick as though riding a horse, and cried out: “Ivanushko, Ivanushko, eat our bread and salt, and not Christian blood.”
The Tsar gave orders to capture the holy fool, but he disappeared.
Though he had forbidden his men to kill, Ivan still intended to sack the city. The Tsar attended a Molieben at the Trinity cathedral, and he venerated the relics of holy Prince Vsevolod-Gabriel (February 11), and expressed his wish to receive the blessing of the holy fool Nicholas. The saint instructed the Tsar “by many terrible sayings,” to stop the killing and not to plunder the holy churches of God. But Ivan did not heed him and gave orders to remove the bell from the Trinity cathedral. Then, as the saint prophesied, the Tsar’s finest horse fell dead.
The blessed one invited the Tsar to visit his cell under the bell tower. When the Tsar arrived at the cell of the saint, he said, “Hush, come in and have a drink of water from us, there is no reason you should shun it.” Then the holy fool offered the Tsar a piece of raw meat.
“I am a Christian and do not eat meat during Lent”, said Ivan to him. “But you drink human blood,” the saint replied.
Frightened by the fulfillment of the saint’s prophecy and denounced for his wicked deeds, Ivan the Terrible ordered a stop to the looting and fled from the city. The Oprichniki, witnessing this, wrote: “The mighty tyrant … departed beaten and shamed, driven off as though by an enemy. Thus did a worthless beggar terrify and drive off the Tsar with his multitude of a thousand soldiers.”
Blessed Nicholas died on February 28, 1576 and was buried in the Trinity cathedral of the city he had saved. Such honors were granted only to the Pskov princes, and later on, to bishops.
The local veneration of the saint began five years after his death. In the year 1581, during a siege of Pskov by the soldiers of the Polish king Stephen Bathory, the Mother of God appeared to the blacksmith Dorotheus together with a number of Pskov saints praying for the city. Among these was Blessed Nicholas (the account about the Pskov-Protection Icon of the Mother of God is found under October 1).
At the Trinity cathedral they still venerate the relics of Blessed Nicholas of Pskov, who was “a holy fool in the flesh, and by assuming this holy folly he became a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem” (Troparion). He also “transformed the Tsar’s wild thoughts into mercy” (Kontakion).
Blessed Nicholas of Pskov, pray to God for us, for we eagerly flee unto thee, as a fervent helper, and intercessor for our souls!
Kontakion, Tone 8: Thou wast revealed as a wonderworker, O Nicholas, / when thou didst turn the Tsar’s power from wrath to mercy, / and so a fervent intercessor hath appeared in our land. / Now we entreat thee, O Saint: “Remain with us once more and protect us from the wiles of the Enemy; / for thou art the glory and affirmation of the city of Pskov and of all those who love Christ.”
At the end of this ‘cheese week’, in which we use up dairy food and eggs, Sunday will not only have the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, but also the Forgiveness Vespers, which will mark the beginning of the Great Fast.
So, in the week ahead, use up all of the proscribed foods, ready to start the Great Fast seriously. Avoid being one of those sloppy repeat-offenders who find themselves using up dairy food during the first days of Lent, saying that it would be a sin to bin the food – having repeated this this year after year.
Looking ahead, think about the distractions that should be limited or even put aside during the Lenten Season: television and radio, secular music, social media, gaming, unnecessary phone calls and emails. Fasting from these is as much a part of the Great Fast as the dietary fast.
Our focus should be on things spiritual and heavenly: prayer, spiritual reading, acts of mercy, serving others. Prepare for a season of not simply inner repentance, but of active virtue and mercy.
In Forgiveness Vespers, which will follow the Divine Liturgy, we will liturgically enter the Great Fast after the evening entrance, with the vestments changing to Lenten purple at ‘Vouchsafe, O Lord…’ and the Lenten melodies of ‘Gospodi Pomiluy’ marking the beginning of Lent.
The variables of Forgiveness Vespers may be found here:
The service ends with the rite of mutual forgiveness, and we should strive to ensure that we are at peace with everyone, trying to put right any disagreement, and seeking reconciliation.
Though we will have celebrated the Forgiveness vespers, we will have our last pre-Lenten refreshments until Pascha. Please remember, meat is no longer permitted, when preparing food for our bring-and-share lunch.
Our catechism/study-group will meet once more in the parish room at St Mary Butetown, in North Church Street at 19:00, and I will hear confessions from 18:00 – for those who have made prior arrangement.
As usual, I ask all needing confessions this week to email me, and again ask that this is by Wednesday night to allow planning for Friday and Saturday, given that there may be more confessions than usual: otetzmark@hotmail.com
This week should be one of preparation, as we think about what we will be eating during the Great Fast, what spiritual books we will be reading, what extra prayers we will undertake.
The weight of the present situation in Ukraine bears upon us, and perhaps makes clear to us what extra prayers we should be saying, for the people of both Ukraine and Russia, for the peace and reconciliation which each of us seeks at the beginning of the penitential season.
Looking forward to the first week of the Fast, the Canon of Repentance of St Andrew of Crete, will be chanted from Monday to Thursday evening at 19:00 in the Chapel of St David and St Nicholas in Llanelli.
In the meantime, I encourage you all to undertake extra prayers for the people of Ukraine, and for peace and an end to bloodshed. I know that some of you are already praying the Akathist to the Mother of God, the Softener of Evil Hearts, and encourage others to join this. The English and Slavonic links are below.
Ode 1, Irmos: I will open my mouth, and with the Spirit will it be filled; and I shall utter discourse unto the Queen and Mother, and shall be seen keeping splendid festival; and, rejoicing, I shall hymn her wonders.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Having entered the church in great glory today as the Mother of God, with the ranks of the holy angels and the assemblies of the prophets and apostles, thou prayest for all Christians and deliverest them from perils and grief, covering them with thy mercy.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Moses called thee the tabernacle and the rod of Aaron, for thou didst put forth Christ, the Tree of life; and as thou hast boldness before Him, O Queen, pray thou for us who honour thee, that He deliver us from all evil, that we may glorify the feast of thy protection.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Assembling choirs, David doth dance, not as he did before the ark of old, but even more now, hastening into thy presence in the church with the ranks of the saints. And bowing down before thee, we say: Pray thou for us, the people who honour thee, that, glorifying thy protection, we may celebrate it with honour.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The ranks of the angels hymn thee, O Theotokos, and the patriarchs and holy hierarchs glorify thee, hastening into thy presence in the church. And the holy Andrew then beheld thee with them, praying to God for us sinners, that He have mercy upon the people who glorify the feast of thy protection.
Ode 3, Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and abundant fountain, in thy divine glory spiritually establish those who hymn thee, forming themselves into a choir, and vouchsafe unto them crowns of glory.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Like an unploughed field thou didst manifestly produce the divine Grain. Rejoice, O animate table holding the Bread of life! Rejoice, O Mistress, thou inexhaustible wellspring of the Water of life!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O Mistress, we, thy people, standing before thee with faith in thy church, await thy mercy. Visit our lowliness, and with thy holy protection defend the Orthodox people from all evil.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O far-famed Virgin who was honourably prefigured by the prophets, with the angels they now do thee homage. Pray thou to God with them, that, rejoicing, we may all splendidly celebrate thy holy protection today.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Gideon prefigured thee as a fleece, for Christ God descended upon thee like dew. Pray thou to Him, O Theotokos, that He grant victory to our Orthodox hierarchs over all heresies, that, casting them down like the Midianites, they may glorify thy holy feast.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Theotokos, with thy radiant omophorion thou lightest the church and the people more than the rays of the sun, and by thy visitation drivest away the darkness of our sins, praying for us to thy Son and God.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sedalion, Tone 5: O pure Ever-virgin, fervent and invincible intercessor, excellent and unashamed hope, bulwark, protection and refuge of those who have recourse to thee: with the angels beseech thy Son and God, that He grant compunction, salvation and great mercy to the world.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Ode 4, Irmos: Seated in glory upon the throne of the Godhead, Jesus most divine is come upon a light cloud, and with His incorrupt arm hath saved those who cry: Glory to Thy power, O Christ!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O most hymned Virgin, we cry out to thee in voices of hymnody: Rejoice, thou butter mountain, curdled by the Spirit! Rejoice, O lampstand, O jar bearing the Manna which sweeteneth the senses of all the pious!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O Theotokos, God hath sanctified thee wholly, more than the ark of Aaron, and hath commanded the saints and angels to do thee homage. With them pray for the city and people who glorify thine honoured feast.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O Theotokos, come now in glory unto thy church, with the councils of all the saints, as once the holy Andrew beheld thee in the air, radiantly praying for Christians; and grant us thy mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Strengthen our Orthodox hierarchs against all heresy and schism, as God did David against Goliath, O Mistress, that in gladness we may cry to thee: Rejoice, O holy protection and helper of our city!
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
With faith do we fall down before thee, O Lady, and, rendering homage with thanksgiving, we cry out to thee: Rejoice, O Virgin full of the grace of God, our protection and wall of defence, the helper of those in misfortune! Save us who have recourse to thee, for in thee do we place our trust!
Ode 5, Irmos: All things are filled with awe by thy divine glory; for thou, O Virgin who knewest not wedlock, didst hold in thy womb Him Who is God over all, and thou gavest birth to the timeless Son, granting peace to all who hymn thee.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Of old, Solomon described thee as the marriage-couch and bed of the King of heaven, and spake of thee as surrounded by the seraphim, O Theotokos. Wherefore, we now beseech thee, O most holy Mother of God: Protect us from all misfortunes!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
To thee do the foremost among the angels and the honoured prophets and apostles render service with honour as the Mother of God, beholding thee making supplication for the world; and the Lord, hearkening to thine entreaties, doth save thy city and people who place their trust in thee.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah, great among the prophets, prophesied thee, saying that without knowing wedlock thou wouldst give birth to God; for thou, O pure Mary, wast more holy than all, in that thou didst bear God in thy womb and in thine arms. To Him pray thou for us, with thy protection covering those who faithfully glorify thee.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Spreading spiritual wings, the councils of the saints came mystically to do thee homage, O Theotokos, beholding thee on the light cloud of glory, praying to Christ the Saviour, that He grant victory to our Orthodox hierarchs, to prevail over all heresy and schism.
Ode 6, Irmos: Celebrating this divine and most honoured festival of the Mother of God, come, ye divinely wise, let us clap our hands and glorify God Who was born of her!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Divinely wise priests, standing in thy church with the pious people, await thy mercy, O Theotokos. Transform our grief into joy, in that thou gavest birth to the Joy Who hath done away with the sins of all men.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
To thee doth all the earth offer gifts as to the Queen and Mother of God. Kings and princes bow down in homage, and all the people are glad, protected from all evil by thy supplications, O Theotokos.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Daniel described thee beforehand as a great mountain; for from thee was Christ born without seed. He hath destroyed all the falsehood of the demons, and hath filled all the earth with His Faith. To Him do thou pray for us who glorify the feast of thy protection, O Theotokos.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O all-pure one, we utter unto thee the cry of the angel: Rejoice, O throne of God, whereon Ezekiel beheld the Lord in the guise of a man, borne up by the cherubim! With them pray thou for us, O Theotokos, that He save our souls.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone 3: Today the Virgin standeth forth in the church, and with the choirs of the saints she invisibly prayeth to God for us. Angels and hierarchs offer homage, and the apostles and prophets join chorus; for, for our sake the Theotokos entreateth the pre-eternal God.
Ikos: Come, O ye people, let us delight in her all-glorious miracles; for through her hath Adam been delivered from corruption. She is the ark fashioned, not by Noah, but by God. Of old, Moses was unable to see God in the fiery bush; but now the whole earth doth acknowledge the Son of God Who was born of her and to Whom she prayeth for us. Wherefore, we glorify her as the Mother of God; for, for our sake the Theotokos entreateth the pre-eternal God.
Ode 7, Irmos: The divinely wise would not worship a created thing instead of the Creator, but, manfully trampling the threat of the fire underfoot, they rejoiced, chanting: O all-hymned Lord God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O Virgin, thou wast not described by the many prophets and wast also unknown to the angels of heaven who minister to God; but now we all know thee to be the Theotokos, and require thy help and aid, O blessed one.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O Virgin Theotokos, thou mountain curdled by the Spirit which Habbakuk saw pouring forth the sweetness of healing upon the faithful, heal us who cry out to thy Son: Blessed is the God of our fathers!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
He Who bowed down the heavens made His abode within thee, O Virgin, and now regardeth thy supplication, fulfilling thy petitions, O pure Queen and Theotokos. To Him do thou now earnestly pray, for we place our hope in thee, O blessed one.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Christ God, our Creator and Saviour, accept the entreaty of Thy Mother, which she offereth to Thee for us sinners, that, rejoicing, we may chant to Thee: O all-hymned God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Ode 8, Irmos: The birth giving of the Theotokos saved the pious children in the furnace – then in figure, but now in deed, – and it moveth the whole world to chant to Thee: Hymn the Lord, O ye works, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
With the ranks of the angels, the honourable and glorious prophets, the preeminent apostles, the hieromartyrs and holy hierarchs, O Mistress, pray thou to God for us sinners who glorify the feast of thy protection in this land.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Cast down pride and arrogance, scatter the councils of unjust princes, and destroy those who instigate wars, O Mother of God, most honoured Queen! And exalt the horn of our Orthodox hierarchs, that we may glorify thy feast, O all-pure Virgin Theotokos, crying: Hymn the Lord, ye works, and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Offering thee hymnody with our mouths, we bow down before thee spiritually with our souls; for our hearts burn within us. O all-pure Mother of God, have mercy upon us who pray to thee, who hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I have been weighed down by many sins, and am at a loss how to write in praise of thy protection, O Theotokos; but as thou art the Mother of God, adorn thy feast with miracles, that, rejoicing, we may all hymn the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages.
Ode 9, Irmos: Let every earthborn man leap up, enlightened by the Spirit; and let the nature of the incorporeal intelligences hold festival, honouring the sacred feast of the Mother of God, and let it cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, thou pure Ever-virgin!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O exalted King Who sittest with the Father and art hymned by the seraphim: look down upon the supplication of Thy Mother, which she offereth to Thee for us sinners, and wash away our sins. Save this city and multiply the people. Grant health of body and victory over all adversaries to the Orthodox through the prayers of her who gave Thee birth.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O divinely chosen Virgin, we cry out to thee with the voice of the angel: Rejoice, thou who hast led Adam back into paradise! Rejoice, thou who drivest the demons away with thy name! Rejoice, O hope of Christians! Rejoice, sanctification of souls! Rejoice, preserver of our city!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Remember us in thy supplications, O Virgin Lady and Theotokos, that we not perish because of the multitude of our sins. Protect us from all evil and grievous perils, for in thee do we place our trust, and, honouring the feast of thy protection, we magnify thee.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
As Mother of God, thou hast received from God the gift to heal the infirmities of all Christians, to deliver them from misfortunes, to forgive their sins and save them from captivity and all want. Disdain us not, O Lady, for thou knowest that we are in need of health for our bodies and salvation for our souls.
Troparion, Tone 4: Overshadowed by thy coming, O Mother of God, / we, the right faithful people, celebrate today with splendour, / and gazing upon thy most precious image, we cry aloud with compunction: / Cover us with thy precious omophorion, / and deliver us from all evil, / entreating thy Son, Christ our God, // that He save our souls.
First Prayer: O all-holy Virgin, Mother of the Lord of the hosts on high, Thou Queen of heaven and earth, and almighty, accept from us Thine unworthy servants this song of praise and thanksgiving and bring our prayer up to the throne of Thy God and Son, that He be merciful towards our unrighteousness, and extend His grace to those who honour Thy name with faith. For we are not worthy to be forgiven by Him hadst Thou, O Lady, not made Him merciful towards us, for all things from Him are possible to Thee. Therefore, we run to Thee as Thou art our swift and undoubted Protector. Hear us who pray to Thee: overshadow us with Thine almighty veil and ask from Thy God and Son zeal and vigilance for our shepherds, wisdom and strength for the souls of those who govern our cities, righteousness and impartiality for our judges, understanding and humility for our leaders, love and concord for the married, obedience for our children, patience for those who have been offended, the fear of God for those that offend, stoutheartedness for the afflicted, restraint for those that rejoice, and for all of us the spirit of understanding and godliness, the spirit of mercy and meekness, the spirit of chastity and truth. Yea, O all-holy Lady, be merciful towards Thy feeble people: gather the dispersed, guide on the right way those that have gone astray, uphold old age, make the young pure, bring up the children and look down upon all of us with the care of Thy merciful protection. Raise us from the depth of sin and enlighten the eyes of our hearts to see salvation. Be merciful to us both here and yonder, during our wandering in the land of this earth and at the Last Judgement of Thy Son: and make our fathers and brothers who have departed this life live the eternal life with the angels and all the saints. For Thou, O Lady, art the glory of those in heaven and the trust of those on earth. After God, Thou art the hope and Defender of all who flee to Thee with faith. We then pray to Thee and to Thee as our almighty Helper, do we commend ourselves and one another, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Second Prayer: O my most blessed Queen, my all-holy hope, Receiver of orphans and Defender of the strangers, Helper of those in poverty, Protector of the sick, behold my distress, behold my affliction. On all sides am I held by temptation, and there is none to defend me. Help me then as I am weak, feed me as I am a pilgrim, guide me as I have strayed, heal and save me as I lie without hope. For I have no other help, nor advocate nor comforter, save Thee, O Mother of all the afflicted and heavy laden. Look down then on me, a sinner lying in sickness, and protect me with Thine all-holy Veil, that I be delivered from all the ills surrounding me and may ever praise Thy Name that all men sing. Amen.
Despite the pain and sorrow that each present day brings, we rejoice that as a parish we can come together in unity and prayer, supporting our parishioners whose family and friends are directly involved in the current war in Ukraine.
We have been praying, and will continue to pray the canon in honour of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, commending the whole world to the care of Our Lady, who is ‘more spacious than the heavens’, knowing that beneath her omophorion there is a safe-place and refuge for all – and in our ROCOR parish, that is Ukrainians, Russians, Moldovans, Romanians, Belarusians, and British members of the faithful.
Just as the knights and warriors of previous centuries, took off their swords when entering the house of God, so we leave our geo-politics and our passports at the door of the church, as we unite to pray for the suffering, the wounded and dying, the terrified, the injured and maimed, the hungry, the homeless and destitute.
In Church we should only have one I.D. through the water of baptism and the chrismal ‘seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit’: we are simply Christians, who bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
We pray for all leaders; for all who make the ‘big’ decisions of the world; for the Lord and His Most Holy Mother to bring the light of reason and understanding to the powerful and equally to the powerless; as our prayer is offered with an urgency and a fervour that we may have never felt before, and with compassion, forgiveness, humility, and love.
“For prayer our teacher is the Lord Himself, but we must seek to humble our souls. He who prays aright has the peace of God in his soul. The man of prayer should feel tenderly towards every living thing. The man of prayer loves all men and has compassion for all, for the grace of the Holy Spirit has taught him love.”
