Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings at the end of a joyful day which saw a few of us in Wessex make a pilgrimage to Shaftesbury, where we visited the site of the former abbey, where the relics of King Edward the Martyr were enshrined until the desecration of the great religious house and its dissolution at the reformation. Mercifully, through the grace and mercy of God, the Royal-Martyr’s relics were found during the excavation of the abbey by John Wilson-Claridge in 1931, and enshrined in the former ROCOR Monastery of St Edward, at Brookwood, in 1984.

The abbey ruins, surrounded by green lawns and herb and flower-filled borders are an oasis of tranquility, and we were overjoyed to be able to offer prayers to St Edward-the-Martyr close to the place where his relics were found, and the site of his medieval shrine. Having been greeted with warmth and friendly enthusiasm, we were invited to arrange and “after hours” pilgrimage, and look forward to returning and solemnly offering prayers in a holy place of as once great renown. Many thanks to the wonderful staff. 

In the evening, we enjoyed our end of month gathering on Porphyrios’s narrow boat, chanting compline with the canon to St Edward chanted after the supplicatory canon to the Mother of God. We enjoyed an evening of conversation and fellowship, with a lovely supper ending a blessed and grace-filled day.

Holy Right-Believing King, Edward the Martyr, pray to God for us!

Despite half-term, our Liturgy was well attended, even though the kliros and sanctuary were reduced to a minimum. We are grateful to all who contributed to our celebration, particularly for all who facilitated such a quick packing away and rearrangement of furniture. This was very much appreciated and we need this to continue.

As I will only be returning to Wales tomorrow, there will be no celebration of vespers in Cardiff in the afternoon. After a day preparing for our meeting,I will be in Cardiff on Thursday, and will celebrate the ninth hour and vespers in St Alban’s church at 14:30. Confessions will be arranged around the service. If required, I will hear evening confessions in Nazareth House. Please email me by 18:00 on Wednesday and be clear if you cannot confess until the evening.

Sunday will see our General parish meeting, with the elections of our new starosta and senior sister.

Deacon Mark and I have been struck by the lack of realisation of the responsibilities and tasks assumed by the starosta, and feel that parishioners should be made aware of serious duties that can be time consuming and sometimes require considerable input.

• Maintaining the church building and property: This may include overseeing cleaning and repairs, as well as ensuring the security of the church.

• Financial oversight: Church wardens/starostas assist the treasurer in managing the church’s budget, collect donations, and ensure financial accountability.

• Supporting the clergy: They may assist the clergy with administrative tasks, .

• Coordinating volunteers: Church wardens/starostas play a key role in recruiting and coordinating volunteers for various tasks required in delivering services and maintaining an efficient parish life.

• Liaison with the community: They may serve as a point of contact for community partners to promote the parish, represent the parish at community events. Liaising with local churches to arrange and schedule their use for services as needed

• Liaison with the congregation: They may serve as a point of contact for parishioners and address their concerns.

• Church Council: The Church wardens/starosta will occupy a seat on the parish council and vote on parish matters outside of the AGM

• Traditions and Protocols: As the clergy are unable to stop/interrupt services the Church warden/starosta will assist in ensuring those in attendance adhere to church traditions and protocols during services.

• Contact and welcoming: The Church warden/starosta will be a contact for general queries which do not require the clergy, eg service times, events etc. They should also welcome visitors and newcomers to the parish.

• Legal and Administrative duties: They may be involved in tasks like creating reports, attending meetings, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.

• Smooth Running: They will have oversight of the items which require regular ordering to ensure that services and specific feasts run smoothly. Eg. ordering wine, candles, palm crosses, candle guards etc

• Attendance: The Churchwarden/starosta should be present at the majority of services to ensure consistency and stability in their role

Both Branka and Menna were nominated by various individuals to both positions, with Menna accepting the nomination for starosta, and Branka accepting that of senior sister. Another sister declined candidature for the position of senior sister, having been nominated by various individuals, but kindly offered support and guidance, and her considerable practical knowledge and expertise.

As such, the meeting will be asked to approve  these sisters and ratify their assumption of positions of office. Regular baptised and communicant members of our parish,  who will be absent next weekend, but wish to communicate  their approval are asked to message our treasurer, Olga Azzopardi via WhatsApp, or request her email details from me or Father Deacon Mark (rather than our disclosing it here!).

May we have any items for the agenda by Wednesday, please.

Due to the pressures of time, may we keep refreshments on Sunday to tea/coffee and biscuits/baked goods., allowing people to break their fast and replenish their energy reserves before the service?

As we look forward to Deacon Mark’s ordination of Wednesday 17^th July, we would like to remind those who have requested places on the bus to give their deposit of £10 to Olga McKellar, and to do so as soon as possible. We have been much encouraged by the numbers hoping to travel from South Wales, the west of England, and perhaps even from Poole. This will be a great blessing, and will see much of the parish travel to the cathedral for this momentous occasion in the life of our community.

We hope that those who are away for various half-term breaks have a restful and relaxing time, praying for our travellers heading for France, the Lake District, Scotland and wherever else the week may have taken them.

May God bless you.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

The godly-wise women with myrrh followed after Thee in haste; but Him Whom they sought with tears as dead, they worshipped joyfully as the living God, and they brought unto Thy disciples, O Christ, the good tidings of the mystical Pascha.

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Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is Risen! Христосъ воскресе!

In greeting you all with the continuing Paschal season, our greetings go beyond South Wales and the west of England, to our parishioners who are abroad at the moment – in Morocco, Russia, Montenegro and wherever else our faithful are in these Paschal days.

The joy and triumph of the resurrection continues to resound through our services, with the recurring words of Christ is Risen echoing as we approach the victory of the resurrection from different perspectives… from that of the apostles and St Thomas, the late comer; then through the experience of the Myrrh-Bearing women, whom we remembered yesterday, together with the Noble Joseph and the Righteous Nicodemus.

What a perfect example of Christian discipleship and devotion we see in their enduring witness: supporting the Lord and the twelve during His earthly ministry; following Christ as He carried the Cross; standing by the Cross as all but one of the disciples fled; and then coming to the garden Tomb at the break of day bearing sweet-smelling ointments. Such was their love, devotion and sense of duty to the Lord, that despite the darkness, confusion and fear that had descended on them as they saw the Light go out in their lives. They never gave up on the Lord, despite seeing His death on the Cross and His lifeless body laid in the Tomb.

Their enduring devotion led them through their darkness, and in the dawn of the first Pascha their faithfulness led them to the rising of the Sun Who never sets. Despite the confusion and fear that must have gripped their lives in that short time after the Saviour’s death on the Cross, they did not hide behind locked door like the twelve, and as a result discovered that Christ their hope had trampled down death by death and was risen. Devotion and faithfulness led them from darkness to light, and in the place of death and corruption they discovered the Unwaning Light.

Let us all emulate their devotion and fulfilment of duty in their unwavering love for the Saviour, and trust that this will lead us through the uncertainties and fears of life, for with them, we know that “from the tomb today, as from a bridal chamber, Christ hath shone forth…”.

Thanks to all who contributed to our Liturgy, and thanks also to our Cheltenham faithful who gathered in Prestbury for Liturgy and a panikhida on Saturday. As we celebrate the Myrrh-Bearing Women, our thanks especially go to our devoted parish-sisters, who work tirelessly for our communities.

Tomorrow, will see the ninth hour and vespers chanted at the shrine of St Alban, in Swinton Street, marking the eve of the feast of the translation of the relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari. The office will be chanted at 14:30, and I will be very happy if any of you are able to join me, but remind you that services are celebrated on behalf of the whole community, wherever the faithful are at times of worship.

Vespers will also be celebrated in St Alban’s at the same time on Thursday, and I will be available to hear confessions before and immediately after the service. If anyone requires a later confession, which will need to be in Nazareth House, please contact me immediately, so that I can arrange to visit in the evening. Requests for confessions in St Alban’s by Wednesday at 18:00, please.

Saturday, being the fourth in the month will see a quite informal local pilgrimage-visit to the holy well at Penrhys, in the Rhondda, with midday prayers at the statue on the site of the former Cistercian monastic grange, and a moleben at the holy well, which sadly sounds like it is in need of some tlc and attention. This may be a prompt for a follow-up visit, in which we offer the Mother of God our time and energy in caring for a place that was so important in the spiritual consciousness of Welsh Christianity in the Middle-Ages.

For information regarding the location, please see: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Our+Lady+of+Penrhys/@51.6414181,-3.4433783,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x47805798f145f061?sa=X&ved=1t:2428&ictx=111

The nearest station is Ystrad, with trains from Queen St. The walk from there to Penrhys takes around thirty minutes, and should in itself be part of the pilgrimage-experience for anyone availing themselves of this route.

I hope that at least a few souls will join me in honouring the Mother of God at the site of her ancient shrine.

Those of you who were at Liturgy will have heard the now official news, after Vladyka’s edict, that Deacon Mark will be ordained to the sacred priesthood in our cathedral on Wednesday 17 July, the feast of Royal Martyrs, the altar-feast of the lower church.

We very much hope that as many parishioners as possible will be able to be in the cathedral that day, supporting their devoted deacon as he submits to our need for a second priest, and offers himself to serve our Great-High priest in ministering to His flock. A bus will carry those wishing to make the journey to London for this very special day, and we would appreciate indications of those who wish to attend the feast as soon as possible, so that the size of bus can be confirmed. Once the bus is booked we will not be able to change plans. So… so please communicate your interest.

As you know, we will hold our General Meeting the Sunday after next, 2^nd June, and in the course of the meeting will elect parishioners to the office of starosta and senior-sister. We have had nominations for both positions, with several individuals actually having been nominated for both posts.

Any further nominations should be received by next Sunday. Thanks to those who have taken the time to do so, and for having spoken with those whom they consider to be worthy, and capable candidates for these obediences. We would also welcome items for the agenda.

Before we know it, the summer will have passed and the March for Life will be held in London. An increasing number of parishioners have attended over the last few years, and the considerable Orthodox presence was clearly valued and appreciated last year.

This year’s march is on Saturday 7^th September. I hope Karen doesn’t mind me directing those interested in her direction without having checked with her. Last year’s Cardiff attendees travelled with our friends from St Alban’s, in Splott, and it would be good if this could be repeated.

Please endeavour to keep the Pascal season and the feasts, wherever you are in the wide diaspora of our parish, and if you are able to gather together for prayer, this is a great blessing and sign of community in the Risen Lord.

May God bless you all!

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is Risen! Христосъ воскресе! Hristos a înviat! Χριστός ἀνέστη!

After the joy of Bright Week and our celebration of Thomas Sunday, we now enter the second week of Pascha, with the need to maintain the joy of the Resurrection each day of this season.

Saturday saw a wonderful Liturgy in Warminster, and though we were few in number, our celebration was joyful and prayerful, and the day was blessed with beautiful weather and sun blazing through the windows of the Chapel of St Lawrence.

It was lovely to be in Wiltshire on such a glorious spring weekend, beginning with a lovely evening beneath apple-blossom and surrounded by birdsong. Thanks to our Wessex brothers and sisters for their hospitality, kindness and dedication.

Our Sunday congregation was small compared to our numbers for Pascha, but we had a wonderful Liturgy, with a great sense of peace and joy. Thanks to all who contributed in every way.

Were able to congratulate Deacon Mark, George and Yuriy on their recent name-days, with Many Years being chanted after a litia to St Mark the Evangelist and the Holy Great-Martyr George.

In future weeks, it would be appreciated if we could streamline the setting up and putting away in St John’s, with the lack of help before the Liturgy sometimes creating pressure. I hope that our younger brothers can be rather more involved in this initial part of our Sundays.

Might we also suggest that our younger people need to be rather more involved on the domestic side of Sundays in St John’s: cleaning, sweeping, washing up and drying up would be a good start. I’m afraid some of our seasoned sisters are taken for granted, and after cooking, baking, preparing trapeza, and driving very long distances in some cases… never getting to sit down to eat or drink. I would like to see them getting to the table and having a rest, whilst energetic youth takes to the kitchen for a welcome change. Let’s share the labours of parish life and make things a little more fair and reasonable, and not be shy to ask if anything needs doing.

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Further to announcements in church, our General Parish Meeting will be held after Liturgy on Sunday 2 June. Elections will be held for the offices of starosta and senior-sister, and nominations for these positions are requested, and candidates should be communicant members of the parish and in good standing within the community. Before nominating candidates, please ascertain their willingness to stand for office. Over the course of the coming week, we will clarify the duties of each respective parish office, so that prospective officers can be sure that these can be fulfilled.

Some confusion has been caused by the initial announcement, and I would like to clarify that until the forthcoming election, it is only the position of starosta / warden that is vacant. The position of senior sister remains occupied by virtue of election by the parishioners, and our present senior remains the only elected officer within the parish.

After nominations for each position, the parish meeting will see the election of both starosta and senior sister, so that terms of office commence at the same time.

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I am happy to announce that Father Sebastian has welcomed us to use the Oratory Church in Swinton Street on weekdays, and this week will see the chanting of a memorial service for radonitsa tomorrow (Tuesday) at 14:30 and Thursday will see the celebration of the 9^th Hour, Vespers and litia for the departed at 14:30 on Thursday. I hope that we may begin with these extra services, as well as on the first Saturday of the month – the only free Saturday at the moment, given the Liturgies in our missions and our pilgrimages.

Some of our young brothers have already used the Oratory as a place of prayer, with the enshrined relics of St Alban being a welcome place for Orthodox prayer when St John’s is inaccessible due to weekday use.

I know that the time may only allow a few parishioners who are free in the day to attend, but the need is for conciliar parish prayer as often as possible, and part of the initial possibility is “when and where”. Services are always celebrated on behalf of all members of the parish, whether they can be present or not, and prayers are offered for the whole community, whether this is at Liturgy, the services of the Horologion, molebens or memorials.

We can hopefully build up more regular common prayer throughout the week, whether in Cardiff or in the Wessex part of our community, and will investigate the possibilities for evening worship, possibly in parish homes. This will be greatly aided by the presence of capable readers in our community, and we will be concentrating on their training and development in the months ahead.

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On Saturday 25 May, this month’s rather low-key and informal pilgrimage will see a visit to Penrhys in the Rhondda. It was once an important centre of Welsh pilgrimage, with origins in the Celtic Age of Saints, before becoming a major medieval shrine to the Mother of God , before post-reformation obscurity, neglect and deprivation and 20^th century revival.

In our younger days, Father Luke and I were involved with the annual three day walking “Cistercian Way” pilgrimage that once made its way from Llantarnam Abbey to Penrhys, stopping at local places of worship and of Christian significance in the Valleys.

We very much want to reconnect with this holy place, and hope that we can make a beginning with a simple visit – meeting at the statue of Our Lady of Penrhys on the site of the former Franciscan monastic house at midday. We will say prayers there and hope that the weather allows for a picnic, before walking down the hillside to the well-chapel, where it would be wonderful to celebrate vespers. Please get in touch with me if you can make it, and would like to be part of this initial connection with our local shrine of the Mother of God.

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May I ask requests for this week’s Thursday confession by 18:00, on Wednesday, please, with the intention to hear confessions before and after the service in St Alban’s Church, though I will happily head to Nazareth House for any confessions required in the evening.

Please remember our students and scholars Alexander, Stefan, Tara, Kalina, Henry, Ambrose and Jelena in your prayers at what is a demanding time of the year, with assignments, assessments and exams – and remember George, who has interviews coming up. Prayers for travellers are offered for Alla, and for her parents, and for Marina, who is visiting family in Ukraine. Among the sick we pray for Metropolitan Longin, Bishop Alexander, the priests Spyridon and Anthony, Ludmilla, Brigid, Annamieke, Dymphna, Yiannis and Foevos. Please remember them all in your home commemorations.

Christ is Risen!

Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is Risen! Христосъ воскресе! Hristos a înviat! Χριστός ἀνέστη!

I hope that today has brought a brief rest for those who laboured greatly for the services of the Great and Holy Week and the Lord’s Pascha. For some, the labour was to sing, for others to read or serve, for others to give their time to cooking, baking, arranging flowers, sewing, and for some the tasks of setting up and putting away – the last seemingly menial, but necessary above most other things.

The first half of the week saw services in Llanelli, where the vesperal Liturgy of Great and Holy Thursday was celebrated in Father Luke’s home chapel, with the matins of Holy and Great Friday and the reading of the twelve passion Gospels in St Mary Butetown. We are very grateful to Father Dean and Georgina for the hospitality offered to us as St John’s was in use all evening.

Our choir and readers worked hard to make this a very beautiful service, as it was, despite the very minimal set up in the nave of St Mary’s.

Holy Friday saw our return to Canton, with the celebration of Vespers and the bringing out of the Shroud of the Saviour. Thanks to our reduced choir for again singing so well, as also in the evening Burial Service. We must also thank those who provided plain and simple fasting food for those needing a little sustenance before the long service and long journeys home for our Wessex parishioners.

On Holy Saturday, I was fortunate that matushka Alla brought me to Cardiff, where she and Svetlana arranged the flowers for the Paschal services, and the arrangements were plentiful and beautiful, with vases of flowers – some brought by parishioners and their offering at the Lord’s Tomb.

I was very blessed that Stefan and Mark gave hours of assistance setting up the church for the night service, allowing me to hear periodic confessions, including those of new visitors from Bristol and the west of England.

The service itself brought lots of new faces, as did the two services celebrated on Sunday morning and afternoon, after which Holy Communion was administered to those unable to be in church during the night for very good reason.

Our night services – with the triple procession around the church, matins with the Paschal Canon, many censings in different coloured vestments, the wonderfully encouraging Paschal Homily of St John Chrysostom, then our wonderful Liturgy – overflowed with the joy and triumph of the Lord’s Resurrection.

Sunday morning saw the chanting of the Paschal Hours, and the communing of young children, with communion also administered after our Paschal Vespers.

This week will be relatively quiet, with confessions on Thursday (requests by 18:00 on Wednesday pleased). As indicated before, we do not have access to Nazareth House chapel until 17:00. If anyone is able to attend I will make myself available to hear confessions on Friday morning, but will do so in St Alban’s Church. For those who are unaware, the Oratory Church contains relics of the Holy Protomartyr of Britain, St Alban, and is a place where some of us often go to pray before his relics and icon.

Friday afternoon will see my departure to Warminster, where our Bright Saturday Hours and Liturgy will be celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence at 10:30, with a bring-and-share lunch after our service. It was lovely to welcome Cardiff parishioners last month, and I hope the coming months will see others make the journey across the Severn from South Wales.

Thomas Sunday Liturgy will be in St John’s at 11:00, as usual, with a litia to St George and St Alexandra, giving us the opportunity to greet and congratulate our young parishioners George, Yuriy and Sasha (Alexandra), who celebrated their nameday, today. We wish them Many Years!

In Bright Week, it is a custom to replace our home prayers with the Paschal Hours, and I encourage you to pray the Paschal Canon each day, if you are able, echoing with the radiant joy of the Resurrection.

Christ is Risen!

Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

Here we are in the last week of the Great Fast, before the one-day ‘season’ of Lazarus Saturday leads us into Holy Week. Personally, and I think for most people, every year’s Great Fast passes at what seems an unbelievable pace, and this year is no different. The key question, is whether we have made any progress in the season of the fast, which we should appreciate as a great gift the Lord grants us through the Sacred Tradition of the Church, focussing heart and mind on the mystery of repentance, to prepare us to greet the celebration of His Resurrection with spiritual renewal.

Those for whom the Great Fast has been a period of spiritual labour, benefit and gain, must beware that they are not robbed at the eleventh hour, or squander all that has been gained and achieved through carelessness and pride.

Conversely, if Great Lent has not gone as we hoped, we need to remind ourselves of the words that we will hear in the Paschal Homily of St John Chrysostom, and be encouraged by them NOW whilst there is an ‘hour’ in which to act in this Lenten season, before the joy and triumph of the Paschal night…

”If anyone has laboured from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let him keep the feast. If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; for he shall suffer no loss. If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near without hesitation. If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let him not fear on account of his delay. For the Master is gracious and receives the last, even as the first; he gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has laboured from the first. He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious. He both honours the work and praises the intention.”

We know that these words of the Golden-Mouthed Great-Hierarch are simply an echo of the Lord’s parable, in which the labourer in the vineyard, hired at the end of the day receives the same pay as the one who laboured from its beginning. May they encourage us to be positive and focused, even if we have been careless until now!

The weekend was marked by a great gathering of the faithful of the southern part of the British region of our diocese, assembled around our bishop and concelebrating clergy for the mystery of Holy Unction, in the sobornal/conciliar form (hence ‘soborovanie’) celebrated during the Great Fast.

It was wonderful that we had twenty-nine people travel from Cardiff and Wessex, and the number of the faithful of the diocese gathered in Chiswick was greater than ever, with probably over three hundred souls being anointed by our bishop and his six priestly concelebrants, taking the end of the anointing beyond the dismissal of vespers, which it was necessary to chant after the service of the oil whilst the anointing quietly continued.

Glory to God, for the wonderful gathering, after which Vladika formally blessed our Wessex mission, having spent time with me, Lazarus, Elizabeth and Piran. We greatly appreciate the brief time at the end of the day, in which we were able to sit quietly with our chief-shepherd, who gave us words of encouragement and advice. Eis pola eti despota!

The following morning, our Sunday congregation seemed a bit dented, though we know we have a number of core-parishioners who are away at the moment, unwell or with children who are unwell.

However, it was an extremely beautiful, and peaceful Liturgy, that seemed a natural continuation of the Saturday Mystery of Holy Unction. We had more English chanting than usual, though Slavonic was in no way pushed out. Many thanks to the choir, and to Stefan who served as a solo oltarnik, showing how well he multitasks and juggles everything that needs doing… which is quite considerable.

It was lovely to sit down to soup, Serbian beans (Chilandar monastic recipe!) and other home-made food, as we do every week, but after the labours of Saturday, I think we all enjoyed hearty Slavic food even more before our afternoon journeys!

This week, Thursday will see confessions in Nazareth House, as usual, with 17:00 being the uaual starting time, though I will endeavour to cater for those needing an earlier slot after consultation with the Sisters. Emails by 18:00 on Wednesday, please, and asap for those unable to come after 17:00.

It is a of greenery for blessing at the beginning of Liturgy. It is our tradition to hold our ‘palms’ throughout the service, especially as we hear the Palm Sunday Gospel. Weather permitting, we will have a ‘krestny khod’ around St John’s at the end of Liturgy.

There is already a number of confession requests, so may I please stress how helpful it is to know who will be confessing.

Those who were at Sunday Liturgy will know that we have kulichy (Easter cakes) for sale, to raise funds for the parish, and they are £6. They will be available for sale at services from now until Pascha and will hopefully sell out!

Tonight will see our end of the month (though not quite the end, yet) in Warminster, so I am presently sitting typing looking our on a rather wet, cold and rainy Glastonbury, greatly looking forward to the wood-burner on Porphyrios’s narrow boat. Having celebrated the Sunday of St Mary of Egypt, yesterday, we will continue this celebration by venerating the memory of St Mary as the great ‘icon of repentance’ by chanting her canon as well as that to the Mother of God. I will endeavour to post her canon on our Facebook page, and encourage you all to turn to St Mary for inspiration, help and intercession.

We ask your prayers for the newly departed handmaiden of God, Nadezhda, and for her daughter Olga.

Also, we ask for prayers for our parishioner Marina, as she and her associates look to organise another Ukrainian Orthodox scouting gathering for the summer. Despite facing so many obstacles, last summer’s event went very well, and it is hoped that a similar gathering may bring hope and respite from the ongoing war and the misery people face. Please pray!

May God grant you a good struggle and strength in these last days of the fast and Holy Week.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

Sitting looking out onto a sunny morning, with buds breaking into leaf on the trees, it is good to reflect upon the blessings of the last week, in which I was able to visit our chancellor and the Wallasey parish.

It is always a joy to visit Wallasey, with our parish of St Elizabeth worshipping in one of the cemetery chapels, and “Little St Elizabeth’s” in the cellar of Father Paul and matushka Elizabeth’s home.

Both sanctuaries are saturated with prayer, and house many spiritually precious treasures from the Russian Imperial Embassy, from our ‘old’ cathedrals in Buckingham Palace Road and Emperor’s Gate, as well as items from our former northern parishes and the former podvorie chapel in Baron’s Court.

In Wallasey, we venerate icons that were venerated by St John the Wonderworker, our former hierarchs, and the Tsar-Martyr, and place our votive tapers in the very stands that they used in the former temples of the Church in Exile. It is particularly wonderful that the icons from the iconostasis of the episcopal podvorie grace the screen in St Elizabeth’s. I very much hope that our Cardiff and Wessex parishioners will make a pilgrimage to the Wirral and become acquainted with this wonderful parish and church, which is so representative of the particular spirituality our Church Abroad and its traditions.

I was glad to able to discuss parish life with our chancellor and look at ways to try and ease the limitations and restrictions that we continue to face as a parish without its own temple. We had time to discuss pilgrimages, youth activities, clergy formation, and the challenges of parish life.

The highpoint of my visit was the celebration of the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts.

Sadly, the lack of a place to reserve the Holy Gifts in Cardiff and limited church availability makes the celebration of this ancient Liturgy impossible at present, which is a great loss, given the beauty and solemnity of the service, in which the silent Great Entrance is made as the choir sing the anti-cherubikon

“Now the Powers of heaven with us invisibly do minister. For, lo! the King of Glory entereth now. Behold, the mystical sacrifice, all accomplished, is ushered in.”

Let us with faith and love draw near, that we may become partakers of life eternal. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Some commentators have speculated that the Great Entrance, possibly encountered by Crusaders in the Holy Land and Levant, may have been the inspiration of the grail procession in medieval romances, and its especially sacred character and solemnity are because these are not simply offered gifts, but the consecrated Holy Gifts themselves, in which the Lord is present.

It was good that Father Alban, from Durham, was also able to be with us, serving after a long journey, and before the long journey home.

Having returned to Wales on Wednesday, confessions were heard – as usual – in Nazareth house on Thursday, as they will be this week. Sister Aquinas has informed me that the daily mass will now be at 16:00, rather than in the morning, so confessions will ordinarily begin at 17:00. However, I will ask to hear some earlier for those with child-care and other responsibilities… just let me know of time limitations and I will speak to the Sisters. Emails by Wednesday at 18:00, please.

Friday saw an easterly journey for the first of our twice-monthly services in Wiltshire, where our Saturday Liturgy was celebrated in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster. We were pleased to be joined by some of our Cardiff locals for our celebration, with a litia for the departed at the end of the service, and a Lenten bring-and-share lunch.

Again, we are extremely grateful to Ian, chair of the chapel feoffees, who has supplemented the kitchen, providing a microwave-oven for us to heat food for the faithful. Given journeys from Poole and Cardiff, as well as the west of England, this is greatly appreciated. We look forward to our next Liturgy on Bright Saturday, with Paschal Hymns resounding in the chapel!

Sunday Liturgy for St John Climacus, marked the end the fourth week of the fast, and coincided with the feast of St Mary of Egypt, who will be commemorated next Sunday, as well as in the matins of the Thursday this week, when her life, by St Sophronios of Jerusalem, is read.

After discussions about the children participating the most sacred moments of the Liturgy, it was lovely to see one of our sisters usher Yuriy and Kyrill to the front with candles at the reading of the Gospel, and for them to do the same at the Great Entrance, directed by our young oltarnik, Stefan.

It was lovely to see Hierodeacon Avraamy reunited with his kamilavka and double orary, sent from Ukraine, and we look forward to having him as first deacon when we celebrate the mystery of Holy Unction in the cathedral, next Saturday.

Next Saturday’s Soborovanie / Holy Unction will commence at 14:00, and there will be opportunities to confess in the cathedral before the Holy Mystery. Those travelling by bus will be informed of the arrangements, which are being finalised, and we are encouraging our faithful to bring food to share after the service. I am very happy that there will be three parish carloads, as well as those travelling by bus, and look forward to having a group of Cardiff and Wessex parishioners joining the assembled parishes of the diocese.

Some of our parishioners have asked me to explain the offering of prosphora as Liturgy.

This practice originates in the early Church, and the expected offering of bread and wine by the faithful for the accomplishment of the Liturgy. Even though this fell out of use, the East Slavic Churches retained the tradition of the faithful presenting small loves with their commemorations for the Orthodox living and departed, with a loaf being presented with a commemorative list for the living, and one of the departed.

During proskomedia, the names of those commemorated are read out in the prayers for the living and the dead, and commemorative particles are taken in their memory and placed before the “Lamb” – which is consecrated during the Liturgy.

During the proskomedia, the arrangement on the diskos, forms a symbolic representation of the Church, in which Christ the Lamb of God is flanked by the Mother of God (represented by a triangle of beard) and the ranks of different types of saints, represented by the nine triangles in a three by three square. Before this representation of the deesis, the particles from the loaves presented by the faithful represent all commemorated on their lists – those for the faithful immediately before the Lamb, and those for the departed nearest the edge of the diskos.

After the communion of the faithful, the commemorative particles are placed in the chalice, as the deacon prayers, “Wash away, by Thy precious Blood, O Lord, the sins of those here commemorated, through the prayers of all Thy saints.”

So… when you order prosphora, you are doing so in the name and as a prayerful offering for those commemorated – which implies a list of others, though you are obviously commemorated.

Some people say, “But I’m the only Orthodox person in my family?”

There are very obvious responses.

Do you not pray for your brothers and sisters within the community; for those who have helped you in Orthodoxy through their lives, labours, teaching/preaching; for our hierarchs and clergy – whether living or departed?

We should ALL – without exception – be presenting commemorative lists, or commemoration books for Liturgy. This is our Christian duty, at Liturgy, and a basic part of Orthodox living. We list people according to their full BAPTISMAL name – no Ivans, Pashas, Mishas or Sashas, but Ioanns, Darias, Pavels, Mikhails and Alexanders. We have no vladikas, fathers or mothers, but rather list clergy and monastics as Bishop, Priest, Archpriest, Hieromonk, Monk or Nun.

If we have a commemorative book, we need to keep it up-to-date, as also our lists, if we leave them in church between Liturgies.

I shall post one of Fr John Whiteford’s article on our Facebook and WhatsApp pages.

See also: https://www.facebook.com/ROCORinCardiff/posts/pfbid036TKS7mEUCVQnKeLAQX1S1kaqcptDvvP89cgZh8etGLvtaULiwyiST41TwUhKQTWl

Looking forward to Wednesday evening, or during the day on Thursday, we should endeavour to prayer the Great Canon. The Wednesday evening service will be in Llanelli at 19:00.

This Saturday is that of the Akathist Hymn of the Most Holy Mother of God, when we should all equally to pray the Akathist Hymn. Again, there will be a service in Llanelli at 19:00.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we celebrate the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, following yesterday’s double celebration of the feast of the Annunciation and the Sunday of the Cross, with a joyful, well-attended, festive Liturgy with parishioners from Llanelli, Swansea and the West of England joining the Cardiff locals.

Thanks to singers, flower-arrangers and cooks, who most certainly rose to the occasion, and thank you to the children who contributed to our homily, and who will hopefully remember the key words of the day, central to the meaning of both the Life-Giving Cross and the Annunciation: obedience, humility and submission.

Unfortunately, Deacon Mark, Alla and Yuriy were unable to be with us, as Yuriy developed a dental abscess and – as most of you know – required surgery under general-anaesthetic yesterday afternoon. He is pretty much back to his normal self, today.

As those at Liturgy realised, without Deacon Mark leading the church set-up, confessions were unavoidably delayed, which was unfortunate on a festive day with many to confess and commune, but it was, after all, the Sunday of the Cross, and if we could not endure such a minor cross on such a blessed day, then there was little point in us coming to church. We should also rejoice that so many people honoured the double-feast by confessing and communing of the Most Pure Mysteries. Congratulations to all who partook of the Holy Mysteries! Let us struggle to preserve their Grace.

Many thanks to Masha, for bringing Holy Water from the well of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the place where the Mother of God received the tidings of the Archangel. The faithful were happy to be able to partake of this after the kissing of the Cross.

It was an added blessing to have Oswald visiting us from Norwich, and his labours, together with those of oltarnik Alexander were greatly appreciated. I hope that Oswald’s presence will become frequent.

Your prayers are asked for the newly departed handmaiden of God, Nina, for whom a litia was chanted after our Liturgy.

I am presently journeying north, looking forward to enjoying a few days with our diocesan chancellor and visiting our Wallasey parish, and will return on Thursday, heading straight to Nazareth House for confessions and the akathist to the Saviour’s Passion, to be chanted at 18:00. Please submit requests by 18:00 on Wednesday. Please let me know if you will be in the confession queue on Sunday before the day itself. Without a second priest, Sundays in Cardiff will require confessions not heard by 10:50 to continue after the Divine Liturgy.

This Saturday – 13^th April – sees our second Wessex Liturgy, and I am very pleased to hear that some of our Cardiff locals will be joining us in the Chapel of St Laurence, in the centre of Warminster, to support our Wessex brothers and sisters in these early days of our local mission. We look forward to formally receiving Vladika Irenei’s blessing when we attend Holy Unction on Saturday 20^th April. The Hours and Liturgy are at 10:30, and there will be a bring-and-share lunch after the service.

Any remaining parishioners who wish to avail themselves of the mini-bus travelling from Cardiff to the cathedral for this for the mystery of Holy Unction (Soborovanie), at 14:00 on the afternoon of the 20^th, should let me know asap, as we wish to confirm numbers and transport arrangements.

As you will have already seen from your email inbox, the services for Holy Week remain rather less than we would ideally like due to the use of St John’s during the week, with various clubs and societies hiring the meeting space next to the kitchen on a long term basis.

The earlier part of the week will see services celebrated in Llanelli before they commence in Cardiff on Holy Thursday.

I repeat the schedule here:

27th April – Lazarus Saturday: TBC

 28th April – Palm Sunday morning: Divine Liturgy, 11:00, St John’s, in St John’s, Canton

 28th April – Palm Sunday evening: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

 29th April – Holy Monday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

 30th April – Holy Tuesday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

1st May – Holy Wednesday: Small Compline, 19:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday morning: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday evening: Service of the Twelve Gospels, 19:00 in St Mary’s Butetown

3rd May – Holy Friday afternoon: Vespers and the bringing out of the winding-sheet, 16:00 in St John’s, Canton

3rd May – Holy Friday evening: Matins of Holy Saturday – Burial service of the Lord, 19:00 in St John’s, Canton

4th May – Holy Saturday: Midnight Office, 23:30, St John’s, Canton – immediately followed by…

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: midnight 00:00 Paschal matins and Divine Liturgy, followed by blessing of Paschal foods and Paschal Breakfast

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: Paschal Vespers, 12:30, St John’s, Canton

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As we enter the second half of the Great Fast, may I remind you of the importance of alms giving and highlight that the foodbank in St John’s is an ideal way for us to support those is need.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters, Holy Week is a time of the year when we particularly experience the limitations and feel the frustrations of being tenants under somebody else’s roof, and being unable to have the full complement of services celebrated publicly.

This is nothing new to us, but our return to St John’s, as a building that is much used for various activities, makes a heavy mark on our celebrations. Those using the building during the week do so as part of long-term bookings, with some of those users having held those slots for several years.

 Because the limited availability of the building I will assist Father Luke in Llanelli in the earlier part of the week and the Holy Thursday evening service (the 12 Gospels) will have to be in St Mary Butetown. Unlike the last Holy Week in St John’s, the church will be in use until 18:00 on Saturday, so there is no possibility of celebrating the Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday.

27th April – Lazarus Saturday: TBC

28th April – Palm Sunday morning: Divine Liturgy, 11:00, St John’s, in St John’s, Canton

28th April – Palm Sunday evening: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

29th April – Holy Monday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

30th April – Holy Tuesday: Bridegroom Matins, 19:00 in Llanelli

1st May – Holy Wednesday: Small Compline, 19:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday morning: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 in Llanelli

2nd May – Holy Thursday evening: Service of the Twelve Gospels, 19:00 in St Mary’s Butetown

3rd May – Holy Friday afternoon: Vespers and the bringing out of the winding-sheet, 16:00 in St John’s, Canton

3rd May – Holy Friday evening: Matins of Holy Saturday – Burial service of the Lord, 19:00 in St John’s, Canton

4th May – Holy Saturday: Midnight Office, 23:30, St John’s, Canton – immediately followed by…

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: midnight 00:00 Paschal matins and Divine Liturgy, followed by blessing of Paschal foods and Paschal Breakfast

5th May – Sunday of Pascha: Paschal Vespers, 12:30, St John’s, Canton