The great Romanian theologian Dumitru Stăniloae describes the characteristics of the saint, but these are spiritual characteristics to which we all must aspire, as baptism calls all to holiness: all to become saints.
Thank you all who contributed to today’s Liturgy, and a joyful celebration of the feast of St Seraphim, and thank you to our parishioners who sent greetings from their holidays in Russia and Ukraine!Continue reading →
Troparion, Tone 4: O Most Holy Theotokos, / we thy servants, having thee as an Indestructible wall / and a fountain of miracles, the power of our enemies is overthrown. / Therefore, we entreat thee: / “Give peace to thy city and great mercy to our souls.”
Kontakion, Tone 4: As a sign from thy holy Icon, / thou didst grant a marvellous victory over the enemies of thy city; / therefore, we cry out to thee: “Rejoice, O Virgin, the boast of Christians.”
In the XV century, in the territory of the Pskov principality, there was a certain village called Chirsk, or Chersk, where, in the church of the Nativity of Christ, there was a Hodēgḗtria Icon of the Mother of God. In 1420, during the reign of Tsar Basil I of Moscow, and when Archbishop Simeon occupied the See of Novgorod and Pskov, a great disaster broke out over the Pskov region – the plague. People were despondent and sought solace and comfort by praying to God and the Queen of Heaven for help.Continue reading →
A thankyou to all who made Sunday such a sociable gathering, as we congratulated our two Olga’s on their nameday. Thank you to each of our Olgas for the refreshments served in the churchyard. I hope that, weather permitting, we can organise some refreshments each week, as the late start to Liturgy means that it is quite late when we break our communion fast.Continue reading →
This coming weekend, we will celebrate the Troeruchitsa (Three-Handed) Icon of the Mother of God, which is associated with the healing of the great Church Father and hymnographer, St John of Damascus.Continue reading →
The Canon for the Apparition of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Tone 4.
Ode 1, Irmos: I shall open my mouth, * and be filled with the Spirit, * and utter discourse to the Queen and Mother; * and be seen radiantly keeping festival, * joyfully praising her wonders.