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.
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!
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
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!
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.
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:
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 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.
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!
… 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.
Already the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers signals that we are approaching the end of the Nativity Fast, and it was heartening to hear their names during vespers in the Oratory yesterday afternoon.
“O ye faithful, let us praise today all the fathers of the old Law: Abraham, the beloved of God, and Isaac, who was born according to the promise, and Jacob and the twelve patriarchs, the most meek David, and Daniel, the prophet of desires, glorifying with them the three youths that transformed the furnace into dew, and who ask remission of Christ God, Who is glorified in His saints.”
The troparion describes these righteous forefathers of the Old Law as the sign of the Saviour’s betrothal to the Church, since it was from their line and descent that the Mother of God would blossom in the world, and through her that the Word became flesh and establish His Church, the New Israel, the Chosen people of God.
“By faith Thou didst justify the Forefathers, when through them Thou didst betroth Thyself aforetime to the Church that was from among the nations. The Saints boast in glory that from their seed there is a glorious fruit, even she that bore Thee seedlessly. By their prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.”
These are the very righteous that the Lord would deliver from Hades when the Kingdom of death was conquered and harrowed in His resurrection, when His body lay not in a manger, but in the life-giving tomb.
Next weekend, on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers we will hear the Gospel of the genealogy of the Saviour, with its poetry of the ancestral generations leading to the Nativity of Christ. Though it ends in a predictably patriarchal Middle Eastern way with St Joseph the betrothed, rather than the Theotokos at its end, this family tree also largely represents her tribal descent from Abraham through Judah and subsequently from King David, though the Jewish laws of adoption alone made the forefathers of Joseph, the forefathers of the Saviour, his adopted and legal “son”.
In these pre-festal Sundays, we celebrate the ancestors of the Saviour as the steps on which He descended to earth from heaven, with the Mother of God not simply as one of those steps, but the “heavenly ladder, by which God came down,” and the “bridge leading from earth to heaven” (The Akathist Hymn). As their progeny, she was the gift of the Holy Forefathers to the Lord, and indeed to the world, and her gift was our humanity in which the Saviour, as the God-Man, was clothed and effected our salvation.
Let us be encouraged by the example of the forefathers: by the sacrificial obedience, loyalty and trust of Abraham; by the humility of Isaac, his trust in God to provide, and his unquestioning obedience to His father; by the great endurance and labour of Jacob; by the humility, steadfastness, honesty, trustworthiness and purity of Joseph – then, today, on the commemoration of the Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths, let us learn from their refusal to compromise the Faith, and their willingness to endure hardship, suffering and even martyrdom for God, in whom they trusted and placed their hope.
This week’s services will be:
Thursday 2 January: Vespers in the Oratory Church at 15:00, with confessions heard before and after the service – Akathist and Confessions in Nazareth House at 18:00
Friday 3 January: Advent Moleben in the Oratory Church on Friday at 15:00
Sunday 5 January: Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers – St John’s Church, Canton, at 11:00.
… and Christmas services, as announced:
Monday 6 January: Christmas Eve, Vigil at 18:30.
Tuesday 7 January: Nativity Liturgy at 10:30. Great Vespers (for the Synaxis) at 15:00
Wednesday 8 January: Synaxis of the Mother of God, Liturgy at 10:30. Great Vespers (for St Stephen) at 15:00.
Thursday 9 January: St Stephen: Liturgy at 10:30. Vespers at 15:00. (Additional services may be celebrated if support is forthcoming)
The Liturgy for the feast of the Holy Innocents, will be celebrated in Warminster on Saturday 11 January, and the next Cheltenham Liturgy on the eve of Theophany, Saturday 18 January, at 10:30.
Many thanks to all who contributed to today’s Liturgy, and at a time when our community is under strain due to our forthcoming exit from St John’s, lack of definite new home, and some differing perspectives on our situation, I ask you to join your prayers to those added in the Liturgy for the increase of love, perhaps adding the troparia to you daily prayers.
Troparion, Tone 4: Thou didst bind Thine Apostles in the bonds of love, O Christ, and hast firmly bound us, Thy faithful servants, to Thyself, that we may fulfil Thy commandments and have unfeigned love for one another, through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Only Lover of Mankind.
Kontakion, Tone 5: Kindle our hearts with the flames of love for Thee, O Christ God, That being inflamed by this, in heart, mind and soul, we may love Thee with all our strength, and our neighbour as ourselves, and that keeping Thy commandments, we may glorify Thee the Giver of all good.
1 John 3:1, 10–11, 16, 18; 4: 9–11, 20–21: Beloved: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
From the Gospel of John (13: 34–35; 15: 12–14): The Lord said to His disciples: 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. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Тропарь, глас 4: Сою́зом любве́ апо́столы Твоя́ связа́вый, Христе́, и нас Твои́х ве́рных рабо́в к Себе́ тем кре́пко связа́в, твори́ти за́поведи Твоя́ и друг дру́га люби́ти нелицеме́рно сотвори́, моли́твами Богоро́дицы, Еди́не Человеколю́бче.
Кондак, глас 5: Пла́менем любве́ распали́ к Тебе́ сердца́ на́ша, Христе́ Бо́же, да то́ю разжига́еми, се́рдцем, мы́слию же и душе́ю, и все́ю кре́постию на́шею возлю́бим Тя, и и́скренняго своего́ я́ко себе́, и повеле́ния Твоя́ храня́ще сла́вим Тя, всех благ Да́теля.
Соборного послания Иоаннова чтение (1 Ин. 3:1, 10–11, 16, 18; 4: 9–11, 20–21): Возлюбленнии, видите, какову любовь дал есть Отец нам, да чада Божия наречемся и есмы. Сего ради явлена суть чада Божия и чада диаволя. Всяк не творяй правды, несть от Бога, и не любяй брата своего. Яко се есть завещание, еже слышасте исперва, да любим друг друга. О сем познахом любовь, яко Он по нас душу Свою положи: и мы должны есмы по братии души полагати. Чадца моя, не любим словом, ниже языком, но делом и истиною. О сем явися любы Божия в нас, яко Сына Своего Единороднаго посла Бог в мир, да живи будем Им. О сем есть любы, не яко мы возлюбихом Бога, но яко Той возлюби нас, и посла Сына Своего во очищение о гресех наших. Возлюбленнии, аще сице возлюбил есть нас Бог, и мы должни есмы друг друга любити. Аще кто речет, яко люблю Бога, а брата своего ненавидит, лож есть: ибо не любяй брата своего, егоже виде, Бога, Егоже не виде, како может любити? И сию заповедь имамы от Него, да любяй Бога, любит и брата своего.
От Иоанна Святаго Евангелия чтение, зач. 46 от полу (13, 34–35; 15, 12–14): Рече Господь Своим учеником, заповедь новую даю вам, да любите друг друга: якоже возлюбих вы, да и вы любите себе. О сем разумеют вси, яко Мои ученицы есте, аще любовь имате между собою. Сия есть заповедь Моя, да любите друг друга, якоже возлюбих вы. Больши сея любве никтоже имать, да кто душу свою положит за други своя. Вы друзи Мои есте, аще творити, елика Аз заповедаю вам.
Kontakion 1: O holy hierarch and wonderworker Spyridon, who hast been glorified by the Lord! Celebrating now thy most honoured memory, with tenderness we cry out to thee, as one who art able greatly to assist us with Christ Who hath glorified thee: From all misfortunes and evil deliver us, that we may cry out to thee in thanksgiving: Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Ikos 1: Adorned from thy youth with all the virtues, and emulating the angels of Christ in thy life, O holy hierarch Spyridon, thou didst truly show thyself to be His friend. And beholding thee, the heavenly man and earthly angel, we cry out to thee with tenderness:
Rejoice, mind contemplating the mysteries of the All-holy Trinity;
Rejoice, thou who hast been enriched by the all-radiant splendour of the Spirit!
Rejoice, beacon of great brilliance;
Rejoice, thou who didst enlighten thy mind with dispassion!
Rejoice, thou who didst love true simplicity and serenity from childhood;
Rejoice, adornment of chastity!
Rejoice, inexhaustible torrent of love;
Rejoice, for thou didst emulate the hospitality of Abraham!
Rejoice, for in an abundance of love thou didst open the doors of thy house to all;
Rejoice, intercessor for the poor!
Rejoice, thou before whom men offer reverence;
Rejoice, for thou art the abode of the All-Holy Spirit!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontakion 2: Beholding thine incorrupt relics, from which abundant healings flow, the island of Cyprus and all Christian lands rejoice, O holy hierarch; and, honouring thee as a fountain overflowing with grace sent down upon us from on high, we cry out to the ultimate Bestower of the good things of heaven and earth: Alleluia!
Ikos 2: Possessing divine understanding, while yet a shepherd of dumb sheep thou wast chosen to be the shepherd of the reason-endowed sheep by the providence of Christ the Chief Shepherd. And, understanding thee to be a good shepherd who showest untiring care for thy flock, the faithful cried out:
Rejoice, O high priest of God Most High, who received divine grace in abundance at thy consecration;
Rejoice, most luminous lamp, burning and shedding light!
Rejoice, faithful husbandman in the garden of Christ;
Rejoice, shepherd who nurtured thy flock on the meadow of faith and piety!
Rejoice, thou who hast illumined the world with the rays of thy virtues;
Rejoice, thou who offered the divine sacrifice at the throne of Christ!
Rejoice, hierarch adorned with the understanding of Orthodoxy;
Rejoice, thou who art full of the teaching of the apostles, giving drink to the faithful with the streams of the doctrine of salvation!
Rejoice, for thou didst shed light upon the wise;
Rejoice, for thou didst make new the hearts of the simple!
Rejoice, glory of the Orthodox and unshakeable foundation of the Church;
Rejoice, adornment of the Faith, glory and boast of reverent priests!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 3: Thou wast shown to be divinely wise by the power of the Most High which overshadowed thee, O holy hierarch Spyridon; and, grasping a tile in thy hand, thou didst manifestly demonstrate to all the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead. Wherefore, the philosophers of false knowledge assembled at the Council were stricken with awe, but the faithful glorified our unfathomable God Who made thee wise unto salvation, crying out to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 3: All the Fathers of the Council, considering thee to be a simple man, unskilled in book learning, begged thee, O father Spyridon, not to enter in debate with the rhetor whom they thought to be wise. Yet, aflame with zeal for God, O holy hierarch, and believing that the preaching of Christ lieth not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the manifestation of the Spirit and of power, thou didst most wisely reprove and admonish him, and didst guide him to the way of truth. And seeing this wonder, all cried out:
Rejoice, light of Orthodox wisdom;
Rejoice, for thou didst put to shame the disputers who were said to be wise!
Rejoice, abundant wellspring of grace;
Rejoice, unshakable tower holding fast those who are in the Faith!
Rejoice, thou who dost cast most pernicious heresy into darkness;
Rejoice, thou by whom foolishness was trampled underfoot!
Rejoice, for in thy hands the dust of the earth proclaimed the Holy Trinity;
Rejoice, for from the tile thou didst bring forth fire and water to confirm the dogma of the Holy Trinity!
Rejoice, for thou didst enlighten the people to glorify the Word Who is truly of one Essence with the all-unoriginate Father;
Rejoice, for thou didst crush the serpent’s head of the pernicious heresy of Arius!
Rejoice, for by thee was enmity slain;
Rejoice, thou who didst convert to the true Faith the unbelieving wise man who disputed with thee!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 4: Leading thy life in poverty and want, thou wast a nurturer and helper of the poor and unfortunate; thou didst transform a serpent into gold in thy love, and didst give it to one who asked thine aid. And marvelling at this miracle, we cry out to God in thanksgiving: Alleluia!
Ikos 4: It hath been heard by all and in every place, that the holy hierarch Spyridon is a habitation of the Holy Trinity; for God the Father, God the Word, and God the Holy Spirit dwelt within him. Wherefore, by word and deed thou hast preached the true incarnate God to all Christians, who cry out:
Rejoice, initiate of the mysteries of the words of God;
Rejoice, thou who hast made clear God’s blueprint for the salvation of the world!
Rejoice, for thou didst teach us not to test that which transcendeth the knowledge and wisdom of man;
Rejoice, thou who didst show forth the unfathomable power of God which worketh within thee!
Rejoice, for through thy mouth God Himself spake;
Rejoice, for all heeded thee, to their delight!
Rejoice, thou who didst drive away the gloom of idolatry;
Rejoice, for thou didst lead many to the true Faith!
Rejoice, for thou didst crush the heads of invisible serpents;
Rejoice, for through thee is the Christian Faith glorified!
Rejoice, for thou dost splendidly illumine all who call thee blessed;
Rejoice, champion of the Christian Faith and Orthodoxy!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 5: Thou wast full of the divine Spirit, O holy hierarch Spyridon, because of thy virtuous life; for thou wast meek, merciful, pure of heart, patient, not mindful of the evils done thee, and hospitable. Wherefore, the Creator hath shown thee to be most glorious in miracles; and, glorifying God Who hath glorified thee, we cry out to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 5: We see Spyridon, the great wonderworker, as an equal of the angels. For once the land was stricken with drought and suffered greatly from the lack of water; and there was famine and contagion, and a multitude of men perished. But by the supplications of the holy hierarch rain fell from heaven upon the earth, and the people, delivered from this misfortune, cried out in gratitude:
Rejoice, thou who didst emulate the great Prophet Elijah;
Rejoice, for in due season thou didst bring down rain, dispelling famine and affliction!
Rejoice, for again by thy supplications thou didst close the sky up again;
Rejoice, for thou didst punish the pitiless merchant with the deprivation of his possessions!
Rejoice, for thou didst give food in abundance unto those who asked;
Rejoice, for thou didst move God to loving compassion for the people!
Rejoice, thou who takest away the weakness of the infirm;
Rejoice, helper of men, full of the grace of God!
Rejoice, thou who grantest health to the sick;
Rejoice, thou before whom the demons tremble!
Rejoice, wellspring of countless miracles;
Rejoice, fountain gushing forth the grace of God!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 6: The veil of the Old Testament tabernacle covered the ark, the manna and the tablets of the law in the Holy of Holies. And thy temple, O holy hierarch Spyridon, hath thy shrine as its ark, thy holy relics as manna, and thy heart as tablets of divine grace, whereon we see graven the hymn: Alleluia!
Ikos 6: Once, because iniquity had increased, the Lord punished the people of Cyprus. causing their land to become barren. When a farmer known to the holy Spyridon came, begging help, the saint gave him gold. But when the misfortune had passed, and that farmer returned the gold to the saint, – O, the wonder! – the gold turned into a serpent! Glorifying God, Who is wondrous in His saints, let us cry out:
Rejoice, for thou didst emulate Moses, who miraculously transformed his staff into a snake;
Rejoice, loving pastor, who deliverest the reason-endowed sheep of thy flock from misfortunes!
Rejoice, thou who dost abundantly enrich all with every good thing;
Rejoice, thou who, like Elijah, didst feed the poor!
Rejoice, thou who movest the pitiless to mercy;
Rejoice, example of love for men living in the world to emulate!
Rejoice, consolation of both believers and the unbelieving amid tribulations;
Rejoice, tree of goodly foliage, overshadowing our city and land!
Rejoice, glory and boast of Kerkyra;
Rejoice, thou who, by the grace of God, hast dominion over wet and dry weather, heat and cold!
Rejoice, thou who didst alter the laws of earth by thy prayer;
Rejoice, thou who didst foresee things to come as though they were in the present!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 7: Thou wast shown to be a mediator for all before the Lord, O holy hierarch Spyridon. Wherefore, we flee beneath thy shelter, seeking salvation; for we all have thee as our helper amid all necessity, during famine, deadly plague and all manner of misfortunes and trials. For this cause we cry out to God with thanksgiving: Alleluia!
Ikos 7: A new and magnificent wonder did we see, O father, when, going forth to deliver the man condemned to death though innocent, thou didst find a rushing torrent barring thy path; but thou didst command it to halt in the name of God Almighty, and didst cross the river with thy companions as though it were dry land. The fame of this miracle spread far and wide, and all glorified God, crying out to thee:
Rejoice, thou who didst cross the river, as once Joshua, son of Nun, crossed Jordan;
Rejoice, thou who didst tame the rushing of the river by thy voice alone!
Rejoice, for, moved by compassion, thou didst undertake a difficult journey;
Rejoice, for thou didst expose the slander and deliver the innocent man from the bonds of imprisonment and a violent death!
Rejoice, good fellow labourer in the Godly life;
Rejoice, defender of those unjustly oppressed!
Rejoice, thou who didst alter the laws of the nature of water;
Rejoice, for thou didst admonish the judge and save the innocent from execution!
Rejoice, true correction of souls;
Rejoice, wondrous power which restrained the torrent!
Rejoice, thou who dost make sweet the hearts of those who have recourse unto thee;
Rejoice, emulator of Abraham’s love for man!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 8: A stranger and sojourner wast thou on earth, as are all men. Yet from thy mother’s womb the Omniscient One showed thee forth to be a great favourite and wonderworker, O holy hierarch Spyridon; for thou expellest demons, healest every illness and wound, and perceivest the thoughts of men. Wherefore, thou art shown to be wondrous among the saints. And sending up supplication to God, the Benefactor of all, we cry out to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 8: The whole world was seized with great awe when it heard that death giveth up the dead from the tombs at the sound of thy voice; and it cried out:
Rejoice, thou who recalled to life thine own dead daughter, to allow her to reveal the location of the treasure that the widow has entrusted to her;
Rejoice, thou who didst console the grieving widow who had given gold into thy daughter’s care!
Rejoice, thou who didst restore the dead boy to life;
Rejoice, thou who didst revive his mother, who had died suddenly in her joy!
Rejoice, for thou didst emulate Elijah, who by his supplications returned to life the son of the woman of Zarephath;
Rejoice, for thou didst also emulate Elisha, who roused a boy from death!
Rejoice, pastor who truly loved men;
Rejoice, thou who, in the name of God, didst absolve the sins of the harlot who washed thy feet with her tears!
Rejoice, thou who didst acquire the holy zeal of the pre-eminent apostle;
Rejoice, for, at thy word, the unrepentant sinful woman died in her grievous sins!
Rejoice, thou who in thine entreaties didst ask that the land yield abundant fruit;
Rejoice, firm assurance of the resurrection of men!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 9: Thou wast illumined with the radiance of the divine Spirit, O Spyridon, for thou didst possess the spirit of wisdom, since, by thy wise words, thou didst show the mindless ones to be foolish in the midst of the Fathers didst confirm the Faith. Thou didst also possess the spirit of understanding, in that thou didst enlighten the minds of the benighted, and didst likewise have the spirit of the fear of God, for thou didst continually purify thy soul with God-pleasing works. Wherefore, standing before the throne of the Most High, with the assembly of the angels thou dost chant unto Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 9: Receiving from the Lord Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, the staff of a shepherd of reason-endowed sheep, O holy Spyridon thou did not alter thy manner of life. Unacquisitive, meek, bearing all things for the sake of love, thou were not ashamed to care also for thine flock of dumb sheep. All of these things move us to glorify God and cry out to thee:
Rejoice, thou who disdained the glory of this world as vain;
Rejoice, thou who hast acquired great reward in the heavens!
Rejoice, thou who didst consider the beautiful things of this word to be as dung;
Rejoice, vessel of the good things of heaven!
Rejoice, most holy pasture of the inhabitants of Cyprus;
Rejoice, for, for thy sake, God bound with invisible bonds those who attempted to steal thy sheep!
Rejoice, thou who didst give fatherly admonition to the thieves;
Rejoice, thou who, in thy loving kindness, didst make a present of a ewe-lamb to them after they had spent a night without sleep!
Rejoice, thou who didst, by the disobedience of the goat, reprove the merchant who consciously concealed the full payment for thereof;
Rejoice, thou who didst bring to repentance the man who hid thy silver coins!
Rejoice, for thou didst cure him of the passion of love of gain by thine exhortation;
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 10: O holy hierarch Spyridon, who savest the souls of the flock entrusted to thee by God, by the providence of God thou wast called to show forth thine own glory, and all the moreso the glory of the true God, even in other lands, that the name of God may be glorified everywhere by those who cry: Alleluia!
Ikos 10: The holy Spyridon, the speedy helper and aid amid every necessity and sorrow, travelled to the city of Antioch with the other pastors, where the Emperor Constantius was held fast by sickness. The holy hierarch touched his head and restored his health; and we, marvelling at this miracle, cry out to thee:
Rejoice, thou whom an angel revealed in a dream to the emperor as a healer;
Rejoice, thou who, in thine old age, didst undertake a difficult journey for the sake of the love of God!
Rejoice, thou who, following the Saviour’s commandment, didst turn thine other cheek to the servant of the emperor who struck thee;
Rejoice, pillar of humility!
Rejoice, thou who by thy supplications healed the emperor who besought thee with tears;
Rejoice, for by thine own meekness thou didst admonish the servant and change his unmerciful character!
Rejoice, for thou didst teach the emperor piety and loving kindness;
Rejoice, for, despising the treasures of earth, thou didst not accept the emperor’s gold!
Rejoice, for thou didst turn thine own disciple, Tryphillius, away from passion for earthly goods and didst make of him a vessel of the grace of God;
Rejoice, for at thine arrival in Alexandria the idols toppled!
Rejoice, thou to whom even the demons submit;
Rejoice, for thou didst convert many from idolatry!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker !
Kontaktion 11: Angelic chanting was audible when thou didst offer up thine evening prayers in church, O holy hierarch Spyridon, yet there was none serving with thee. And the inhabitants of the city, hearing this marvellous chanting, entered the church and, seeing no one, chanted with the heavenly hosts: Alleluia!
Ikos 11: Thou wast a radiant sun for the world and a conversor with angels on earth, depart for the mansions of heaven, where thou prayest for the world before the throne of the Master. And we who live on earth cry out to thee:
Rejoice, for, while yet alive, thou didst serve with the angels;
Rejoice, thou who didst listen to the hymnody of the archangels!
Rejoice, visible image of our transfiguration;
Rejoice, for, when there was not enough oil in church, God filled the lamps with an abundance thereof for thy sake!
Rejoice, lamp of divine radiance;
Rejoice, vessel of the grace of God, which, like oil, filleth thy soul to overflowing!
Rejoice, wellspring which can never dry up, who ever pourest forth torrents of grace upon all;
Rejoice, thou at whom even the angels are amazed!
Rejoice, thou who chastised the disobedience of the deacon in church;
Rejoice, thou who deprived of voice and speech one who was enamored of his own voice!
Rejoice, for, during the burning heat, a dew which suddenly descended from on high cooled thy sacred head;
Rejoice, thou who didst foresee the approach of thy repose in this sign!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 12: The protection and refuge of all the faithful during thy lifetime, O holy hierarch, thou hast not left us orphans since thy repose; for God, abrogating the laws of nature, hath preserved thy holy relics incorrupt for the strengthening of the Orthodox Faith and piety, and as a token of immortality. And glorifying Him, we cry out: Alleluia!
Ikos 12: We hymn thee, O holy hierarch of God, for thou has astonished the world with the miracles which flow from thy holy relics. For all who approach them and kiss them with faith receive the goodly things for which they ask. And glorifying God Who hath given thee strength, hath crowned thee with the wreath of incorruption, and worketh through thee, we cry out to thee:
Rejoice, thou who in time of famine didst appear to the ship-captains and didst command them to supply the people with food;
Rejoice, thou who gavest sight to the blind who approached thy holy relics with faith!
Rejoice, thou who healed the youth of his incurable ailment;
Rejoice, thou who didst drive the demon from a woman, making her well!
Rejoice, chosen general of Kerkyra;
Rejoice, for thou expelled the horde of muslim infidels and didst sink their ships in the deep!
Rejoice, thou whom they beheld surrounded by a crowd of angels, holding a sword in thy right hand, and who caused the enemy to tremble;
Rejoice, thou who didst prevent the governor from building a church for himself in which to have mass celebrated with unleavened bread!
Rejoice, thou who didst bring upon the Venetian governor a cruel death;
Rejoice, thou who by lightning didst cause his portrait to burn in his palace in Venice!
Rejoice, thou who hast put to shame the apostasy and false teaching of the West;
Rejoice, thou who hast confirmed for men that only the Orthodox Faith is true and leads to salvation!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontaktion 13: Accepting this our entreaty, O all-wondrous holy hierarch of Christ, father Spyridon, deliver us from all tribulations and assaults, strengthen the hierarchy of our Church against all heresies and schisms, grant us remission of our transgressions, and rescue from everlasting death all who for thy sake cry out to God: Alleluia!
The above Kontaktion is said three times, then continue with the below:
Ikos 1: Adorned from thy youth with all the virtues, and emulating the angels of Christ in thy life, O holy hierarch Spyridon, thou didst truly show thyself to be His friend. And beholding thee, the heavenly man and earthly angel, we cry out to thee with tenderness:
Rejoice, mind contemplating the mysteries of the All-holy Trinity;
Rejoice, thou who hast been enriched by the all-radiant splendour of the Spirit!
Rejoice, beacon of great brilliance;
Rejoice, thou who didst enlighten thy mind with dispassion!
Rejoice, thou who didst love true simplicity and serenity from childhood;
Rejoice, adornment of chastity!
Rejoice, inexhaustible torrent of love;
Rejoice, for thou didst emulate the hospitality of Abraham!
Rejoice, for in an abundance of love thou didst open the doors of thy house to all;
Rejoice, intercessor for the poor!
Rejoice, thou before whom men offer reverence;
Rejoice, for thou art the abode of the All-Holy Spirit!
Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Kontakion 1: O holy hierarch and wonderworker Spyridon, who hast been glorified by the Lord! Celebrating now thy most honoured memory, with tenderness we cry out to thee, as one who art able greatly to assist us with Christ Who hath glorified thee: From all misfortunes and evil deliver us, that we may cry out to thee in thanksgiving: Rejoice, O Spyridon, most miraculous wonderworker!
Prayer: O all-blessed and holy hierarch Spyridon, thou great favourite of Christ and most glorious wonderworker! Standing in heaven with the choirs of angels before the throne of God, look down with merciful gaze upon the people who stand here before thee and beseech thy mighty aid. Entreat the compassion of God Who loveth mankind, that He judge us not according to our iniquities, but that He deal with us according to His mercy. Ask for us of Christ our God a peaceful and undisturbed life, health of soul and body, bounty from the earth and abundance and prosperity in all things; and that we turn not the good things given us by our compassionate God to evil, but rather to His glory and the glorification of thine aid. Deliver all who approach God with unwavering faith from all retribution and from the assaults of the demons. Be thou a comforter for the grieving, a physician for the afflicted, a helper amid temptations, a shelter for the naked, an aid to the widowed, a defender of the orphaned, a nourisher of infants, a strengthener of the aged, a guide to travellers; and beg thou for all who are in need of thy mighty help all things which conduce to salvation, that, guided and protected by thy prayers, we may attain unto everlasting rest and with thee may glorify God Who is worshiped in the Holy Trinity: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen
Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear brothers and sisters, 
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.
Dear brothers and sisters, S prazdnikom! Happy feast!
Dear brothers and sisters,
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.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Many thanks to all who contributed to today
