Dear brothers and sisters,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let us be joyful, strong and unified.

God is with us! Съ нами Богъ!

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our next Wessex Liturgy will be celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence, Market Place, Warminster, on Saturday 9^thFebruary, 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 16^thFebruary. 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 23^rd February: Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare: the last day for eating meat)
• Sunday 2^nd March: Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare – the eve of the fast)
• Monday 3^rd March: Clean Monday, first day of Great Lent
• Monday 7^th April (25^th March old-style): the Annunciation
• Sunday 9^th March: First Sunday of the Great Lent – the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
• Sunday 16^th 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 30^th March: Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. St John of the Ladder
• Sunday 6^th April: Fifth Sunday of Great Lent. St Mary of Egypt
• Saturday 12^th April: Lazarus Saturday (Warminster Liturgy)
• Sunday 13^th April: Palm Sunday
• Thursday 17^th April: Holy and Great Thursday – Institution of the Holy Communion of the Lord’s Most Holy Body and Blood
• Friday 18^th April: Holy and Great Friday of the Lord’s Passion
• Saturday 19^th April: Holy and Great Saturday
• Sunday 20^th April: Sunday of Pascha
• Saturday 26^th April: Thomas Saturday (Cheltenham Liturgy)

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

In Christ –  Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

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.

Next Sunday’s variables may be found at… https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u6-U76t9WMvM6Yf8LOS-dFxtlEN4YzaH/view

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.

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters: s prazdnikom! 

Greetings on this glorious feast of the Conception of the Mother of God. Our joyful Liturgy was not only a thanksgiving to the Lord, but a worthy offering to the Mother of God as we celebrated the very beginning of her life, through God’s gift of a long-awaited child to her parents, Joachim and Anna.

We must always remember that in her conception, the Mother of God was no different to us, so that the fulness of humanity could be redeemed through her Child. She was the mediatrix of the Incarnation as one who was no different to each of us in our humanity, even though different to us in the fact that she did not sin.

The glory of the Mother of God lies not in the belief that she was somehow miraculously protected from sin, and the ability to do so, but rather in her wonderful and victorious conscious rejection of sin, and her battle against temptation, in a life in which her will was aligned with that of God; a life in which she had free will and choice: choosing to fight temptation and reject sin; choosing to struggle and labour for holiness and righteousness; choosing selfless dedication to God; choosing to cultivate sacrificial love for Him – serving Him, by choice in becoming the Handmaiden of the Lord, and the Gate of our Salvation. 

Her obedience was not imposed upon her as an involuntary pre-programmed inevitability, but a voluntary human choice; her holiness was the fruit of that choice; her place in our salvation was through a sacrificial and selfless choice: a choice that was free, willing and conscious.

As the Hodegitria, “She who shows us the way”, let us choose to not only turn to her intercession and merciful care, but follow her example – in thought, in word, and in deed.

This will lead us forward on our spiritual journey, not only through the remaining days of Advent to the feast of the Nativity, but also to the eternal glory of the Heavenly Jerusalem: the Kingdom of God.

Many thanks to those who contributed to such a glorious Liturgy, particularly to our musical visitors from Bristol’s Ukrainian Orthodox parish. May the blessings and graces of the Mother of God reward your labours.

We must extend our congratulations to Maxim on making his first communion. Many, blessed years!

Having shared the feast of St Nicholas with Father Luke, in Llanelli on Thursday, it was a blessing to honour him with the akathist gathered around his icon in Nazareth House in the evening, and then to venerate his icon that had been placed in his original tomb in Myra, in modern-day Turkey, at today’s Liturgy.

Today’s celebration followed a visit to Cheltenham, yesterday, where we pleased to follow Liturgy with a litia to St Nicholas, where the children showed their knowledge of the Wonderworker.

Hierarch of Christ, Nicholas, pray to God for us!

As you are aware, with holiday timetables limiting public transport,  there will be no weekday services in the Oratory this week, though I will be there at 15:00, on Saturday to chant vespers. 

I am happy to hear confessions beforehand, as well as after the service. Given Father Mark’s absence next weekend, there will only be very limited time for confessions. Those who confessed in preparation for this week’s Liturgy are blessed to commune next weekend, unless a specific need for confession arises.

Please pray for Father Mark, matushka Alla and Yuriy as they travel to Minsk, and for Vlad and Daniel, as he travels to Romania, and for Joseph on his trip to Arizona. May guardian angels of peace protect them and speed them on their way!

We look forward to our Nativity services in the Oratory Church, and will have a bring-and-share lunch after Liturgy on Tuesday 7 January, and an extended festive trapeza in St John’s after Liturgy on Sunday 12 January, presuming I can get confirmation of the booking from a silent booking-secretary.

Monday 6 January: Christmas Eve (Rozhdestvenskyi Sochelnik) 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.

Next Sunday will be the celebration of the Holy Forefathers of Christ, and the Liturgy variables may be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aoaY0o_W5Yz99it3y9RTKFIvDM__-siw/view

Wishing you a good struggle as the Nativity Fast continues.

Asking your forgiveness, for Christ’s sake.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

We must begin by congratulating the newly-enlightened servants of God, Maxim and Joseph on their baptism after yesterday’s Liturgy: the community’s first, and presumably last adult baptism in St John’s. We pray that God may grant them many, blessed years!

The weekend’s services were blessed by the presence of a small relic of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, and we were very happy to have this blessing: in Splott, in Warminster and in Canton.

God’s Grace continues to touch the world through the relics of those who became living temples of the Holy Spirit, and tabernacles of His glory, and to be able to worship in the presence of the relics of the saints is a great blessing and inspiration.

Holy Glorious Apostle, Andrew the First-Called, pray to God for us!

This week will be a quiet week, in which I will catch up with some medical appointments before western Christmas.

As I forewarned last week, I will assist Father Luke as he celebrates St Nicholas’s feast this Thursday: one of the Llanelli altar-feasts.

Having travelled to Cardiff after Liturgy, I will head to Nazareth House, where will chant the akathist to St Nicholas. Confessions will be heard after the service and on Friday in the Oratory, where will chant the Advent moleben at 15:00.

This lovely service of supplication, centred on the canons of the forefeast of the Nativity has been a great blessing and encouragement during the Fast.

Next Saturday sees the Cardiff clergy serve in Cheltenham, where the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 in Prestbury United Reformed Church, Deep St, Cheltenham GL52 3AN.

We will enjoy lunch together after the service, and welcome all who are able to join our little Gloucestershire community.

Again, as announced, with the oddities and limitations of transport in western Christmas week, I will not venture onto the very limited public transport, and will spend the week close to Lazarica, in Bournville, so as to be able to pray in church during the week. I will return to Cardiff on Saturday 28 December.

As Father Mark the younger is away that weekend, the opportunity for morning confessions on Sunday 29 December will be extremely limited as I have to perform the proskomedia.

Just a reminder that ALL of our Nativity week services are in the Oratory Church, in Splott – not in St John’s.

Monday 6 January: Christmas Eve (Rozhdestvenskyi Sochelnik) 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.

We will have a bring-and-share lunch after Nativity Liturgy on Tuesday 7 January, and we will have an extended trapéza on Sunday 12 January, welcoming hot food. Please let Branka know what you are able to bring.

Next Sunday will be the feast of the Conception by St Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the variables may be found at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bq-LyGBGgL3Oiwd6KtvqJxiaYp5LEUUe/view

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

Having been buffeted and soaked for several days, it was lovely to travel to Cardiff on such a beautiful, sunny morning, and after doubts about numbers to still muster around thirty locals for Liturgy, despite the lack of parishioners from Gwent and the English side of the Severn. Father Mark and I drove into the most beautiful blue and fiery orange sunset on our westward home journey, and it was hard to believe that a storm had passed through a day earlier.

Thanks to all who contributed to our celebration.

When we gather next week, we look forward to baptising Joseph and Max after Liturgy, and welcoming them to the Holy Mysteries, as we did today with Sasha’s twins Alexander and Danil for their first Holy Communion in the parish. Glory to God!

This week’s services will be on Thursday and Friday in the Oratory Church at 15:00. In a reversal of the usual pattern, we will celebrate Great Vespers for the feast of St Andrew on Thursday, venerating the house’s relic of the Holy First called Apostle, and the Advent Moleben on Friday.

Confessions will be heard after Thursday’s service and BEFORE Friday’s, given that I have to travel to Warminster. Please let me know if you require confession on Friday.

To give a little advance notice, the following week, the feast of St Nicholas falls on Thursday 19^th (6^th Old Style) and as I will assist Father Luke with the altar feast Liturgy in Llanelli in the morning, I will not be in Cardiff until later in the afternoon than usual. The akathist to St Nicholas will be chanted in Nazareth House at 18:00, and I will then hear confessions.

Given the significant change to public transport in western Christmas week, there will be no weekday services, as already long travelling days (typically six hours) will grow significantly longer.

On Saturday 28^th December, there will be an early celebration of the Ninth Hour and Vespers, in the Oratory Church at 14:00, followed by confessions. Given that Father Mark the younger will be away in Minsk, there will only be VERY limited time for confessions in the morning, as I will have to celebrate proskomedia. Those who confess in preparation to commune the previous Sunday, will be blessed to commune the following week, unless something arises and they need confession before they next commune.

Our Orthodox Nativity services will be in the Oratory Church in Swinton Street, so that all services of the week can be in the same location.

Monday 6 January: Christmas Eve (Rozhdestvenskyi Sochelnik) 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.

The arrival of January is uncomfortably close, and we are currently disappointed by the lack of any move forward on the question of where we will worship in February, so we may have to look at options less central to the city.

We have been very fortunate to have been so central for the history of the parish thus far, and so convenient for students, but this may change as our options become limited. Please pray fervently for God’s guidance. Perhaps we are simply not praying hard enough! With tomorrow being a feast of the Kursk-Root Icon, we should all turn to the Mother of God with renewed dedication and prayer!

I am very grateful that Father Sebastian has already suggested that the portable shrines that form or iconostasis should be kept at the Oratory Church until we have a place of worship where they may remain in place, and these would be then used during our weekday services, which we are pleased to be able to celebrate in St Alban’s.

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

I hope that the first days of the Nativity Fast have been ones of concerted and concentrated prayer and reflection as we begin our spiritual journey towards the celebration of the Saviour’s birth, and trust that our brothers and sisters have been able to put aside earthly cares through fasting, to focus on what is needful in the spiritual life.

After services for the first two days of the Fast in the Oratory Church, and Liturgy in Lazarica in Bournville with the chance to collect much-awaited prayer and service-books, it was a joy to celebrate the first Sunday of the fast in Cardiff, with so many confessing and communing. Congratulations to all who partook of the Holy Mysteries!

I was particularly glad to have the support of Father Mark the Younger, freeing me for extensive confessions, and – indeed – for completing the Liturgy, after my blood pressure seemed to have very unusually and rather unexpectedly dropped. Thank you Father!

Having discussed plans with Joseph and Maximilian, it is our intention to baptise them after Liturgy on Sunday 15 December. Max will be named for the Holy New-Martyr, St Maxim Sandovich, and Joseph for the Holy and Righteous Patriarch. Please keep them in your prayers.

Tomorrow, the eve of the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God in the Temple, we will chant Great Vespers in the Oratory Church at 15:00, with the Liturgy being celebrated the following morning at 10:00 in Llanelli. As Masha, our usual weekday chanter for Liturgies is away, and a funeral has meant that Father Luke’s chanter for the feast also has to be away, I will fulfil this role for Father, so that the Liturgy can be celebrated. As usual, the Liturgy is in the Chapel of St David and St Nicholas, in the garden of Father Luke’s home, at 11 New Rd, Dafen, Llanelli SA14 8LS.

There will be afternoon services at 15:00 in the Oratory Church on Thursday and Friday: the Advent Moleben on Thursday, and Great Vespers for the feast of the Holy Great-Martyr Catherine on Friday. I will, of course be glad to hear confessions after the service, and ask that any requests for evening confessions in Nazareth House are made today or tomorrow, so that I can give Sister Marie notice.

As many of you will be aware, there are some fasting differences between calendars, and we simply ask that the faithful stick to the calendar that they ordinarily use, mindful of some differences. As previously stressed, when we have the consolations of wine and oil, or fish, we should be honouring the saints whose feasts have these blessings – doing something additional in prayers and devotions to celebrate the memory of the saints.

Using the St Herman Calendar, as a pretty typical norm for fasting, this week’s order is below…

• Monday 4 Dec – Prophet Obadiah: strict fast.
• Tuesday 5 Dec – St Proclus – Forefeast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple: wine and oil.
• Wednesday 4 Dec – Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple: fish, wine and oil.
• Thursday 5 Dec – Holy Apostle Archippus: wine and oil.
• Friday 6 Dec – St Amphilochios of Iconium: strict fast.
• Saturday 7 Dec – Great Martyr Catherine: fish, wine and oil.
• Sunday 8 Dec – Hieromartyr Clement of Rome – fish, wine and oil.

I hope that parishioners are finding spiritual reading to nourish the soul and focus the mind during the Fast, and I was glad to hear parishioners talking about the works of St Ignaty Brianchaninov, readily available to buy in English translation. (Amazon link only for ease of information, not to necessarily encourage purchasing form the said retailer!)

The Field: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Field-Cultivating-Salvation-Complete-Ignatius/dp/0884653765/ref=sr_1_1

The Refuge: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Refuge-Anchoring-Complete-Ignatius-Brianchaninov/dp/088465429X/ref=sr_1_2

The Arena: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arena-Guidelines-Spiritual-Monastic-Complete/dp/0884652874/ref=sr_1_6

Harbor for Our Hope: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harbor-Our-Hope-acquiring-Suffering/dp/0884654222/ref=sr_1_9

Other excellent resource, always valuable for the spiritual life are the Spiritual Psalter of St Ephraim the Syrian, and the Paradise of the Holy Fathers (available online as well as easily ordered in book form). The second volume of the Paradise addresses the spiritual life in thematic chapters.

As posted on WhatsApp, the excellent and soul-profiting works of St Paisios of the Holy Mountain are available in English translation for White Horse Wares – the source of our church candles.

Please endeavour to read something spiritual each day, and to add to your prayers.

In our prayers, among the Orthodox, we continue to pray for the newly departed Archbishop Peter, and for the newly-departed Maureen, of the Father Dean’s Anglican Parish in Butetown – also holding her children Daniel and Nicole, as well as the whole family in our prayers. She will be greatly missed by the St Mary’s clergy and parishioners. May the Lord God remember her in His Kingdom.

Praying for you struggle well and pray fervently in the week ahead, and asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark