Dear brothers and sisters,

After a wonderful pilgrimage to Capel-y-ffin and Llanthony, yesterday, Mid-Lent was celebrated in the parish today with the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Life-Giving Cross, just days after we gathered before the Cross to chant the akathist to the Lord’s Passion, as we will again after Thursday confessions.

As expected, Mothering Sunday dented service attendance, though one of our trustees confirmed that there were still around forty souls gathered for Liturgy. We venerated the Cross at the end of the service, and express our profound thanks to matushka Alla for the floral frame in which it was placed. Spasi Gospodi!

Thanks also go to our choir, reduced to three voices today by commitments and illness, and to our oltarniky. Young Stefan served his tenth Liturgy this morning, and given his confidence and knowledge, it is hard to believe that he has only served for two and a half months.

We rejoice that when we next celebrate the Divine Liturgy, we will have three newly-enlightened members of the parish and partakers of the Holy Mysteries, after the baptism of Dan, Mo, and Germaine on Saturday afternoon – and look forward to welcoming them to the chalice of the Holy Mysteries by their baptismal names of Patrick, Brigid and Mary. Please pray for them as they approach the mystery of Holy Baptism and Chrismation, and as they prepare to for confession and communion of the Lord’s Holy and Life-Giving Body and Blood.

Today brought the joyful news that another of our students wishes to be admitted to the catechumenate in the next few weeks, after faithful attendance in both the Cardiff parish and its Cheltenham mission. Glory to God!

It was very interesting to talk with brothers of the parish in a local café regarding the place of Father Seraphim (Rose) of Platina in the spiritual journeys of those coming to Holy Orthodoxy, and – interestingly – of the spiritual characteristics of the communities encountered that frown upon their parishioners reading his works: in a word, renovationsist and modernist pick-and-mix parishes that don’t really make sense to those seeking traditional, patristic Orthodoxy. I am heartened to hear of the traditional spiritual reading of our parishioners – with a good appreciation of the Holy Fathers, including those of the 19^th and 20^th centuries like St Ignaty Brianchaninov, St Theophan the Recluse and St Paisios the New. I have also been struck by the appreciation of the lives of the Holy Fools among the brothers of our parish – and as a great admirer of the yurodivy, I am very pleased by this.

After Liturgy, I was glad to see that our oltarnik, Oswald, continues to gain parish support for his icon stall, having ensured I left with an icon of St Gerasimos and the lion. His icons are now sold by White Horse Wares, from whom we have bought excellent candles and gifts – https://whitehorsewares.co.uk

Looking ahead to this week, confessions will be held late on Thursday afternoon, and due to the commitments of some of our parishioners we will chant Compline and the Akathist to the Passion of the Saviour at the later time of 19:00.

Given the worsening situation of the persecuted Church in Ukraine, I would like to draw parishioners’ attention to the open letter written by His Grace, Bishop Irenei, which may be found on the diocesan webpage (in English and Russian):

https://orthodox-europe.org/content/open-letter-persecution-in-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR2YRLJZ5j_9rY1R7dArdqpBp0mhnDEcPpY_AajU4HIFYK63YRariiPIUiI

All of our parishioners are called upon to redouble their prayers for the suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and for the Brotherhood of the Kiev-Caves Lavra in particular. The clergy of the diocese will serve molebny for the Lavra Brotherhood on 29^th March, the day the state-persecutors have set as the deadline for the monks to vacate the Lavra.

I will post the canons to the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev-Caves Lavra on our Facebook page, so that parishioners may pray them for the sake of the persecuted brotherhood.

As mentioned, Saturday afternoon will see the baptism of Dan, Mo and Germaine. We will gather in St Nicholas at 14:00 and anyone wishing to attend should email me for details.

Next Sunday celebrates the memory of St John of the Ladder, with our celebration commencing with the Hours at 10:40, followed by the Divine Liturgy. The variables for the service may be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O4cW5PW9eIeDfGGD5ZAJj5XOtTB20yEU/view

Having discussed Holy Week with Sister Anna, I will publish service details in the next few days.

May God bless you all, and give you strength for the second half of the Great Fast. If things have flagged a bit, take encouragement from this Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross to regain momentum and spiritual direction.

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

I was incredibly happy to finally be able to celebrate the Divine Liturgy with a small band of parish pilgrims in Little St Marys’s at Capel-y-ffin this morning.

After the suspension testing journey from Hay-on-Wye, with the wild and beautiful terrain (under a dramatic cloudscape) of the Brecon Beacons falling away or rising on the sides of the narrow road snaking over the mountains, the pot-holed and weathered lanes brought us to Capel-y-ffin, our arrival heralded by the sight of the lopsided belfry immortalised in Eric Ravilious’s  ‘Wet Afternoon’, painted in 1938.

However, this arrival was on a sunny spring morning and it was wonderful to arrive at the gate of the little churchyard and see parishioners already there, all of whom seemed to have made the smoother journey up the valley from Abergavenny.

They had come with icons, candles and flowers – using the window ledges and surfaces to bring the visual signs of Orthodox liturgical life to St Mary’s.

Whilst the clergy arranged the little sanctuary for the Divine Liturgy, Father Richard Williams – the incredibly welcoming and personable priest-in-charge – talked a little about the history of the site, starting well before the building of the present church, including the appearance of the Mother of God there in the years after the Norman Conquest, before the bells rang out over the narrow valley, announcing the joyful tidings that the Holy Liturgy would make this little sanctuary the place where heaven and earth would conjoin in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries.

Having bidden Father goodbye, so that he could be back in Hay in time for the Angelus, the little congregation were able to see and hear the vesting prayers and proskomedia at close quarters, before an intimate and simple Liturgy in the tiny church, celebrated in English, Welsh and Slavonic – though a little Greek also crept in at the Trisagion.

The sun poured in through the clear glass windows, and during the epiclesis it was wonderful to look up and see the sides of the valley to the east beside the trees in the churchyard.

The Liturgy in the simplicity of the church was a great blessing and a source of great joy and peace, knowing that St David had founded a monastic settlement a few miles down the valley, and after a lovely picnic lunch at Capel-y-ffin, we descended to Llanthony, where the medieval ruins of the priory give no hint of the earlier Celtic foundation.

After chanting a litia to St David in the parish church where we celebrated Liturgy in the past, we visited the medieval ruins and were happy to sit down together in the little pub in the vault of the former abbot’s lodging and enjoy hot drinks and chips. This was a very enjoyable time of fellowship, and I hope that we will be able to enjoy Llanthony in the summer time, sitting among the ruins to picnic and enjoy ice-creams and Herefordshire cider, as some of have in the past!

Our thanks go to Father Richard for his hospitality and encouragement to always feel at home and welcome at Capel-y-ffin, and to our parish sisters Melangell and Mary for their fine organisational skills in helping it all happen.

Hierarch of Christ, David, pray to god for us!

With love in Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

What an incredible weekend we had Cardiff, with our pilgrimage to Llandaff, in honour of St Teilo and our services for Forgiveness Sunday.

After a week in Walsingham, I was rather tired, but the combination of prayer and fellowship over the weekend certainly put a fresh spring in my step, before the dozens of prostrations during the rite of forgiveness put pay to any bounce and flexibility.

As I have already written, the warmth of our welcome in Llandaff Cathedral was wonderful, and the Dean’s love and devotion to St Teilo over-flowed in his encouragement for us to always feel at home in the cathedral and before the saint’s relics. Father Richard stayed with us for the moleben, and kindly explained some of the cathedral’s history to the faithful before we retired to lunch – greatly enjoying time together over a meal.

Our services for Forgiveness Sunday were very well attended, though not everyone was able to stay for vespers, after refreshments. We were very happy to have the new student-visitors return, and see their commitment to exploring Orthodoxy and being part of our worshipping community. I know that they had a good chat with our parish elders and with some of the other students and young people. This is where the warmth and serious stewardship in our community is so important.

The end of vespers, of course, brought the Rite of Forgiveness, and the number of worshippers became obvious when the growing line of the faithful stretched from the solea, all along one side of the convent church and round the corner to the confession boxes. As always, on this Sunday, it was a joy to quietly sing Paschal hymns, with the members of the kliros joining me as the mutual forgiveness and many prostrations were completed.

I will not be in Cardiff until Thursday, when I will hear confessions in the late afternoon, before the chanting of the Great Canon of Repentance in the convent church at 18:00. May I ask for confessions requests as soon as possible, and not later than midday on Wednesday.

There will be nightly services in the chapel of St David and St Nicholas, where the Great Canon will be chanted from Monday to Thursday), and compline with the akathist-hymn to the Mother of God on Friday. Address: 11 New Rd, Dafen, Llanelli, Carms SA14 8LS.

Looking forward to celebrating the Sunday of Orthodoxy and the Restoration of the Holy Icons, may I encourage parishioners to bring icons to church, so that they may be placed on the capacious window sills around the building. Following, the Liturgy of St Basil, we will offer a moleben for those who have fallen into error.

Obviously, food for refreshments after our services must be lenten/postny. No shellfish please!

Our next parish pilgrimage will be to Capel-y-ffin, where we will offer the Divine Liturgy in honour of St David, meeting at 10:30 and aiming to begin the Hours and Liturgy at 11:00. We will have a pew-picnic after Liturgy and Fr Richard Williams has invited us to visit St Mary’s in Hay-on-Wye (bookshops and tea!!!) afterwards. Anyone interested, should contact Tracy: t_sbrain@icloud.com

Our senior-sister, Menna, would like to remind you all, that there is a very active and vibrant parish WhatsApp group, where parishioners can share news and prayer requests, discuss Orthodox matters, view spiritual and pastoral articles, and generally share aspects of parish-life. Anyone wishing to join should contact her or Deacon Mark.

Equally, anyone wishing to be added to the mailing list should speak to one of the clergy or parish officers who will be glad to add you to the list so that parish circulars are received. I would like to encourage parishioners to read the news and announcements sent out, as it is obvious that some people are missing news and announcements that have been sitting in their inbox.

Wishing you a good start to the Great Fast, with the hope that as many parishioners as possible will pray the Great Canon each evening.

Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.

May God bless you!

Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

Our busy weekend continued with our celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Nazareth House, and we were very pleased that our kliros was well provided with singers, making for strong and confident singing. Together with the continued blessing of double-deacons, this made for a splendid Liturgy and I greatly appreciate having two deacons with whom to concelebrate and share the Holy Mysteries.

Though we were a little thin on the ground due to half-term, we were very happy to have four new students visiting and experiencing their first Orthodox service, and were able to chat after the service.

After refreshments to break to our fast, we held our AGM, with reports from the clergy and treasurer. Among the topics discussed were the provision of resources and information for visitors and those exploring Orthodoxy, the availability of printouts of the creed and Lord’s Prayer for visitors, developing pilgrimage and reflecting our local culture in parish life – including use of Welsh in the Liturgy. With our bishop having blessed a parish brotherhood, we also touched and the need to invigorate our parish sisterhood, noting that it is not simply our catering department.

As announced at the Liturgy, I will be serving in Walsingham this week, travelling with Norman and Georgina tomorrow. We look forward to the joy of being with our friends there, especially Mother Melangell, whom we have known for many years. Our Liturgy will be blessed by the presence of Father Mark Tattum-Smith from Mettingham, with whom I will concelebrate as a priest for the first time, and with whom we will be discussing local devotions and promoting ROCOR pilgrimage to Walsingham – with our diocesan connections going back to the very first days of the shrine church. We look forward to the development of local Orthodox Walsingham cells.

Whilst I will obviously be contactable in emergencies, may I remind you that Norfolk is a very long way away, and any interactive pastoral needs need to be directed to Fr Deacon Mark. So that he is able to arrange any provision of support.

However, we will be VERY pleased for us to email us with requests for intercessions and intentions: otetzmark@hotmail.com

We will return on Friday, in time for our pilgrimage to Llandaff cathedral on Saturday, where we will celebrate our moleben to St Teilo at 10:00. After our service and time around the cathedral, we will enjoy the hospitality of the Maltster’s Arms for drinks and lunch at midday.

Just to remind you that we are in the eve of Cheese-Fare week and that meat should be consumed by tonight, though fish will be permitted throughout next week. As Orthodox maximalists, we refute the idea of pancake day… but rather enjoy a whole week. So… enjoy!

The first opportunity to hear confessions will be in Nazareth House on Saturday, after our ‘pilgrim lunch’, and I would like those wishing to confess to email me by 16:00 on Thursday to allow me to email as we will be travelling for much of Friday.

Sunday will be Forgiveness Sunday, and we will celebrate the Vespers of Forgiveness after Liturgy, marking the liturgical beginning of the Great Fast.

Please make the most of the week and get ready for the Fast – in terms of food, prayer and reading.

Looking forward to the Fast, it is our hope that by finding twenty readers to commit to reading a kathisma of the Psalter each day, it may be read every day until the eve of Lazarus Saturday. We really need commitment to this rather than people wanting to join in for a week or two, so if you would like to participate in this spiritual offering, as an act of intercession for our parish, please email psaltergroup@fastmail.com for further information.

With love in Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Dear brothers and sisters,

Despite the impact of illness and parishioners being away, it was a joy to celebrate the Liturgy in Cardiff  yesterday, and slightly lower numbers did little to lessen the numbers confessing and communing, or to diminish the joy of worshipping together.

Our starting time has been somewhat affected by numbers of confessions, and realistically, I think this will continue to be the case as we settle back into life in Nazareth House. However, it is impossible to confess all needing to do so in thirty minutes, so those wishing to confess need to arrive a little earlier than at present, and we will hopefully resolve this over the coming weeks so that the Hours can begin at 10:30.

Deacon Mark and I have been very pleased with the beauty of our Liturgies since our return to Nazareth House, recognising the hard work of our small but conscientious kliros. We thank our singers and also our oltarniky, reduced to only two yesterday, but working hard and serving well.

Before the kissing of the cross, we chanted years for our parish elder Andrew (Allan) who celebrated his nameday in the past week. Many, blessed years to him!

Compared to last week, we were very thin on children, but the few we did have happily spent time at during the homily, arranging lovely little ikebana flower arrangements, which they showed to us at this time. Giving some of these as gifts.

The Liturgy was only the first part of our day, and as members of the congregation chatted and visitors were greeted after the service, a team of our parish gentlemen prepared for the afternoon’s baptism, filling our pop up ‘font’ with enough water to immerse a ten-year-old: the youngest son of one of our Herefordian families. Though his older brother was baptised as an infant in Tikhvin, Josh – Georgiy in Holy Baptism – was never been baptised. So, it was a very great joy to welcome Tom and Julia with their family, with Georgiy’s older brother Maximus representing godfather Igor, who was unable to travel here from Russia.

After the reading of the exorcism prayers, Georgiy ably made his baptismal renunciations and after spitting on the devil, overseen by his older brother, he turned to the east and confessed the creed.

It was lovely to baptise someone who is still a child, but old enough to really take part, so explanations were interspersed between the actions so that our newly enlisted soldier of Christ could appreciate what was happening.

As most of those involved were British, the baptism was largely celebrated in English, but with some Slavonic, as the baptism was being filmed for godfather Igor, in Russia, whom we remembered in our prayers.

Having been anointed with the oil of the catechumens, our youngster climbed into the water and knelt to be fully submerged and baptised in honour of the Holy Great Martyr and Trophy-Bearer George. So, we now have two Herefordian Georges in our community, and Yuriy was happy to hear that there would be another Georgiy, and gave his namesake the ikebana he had arranged.

We look forward to welcoming Julia with both of her sons to commune of the Holy Mysteries! Many years to Georgiy, his godfather Igor and all of the family!

Deacon Mark and I would particularly like to thank Oswald for being such a great help, staying to help with the packing away and clearing of the church, not setting off for Stroud until after 17:00. We are very grateful.

This morning, we celebrated the feast of St Nicholas with Divine Liturgy in Llanelli, with Father Luke celebrating as I chanted on the kliros with Ruth-Silouana and Nicholas, and following the Liturgy, a panikhida was chanted to mark the anniversary of  the repose of the mother of one of the Llanelli parishioners. It was a lovely, prayerful Liturgy, and only a pity that more people did not come to celebrate the feast.

Tomorrow, we celebrate another great Church Father, St Ambrose of Milan and our wonderworking father St Nil Stolbensky, and later this week we will celebrate the feast of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by St Anna and the Icon ‘Unexpected Joy’.

Next weekend will, of course, be Western Christmas, and as such will occupy many of our parishioners with family commitments. However, we shall still celebrate Liturgy for the feast of St Spyridon the Wonderworker of Tremythus. Even though there will be few of us, I greatly look forward to this feast.

Anticipating only a small number of confessions, I expect to be able to hear all confessions before Liturgy. However, I would still appreciate an email from those wishing to confess and commune on Sunday, asking that emails are received by Thursday.

Finally, may I ask that on arrival each Sunday, parishioners remain towards the back of the church until all residents have exited, given the number of viruses, coughs and colds that are in circulation and the age and vulnerability of those who live in Nazareth house.

May God bless you all. Struggle to maintain the momentum of the Nativity Fast.

In Christ – Fr Mark