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With carpentry work going on in the Oratory, today, we took refuge in the baptistry chapel and chanted compline with the Great Canon at the altar behind the font. We will return tomorrow at 15:00, and will additionally chant the Great Canon in a simpler evening service in Nazareth House at 18:00. Confessions will follow the service.
KONTAKION OF THE GREAT CANON (TONE 6): My soul, my soul arise! Why art thou sleeping? The end is drawing near and thou wilt be confounded. Awake then and be watchful, that thou mayest be spared by Christ God, Who is everywhere and fillest all things.
Enjoying Lenten homilies of St Theophan the Recluse, and hoping that spiritual reading is happening in parish homes!
What a blessing to celebrate today’s services for the second day of Great Lent in the Oratory Church and Nazareth House, and to have the assistance of our young people, with four of our student gentlemen reading capably and with great devotion. Praise God!
“O Lord of Hosts be with us…” from today’s Great Compline of the Tuesday of the first week of Great Lent.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that your start of the Great Fast is as spiritually bright as this wonderful day is sunny and warm!![]()
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Parishioners hopefully have reading for spiritual food during Great Lent, and have extra free time in which to read, rather than spending time on food preparation and cooking. ![]()
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Sadly, so many people replace eating the plainest and most basic Lenten food, with vegetarian options that require time and a multitude of ingredients - some meals taking longer to prepare than before Lent. ![]()
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The ustav appoints the plainest food to FREE us from spending time in the kitchen, to give us time for reading and prayer!![]()
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Today - we will pray the Great Canon, shortly, in the Oratory at 15:00, and will also pray the canon in the evening pravilo in Nazareth House, tonight at 18:00.![]()
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Good strength and every blessing for the season. May it be the springtime of your soul.![]()
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Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.![]()
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Struggle well!![]()
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In Christ - Hieromonk Mark
In Old Testament, we read how the patriarchs and prophets took stones and built altars to the Living-God, setting up sanctuaries to Him, where they offered worship and sacrifice. As the children of the Church, the New Israel of God, wherever we go, we too, like the patriarchs and prophets of old, set up altars to offer our sacrifice of praise, but not with stones - bare and without inscription - but with the Holy Icons inscribed with the image of the Incarnate-Word, the Stone from the Uncut Mountain, the very Stone which the builders rejected, Which has become the Head of the corner and is marvellous in our eyes!
Brotherhoods: A network against the empire
spzh.eu
In 1596, Orthodoxy in Ukraine was declared “dead.” But while elites were drifting into Catholic cathedrals, ordinary townsmen built a structure that outplayed both empire and Jesuits.
Dear brothers and sisters, Having celebrated the Vespers of Forgiveness, we have liturgically entered the forty days of the Great Fast, and though we may be finishing off our last non-fasting food tonight, our prayers and services are already of a Lenten nature, with the prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian being the sign of this penitential season, par excellence.![]()
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In the week ahead, and then on Thursday of the fifth week, the Great Canon of Repentance, the work of St Andrew of Crete (8th century) is an important part of our Lenten praxis and our spiritual culture and identity. ![]()
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This great penitential hymn, draws upon a wealth of Biblical references to illustrate the history of the fall, and their healing through the mystery of repentance.![]()
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The canon will be chanted at 15:00 in the Oratory Church from Monday to Thursday, and additionally in Nazareth House at 18:00, on Tuesday and Thursday.![]()
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Though we look forward to Liturgies of the Pre-Sanctified in subsequent weeks of the Fast, this Friday we will replace it with the Akathist to the Life-Giving Passion, in the Oratory Church, at 15:00.![]()
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As already announced, a group of us will attend Liturgy for the Saturday of St Theodore in Lazarica, in Bournville. The Hours and Liturgy begin at 09:00.![]()
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I am so pleased that despite the seeming failure of our planned Lenten Psalter prayers, we now have more than enough readers to ensure that the complete Psalter is read every day. This is a wonderful offering of prayer and praise for the community. Please refer to the spread sheet that Alexander has emailed to see your allocation, if you are one of our readers. Glory to God, and thanks to our volunteers. ![]()
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The first Sunday of Great Lent is a wonderful commemoration of the Restoration of the Holy Icons and the Triumph of Orthodoxy, and we encourage you to bring an icon with you to Liturgy, next Sunday, to mark the celebration, when we will remember the Holy Autocrats Theodora and Basil of Blessed Memory, the pious sovereigns and holy fathers, also praying for our hierarchs and those who govern us, according to God’s will. The Synodikon of Orthodoxy will follow our Liturgy as a celebration of our Faith: наша Вера Православна!![]()
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Many thanks to all who made Forgiveness Sunday such a wonderful celebration. ![]()
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Our choir worked hard to make our services solemn and prayerful, and it was a joy to have so many people at Liturgy - including Oswald, now a qualified stone-mason. ![]()
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Given his place in past parish life, having him in both Cheltenham and Cardiff Liturgies this weekend was a real blessing.![]()
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I hope and pray that we will support one another during the Holy Forty Days, through prayer, through words of encouragement, through positive example one to another, and through struggling for forgiveness and reconciliation!![]()
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Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake, and wishing you a good struggle in the Fast.![]()
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Kalo stadhio! A good arena!![]()
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In Christ - Hieromonk Mark
Forgiveness warms the coldest heart; softens the hardest heart; and can make even the most inhospitable human heart a worthy dwelling for Christ, Whose forgiveness of each and everyone of us makes it possible for us to forgive others, even when it seems impossible. As we are conformed to His image, we become vessels of His boundless love, and as that love changes and transfigures us, the mystery of forgiveness dissolves all emnity and division, uniting us in love and peace. Let us forgive, even as we have been forgiven, and let us seek to love, even as we are loved.
A short part of our Fr Mark's homily from today's Forgiveness Sunday.
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Thanks to everyone for a wonderful Liturgy in Prestbury, today. ![]()
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It was lovely to have so many children with us, and to have their lively interaction in our homily, which spoke about the example of the venerable fathers and mothers, who shone with the reflection of Christ’s image… reminding us that during the coming days of the Fast, we must clean and polish ourselves, like the mirrors of the ancient world, so that, cleansed and purified, Christ’s image may be seen in us, and that we may reflect Him in lives of holiness, spiritual labour and obedience to Him!![]()
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We look forward to our March Liturgy, which will be a week later than planned, on Saturday 28 March, due to soborovanie in the cathedral the week before.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we come to Forgiveness Sunday, we are able to thank God and our many benefactors for our crossing the £12,000 marker in our gofundme campaign.![]()
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Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has so generously supported this progress towards our goal, which though seemingly far off, draws closer with every donation.![]()
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Contemplating the various locations for next week’s services, the need for our own temple presses upon us. ![]()
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Whilst building works continue in St Philip’s, Sunday Liturgies will continue to be celebrated in Tremorfa Community Hall; Lenten afternoon worship will be in the Oratory Church; evening worship in Nazareth House; then, again, we will return to the Community Hall weekend by weekend.![]()
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Our Lenten worship will be limited by our lack of a sanctuary that may be used at any hour; by lack of a place of our own to reserve the Holy Gifts; by the simple lack of liturgical objects and equipment whilst building work necessitates our worship things being scattered across Cardiff, kept safe in parishioners’ homes.![]()
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As we pray and worship in different places through this penitential season, the limitations of our borrowed buildings and itinerant life will become doubly obvious to us… which is why we need every parishioner to be proactive and serious in maintaining the momentum of our fund-raiser, so that it does not simply become “old news”.![]()
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Our vision must drive us forward, with energy, commitment and determination to reach the day when we open the doors of our own temple.![]()
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So, please continue sharing and publicising our fundraiser, and just as importantly PRAY for the temple that will be a spiritual home and beacon of Orthodox Christianity in South East Wales.![]()
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Wishing you all a good and profitable spiritual struggle during the holy forty days.![]()
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May you fight well in the spiritual arena. Kalo stadhio.![]()
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May God bless you.![]()
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In Christ - Hieromonk Mark
Donate to Help us buy a Church for our Orthodox Parish in Wales!, organized by Hieromonk Mark
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Building Orthodoxy in a Land of Saints. Wales is an ancient ... Hieromonk Mark needs your support for Help us buy a Church for our Orthodox Parish in Wales!
Dear brothers and sisters, as tomorrow is the eve of the Great Fast, Liturgy will be followed by Forgiveness Vespers, in the course of which we make the liturgical entrance into the Fast, before the rite of forgiveness.![]()
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At 15:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we will anticipate Great Compline with the Canon of Repentance, chanting the service in the Oratory Church.![]()
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To make allowance for those working in the day-time, on Tuesday and Thursday, there will also be evening prayers with the chanting of the Great Canon in the chapel of Nazareth House at 18:00.![]()
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On Friday, we will chant the akathist to the Lord’s Passion in the Oratory Church at 15:00.![]()
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The Saturday of St Theodore, will see a group of us keeping this first Saturday of Lent in the Church of St Lazar, in Bournville, where the Hours and Liturgy will vommence at 09:00.![]()
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We look forward to celebrating the Triumph of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of the Great Fast, commemorating the restoration of the Holy Icons and chanting the Synodikon of Orthodoxy with the solemn confession of our Faith.
Gloucestershire calls, as we set off from Swansea for our Cheltenham Liturgy, which we will celebrate this morning in Prestbury United Reformed Church at 10:00. Everyone welcome!
The order of the Small Panikhida![]()
(Litia for the Departed, without a priest)![]()
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Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us. Amen. Bow![]()
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Troparion, Tone 2: Remember, O Lord, Thy servants, for Thou art good, and forgive them whatsoever sins they have committed in life; for none is sinless but Thee Who art able to give repose unto them that are departed.![]()
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Troparion, Tone 8: O Thou Who in the depths of wisdom orderest all things with love toward man; Who grantest to all men that which is for their benefit; Thou only Creator, grant rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy departed servants, for in Thee have they put their hope, our Maker and Fashioner and our God.![]()
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Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit![]()
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Kontakion, Tone 8: With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life eternal.![]()
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Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.![]()
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Theotokion,Tone 8: Thee have we as a wall and a refuge, and a Mediatrix well-pleasing to God, Whom thou hast borne, O Theotokos unwedded, salvation of the faithful.![]()
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Lord have mercy. (40 times)![]()
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Remember, O Lord God, Thy servants who have fallen asleep in faith and in the hope of eternal life, (names). As Thou art good and lovest mankind, disregard their sins and consume their iniquities; absolve, remit and forgive them all their offences, voluntary and involuntary, and raise them up at Thy second coming unto participation and Thine eternal good things, for they believed in Thee alone, the True God and Lover of mankind. For Thou art the resurrection, the life, and the repose of Thy servants, O Christ our God, and unto Thee do we send up glory, together with Thine unoriginate Father, and with the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.![]()
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More honourable than the cherubim and truly more glorious than the seraphim; thou, who without defilement gavest birth to God the Word, the true Mother of God, thee do we magnify.![]()
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Bow![]()
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Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Bow![]()
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Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, bless. Bow![]()
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Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother, of our venerable and God-bearing fathers and of all the saints, have mercy and grant rest to the souls of Thy servants unto endless ages, for Thou art good and lovest mankind. Amen.![]()
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To the servants of God departed this life, our fathers and brethren and all Orthodox Christians, on whose behalf we also make this commemoration: Eternal Memory. (thrice)![]()
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Grants rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants. (Bow) Forgive and have mercy upon them, for whatever sins they have humanly committed, for Thou art a God who lovest mankind. (Bow) And deliver then from eternal torment. (Bow) Make them sharers in the kingdom of heaven. (Bow) And do whatever is profitable for our souls. (Bow).![]()
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We say this troparion thrice, with 15 bows, and then three bows with the prayer of the publican: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.![]()
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Prayer over the Kutiya In Memory of the Departed![]()
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O Lord our God, the Hope of all who call upon Thee and who know Thy most holy Name, bless these seeds which are offered in Thy holy Church in memory of Thy servant N., who hath gone to his rest, and him on whose behalf they have been brought do Thou establish in the bosom of Abraham and in the land of the living. Grant him pardon and absolution of his sins. Yea, O Master, Who knowest the weakness of men and how easily they fall: Enter not into judgement with Thy servant who hath passed over to Thee with faith and hope. As Thou grantest us to do Thy commandments in holiness, do Thou also grant a fitting decision to them that commemorate his repose. For Thou art the Resurrection, and the Life and the repose of the departed, Christ our God, and unto Thee do we send up glory, together with Thine unoriginate Father and Thy most holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Replying to the granddaughter of the newly-departed Alexandra, I reminded her that not only priests, but even lay people can and should be praying for the departed… hence the layman’s version of the memorial service.![]()
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azbyka.ru/molitvoslov/chin-litii-sovershaemoj-miryaninom-doma-i-na-kladbishhe.html![]()
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English following.
Лития, совершаемая мирянином дома и на кладбище - Молитвослов
azbyka.ru
См. также: Лития, совершаемая мирянином дома и на кладбище церковнославянским шрифтом
It was a blessing to be able to entrust our younger generation with praying the akathist to the Precious and Life-Giving Cross in the Oratory, this afternoon, and to have such dedicated and spiritually serious young people: the future of the Church!
Thanks to the sisters and brothers who gathered in Nazareth House for our customary Thursday compline and akathist, which we offered to the Lord in English, Slavonic and Romanian. It is always a joy to pray in our former spiritual home, and to especially have our young people taking such a central rôle in worship.![]()
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Tomorrow will see our moleben to the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, in the Oratory Church at 15:00.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are still seeking participants to read a kathisma of the Psalter at home each day during Lent / Пост, as we have over the last few years. Please message psaltergroup@fastmail.com asap if you are able to join in.
Tomorrow evening, Thursday 19 February, compline will be chanted in Nazareth House at 18:00, with the akathist to the Mother of God, “The Deliverer of Those Who Suffer From Misfortunes” («Избавление от бед страждущих»). Confessions may be heard before and after the service.
On Forgiveness Sunday, during the post-vesperal rite of forgiveness for the eve of the Great Fast, we customarily quietly sing Paschal Hymns, and though we will not be chanting the following 6th century Ambrosian Paschal hymn, we might contemplate its words, as we look forward to our celebration of the Paschal Mystery, fasting, praying and spiritually struggling to prepare ourselves to meet the Risen Lord. The ancient Latin hymn is followed by an English translation.![]()
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Ad cenam Agni providi, stolis salutis candidi,![]()
post transitum maris Rubri, Christo canamus principi.![]()
Cuius corpus sanctissimum, in ara crucis torridum,![]()
sed et cruorem roseum, gustando Dei vivimus.![]()
Protecti paschae vespero, a devastante angelo,![]()
de Pharaonis aspero, sumus erepti imperio.![]()
Iam pascha nostrum Christus est, agnus occisus innocens;![]()
sinceritatis azyma, qui carnem suam obtulit.![]()
O vera, digna hostia, per quam franguntur tartara,![]()
captiva plebs redimitur, redduntur vitae praemia!![]()
Consurgit Christus tumulo, victor redit de barathro,![]()
tyrannum trudens vinculo, et paradisum reserans.![]()
Esto perenne mentibus, paschale, Iesu, gaudium![]()
et nos renatos gratiae, tuis triumphis aggrega.![]()
Iesu, tibi sit gloria, qui morte victa praenites,![]()
cum Patre et almo Spiritu, in sempiterna saecula.![]()
Amen.![]()
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After the transit of the Red Sea, let us sing to Christ, our leader,![]()
as, in the white robes of salvation, we look forward to the supper of the Lamb,![]()
whose holiest body was parched, on the altar of the cross;![]()
but we live by tasting, the roseate blood of God.![]()
On that paschal evening, we were protected from the devastating angel![]()
and snatched from the harsh rule of Pharaoh.![]()
Our pasch is now Christ, the innocent lamb who was slain,![]()
who offered his flesh as the unleavened bread of sincerity.![]()
O truly worthy victim, by whom hell is shattered,![]()
a captive people is redeemed, and the rewards of life are restored!![]()
Christ rose from the grave, the victor has come back from the abyss,![]()
putting down the tyrant with a chain and reopening paradise.![]()
O Jesus, be for our minds an everlasting paschal joy,![]()
and join us to your triumph,we who have been reborn to grace.![]()
O Jesus, glory be to you, who, death having been conquered,![]()
are resplendent with the Father and the nourishing Spirit forever.![]()
Amen.
Parish News – Sunday 15 February![]()
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Dear brothers and sisters, Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord: the culmination of four days of prayer and services in Cardiff and our Wessex mission in Warminster. Our Thursday and Friday services have become a set part of our weekly routine, with our Thursday celebration of compline framing the chanting of an akathist in which we alternate languages to ensure a balance of worship in Slavonic as well as English....![]()
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Parish News - Sunday 15 February - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Dear brothers and sisters, Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord: the culmination of four days of prayer and services in Cardiff and our Wessex mission in Warminster. Our Thursday and Fri...
Thanks to our Cardiff parishioners living in Wessex for our wonderful Memorial Saturday Liturgy. It was a blessing and joy to be back in the chapel of St Lawrence for the first time since October (and feeling so well whilst celebrating Liturgy). Our bring-and share lunch gave ample time for fellowship and catching up with one another. We look forward to the resumption of monthly services, and returning to being part of the life of St Lawrence’s. Special thanks to Ian, chair of the feoffees, for his infectious and inspirational energy and encouragement!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.![]()
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Dear brothers and sisters, ![]()
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Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple.![]()
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As we stand before and look upon the icon of the feast, we do not see the memorialisation of the Temple rituals of the Saviour’s Presentation and the Virgin’s Purification, with the priestly-offering of the sacrificial doves that St Joseph presented, but rather the long-awaited encounter of St Symeon the God-Receiver and the Prophetess Anna with the infant Lord.![]()
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Rather than seeing the sacrifices and rituals of the old covenant, we rather look upon the unfolding of the new covenant, as St Symeon recognises that he is holding the Saviour of the whole of humanity in his arms.![]()
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Rather than looking back to the past and the imperfect, temporary and incomplete sacrifices and rites of the Old Law, this feast and its representation in the holy icons looks forward to the completion and fulfilment of the Economy of Salvation through the Cross, Passion, death and Resurrection of the very Child Who is recognised as the long awaited Messiah and Saviour.![]()
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This is our abiding vision of the feast: not priests or figures of the Jewish religious establishment, but rather the elder and the St Anna – two figures that had kept vigil in the temple, anticipating the long-awaited Saviour – their gaze, as also that of the Mother of God and St Joseph the Betrothed, centred on the Infant Lord.![]()
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We see the Creator Himself held in frail, elderly human arms; the God Whom Moses could not look upon, glimpsing only “His back parts”, recognised and welcomed by the righteous elders who had long awaited this vision; the same Lord Who had been seen of old seated in glory upon the cherubim, now enthroned in the arms of St Symeon.![]()
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Gloom, darkness, and the shadowy symbols and figures of the Old Covenant have passed asay: the Light of the world has come!![]()
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By the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, Symeon recognised the Messiah, whom he held in his agèd arms, declaring Him whom Moses beheld in the gloom of Sinai to be “the Light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people, Israel.”![]()
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How and when St Symeon first realised that the ‘erchomenos’ (the expected One) was drawing near we shall never know, but the joy that filled that righteous old man and drove him forward to take hold of the Child and absorb the meaning of Him in that moment must have been beyond human expression.![]()
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The first ode of the canon poetically prompts and pushes him forward, as though we were there as witnesses, encouraging him and hurrying him on his elderly legs.![]()
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“Be strong, ye hands of Symeon feeble with age; and ye weary legs of the elder, move quickly and straight to meet Christ…”![]()
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…and in the fourth ode, we poetically encourage him not to be shy, but to press forward and take hold of his Light and Saviour:![]()
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“O Symeon, rejoicing take up Christ, the little Child, on Whom thou hast set thy hope, the Consolation of the Israel of God, the Creator and Master of the law, Who fulfilleth the order of the law; and cry aloud unto Him: All things are filled with Thy praise!”![]()
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As his eyes beheld the Messiah; as his elderly arms held Him; as he touched and caressed the Child, can we even begin to understand what he felt in his heart; what joy and relief filled his soul; what awe and wonder possessed his mind; how his ancient frame trembled with what was finally happening?![]()
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Symeon’s immense joy and all-possessing sense of fulfilment, contentment and peace remain beyond our understanding, and may be easily overlooked as we chant his memorialised words at vespers, each day:![]()
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“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.”![]()
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What spiritual light filled the soul of the elder, and what mysteries did he perceive in the depths of his heart as he withdrew from the precincts of the Temple and from the world with the greatest sense of peace and contentment?![]()
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Perhaps he even felt relief that his elderly and frail body could find rest in the peace for which he prayed: the peace from above, for which we ask in the Great Litany.![]()
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We pray for that peace and for the salvation of our souls, and though Symeon received that peace, he would not live to see the unfolding of the Saviour’s works of salvation. ![]()
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Nevertheless, he was still able to say, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation…” and in Christ’s victory of the Cross and the Harrowing of Hell, Symeon would once more see the “Light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people, Israel” in the Lord as the Conqueror of death and hell and as his salvation.![]()
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And what of us?![]()
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The annual feast calls us to greet the Lord and to recognise Him, to see Him, as though through Symeon’s eyes, as our Light and salvation – for, as St Sophronios of Jerusalem wrote,![]()
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“Through Symeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves.”![]()
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All of the feasts call us to spiritual renewal and participation in the Christian Mystery, and as we celebrate the Meeting of the Lord, the same vesperal verses that usher Symeon forward to receive the Saviour also call us to go press forward:![]()
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“Let us come and greet Christ with divine hymns, and let us receive Him Whom Symeon perceived as our salvation.”![]()
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“Let us receive Him” not come as bystanders or onlookers, but rather as spiritual participators in the meaning of the feast: the Saviour’s manifest presence in the world as our God and Lord who has revealed Himself to us – not passively observing His presence, but receiving Him and become the very means of this indwelling presence in the world: not in our arms, as those of Symeon, but within our hearts.![]()
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Each of us must have and carry Him as God-Receivers, as was the Righteous Symeon and as Christ-Bearers like St Ignatius of Antioch, whose feast of the translation if his relics was celebrated only a few days ago.![]()
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We receive and bear Christ through living the Gospel in active lives of prayer, ascetism, fasting and participation in the Holy Mysteries, as members of His Body – the Church – in which we have been joined to Him in Holy Baptism, healed and renewed by Him through repentance and confession, nourished and consecrated by partaking of Him in the Eucharistic Mystery.![]()
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Through Christ-centred lives, each of us can say to the Lord, “mine eyes have seen Thy salvation…” and with confidence, we will be able to consciously say the words of St Sophronios:![]()
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“By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as He came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen Him present among us and have noetically received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence…”![]()
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St Theophan the Recluse reminds us, “… all are called to have and carry the Lord in themselves, and to disappear in Him with all the powers of their spirit.”![]()
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And so, through Christ-centred lives, in which the Lord is reflected and revealed in us, others should see Him, be touched by Him and be called to Him as their enlightenment and salvation.![]()
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Amen.
From the Akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ.![]()
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KONTAKION 13: O Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, accept this small act of thanksgiving offered to Thee with all our soul, and heal us by Thy saving Passion from all sickness of soul and body. Protect us by Thy Cross from enemies visible and invisible, and forsake us not at the end of our life, that saved by Thy death from eternal death, we may unceasingly cry to Thee: Alleluia!
Pray! May God protect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from government persecution. Even bishops are not safe!![]()
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In Chernivtsi, TRC attempts to abduct UOC bishop
spzh.eu
Bishop Nikita managed to escape from TRC officers on the church grounds.
THE SATURDAY OF THE DEAD![]()
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The Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated, tomorrow, in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster, commencing at 10:30.![]()
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After a hiatus of several months, we look forward to the return Orthodox liturgical life to the chapel, and social time together after the Liturgy.
Friday 13 February, Akathist to the Divine Passion before the Relic of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, in the Cardiff Oratory Church st 15:00.
azbyka.ru/days/prazdnik-sobor-vselenskih-uchitelej-i-svjatitelej-vasilija-velikogo-grigorija-bogo...
Собор вселенских учителей и святителей Васи́лия Великого, Григо́рия Богослова и Иоа́нна Златоустого
azbyka.ru
Собор вселенских учителей и святителей Васи́лия Великого, Григо́рия Богослова и Иоа́нна Златоустого
Canons for the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Canon of the Theotokos, the composition of John Mauropus, Metropolitan of Euchaïta, in Tone II Ode I, Irmos: Come, ye people, let us chant a hymn to Christ God, Who divided the sea and guided the peo...
Three Guiding Lights of True Faith. Fr. Stephen Rogers
orthochristian.com
As the month of January draws to a close, the Church calls us on the 30th to celebrate the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom. I...
Happy Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. С праздником!
Акафист Пресвятой Богородице перед иконой «Умягчение злых сердец» - Молитвослов
azbyka.ru
Текст акафиста утвержден на заседании Священного Синода 25 августа 2022 года (журнал № 78).
THURSDAY COMPLINE: Dear brothers and sisters, tomorrow evening will see the celebration of Small Compline with the akathist to the Mother of God, “The Softener of Evil Hearts”, in the chapel of Nazareth House at 18:00. I will be available to hear confessions before and after the service.![]()
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russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com/the-mother-of-god-the-softener-of-evil-hearts
ST. ANDREW (RUBLEV) OF RUSSIA, ICONOGRAPHER (1430): Commemorated on January 29 (day of his death)![]()
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Many consider him the greatest iconographer of all time, and his "Holy Trinity" the finest icon. Very little is known of his life. He was born around 1360, and probably studied with the Byzantine iconographer Theophanes the Greek. He is known to have created icons for the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow and the Cathedral of the Dormition at Vladimir. He created a highly spiritual and distinctively Russian iconographic style that set the standard for Russian iconography for centuries thereafter. It is said that he knew St Sergius of Radonezh (July 5). In his later years he became a monk.
Faithful in Paphos defend Metropolitan Tychikos, accuse Church leadership of abuses
orthochristian.com
A group of faithful from Paphos, Cyprus, has issued a strongly worded public statement in defense of His Eminence Metropolitan Tychikos, who was removed from the Diocese of Paphos last year and later ...
A PRAYER TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD, BY ST ISAAC THE SYRIAN: Make me worthy, O Lord, to know and love Thee, not with knowledge from the exercise of a scattered nous; but make me worthy of that knowledge whereby, beholding Thee, the nous glorifies Thy nature, in divine vision which robs the mind of awareness of the world. Account me worthy to be lifted above my will's wandering eye which begets imaginings, and to behold Thee in the constraint of the Cross's bond, in the second part of the crucifixion of the nous, which willingly ceases from its conceptual imaginings to abide in Thy continuous vision that surpasses nature. Implant in my heart an increase of Thy love, that it may be drawn back from this world by fervent love for Thee. Awake in me understanding of Thy humility, wherewith Thou didst sojourn in the world in the covering of flesh which Thou didst bear from our members by the mediation of the Holy Virgin, that with this continual and unfailing recollection I may accept the humility of my nature with delight.
Happy Feast! I attach the link for the combined canons for St Ephraim and Isaac - such wonderful saints, with an amazing spiritual legacy.![]()
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The Canons to St Ephraim and Isaac - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Dear brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the feast of Saints Ephraim and Isaac, the Syrians, I am repostig their canons below, combined as I use them in my own prayers. Canon of the venerable one, t...
ST. ISAAC THE SYRIAN THE BISHOP OF NINEVEH: Commemorated on January 28 ![]()
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orthochristian.com/100840.html
orthochristian.com
The prayer may be said to capsulize the teaching of this eloquent Holy Father of the Church, who left several volumes of spiritually instructive writings which merited high praise from his illustrious...
Parish News: Meatfare Week – 9th February![]()
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Dear brothers and sisters, As the days grow longer and the first flowers of the year grace our gardens, parks, and the countryside around us, the Church calendar takes us closer and closer to the beginning of the Lent: the Great Fast. After a fast free week, this week sees the last week of meat, ending with Meatfare Sunday, before cheesefare week....![]()
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Parish News: Meatfare Week - 9th February - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Dear brothers and sisters, As the days grow longer and the first flowers of the year grace our gardens, parks, and the countryside around us, the Church calendar takes us closer and closer to the begi...
ST ROMANOS ON THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON: Having just celebrated the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, in our preparatory lead up to the Great Fast, it is always good to consider patristic interpretations of the Gospel, including the killing of the calf for the celebratory meal for the return of the dissolute son, and the symbolism of the calf, representing Christ, in both salvific and eucharistic terms.![]()
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The generosity shown by the father was not without cost, as represented by the father’s gifts and the celebratory meal, which – for the Church Fathers – was rich in sacramental imagery, showing the Holy Mysteries of the Church to be central to the restoration of the fallen, and the reconciliation of prodigal humanity with God, through the Church, represented by the household of the merciful father, who saw his returning son from far off… which means that he was constantly looking and anticipating that longed-for return.![]()
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In the robe brought to clothe his dirty and shabby son, who had fallen to looking after swine and eating pigs’ swill, we see the symbol of baptismal cleansing and the baptismal robe, explored by St Romanos the Melodist in his kontakion sequence “On the Prodigal Son”, originally intended for the second Sunday in Lent, explores this with rich allegorical imagery.![]()
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“Quickly, give my child the first robe, / which the baptismal font weaves for all… For I judge it improper to see unprovided or unadorned, the one who has run to me in repentance and has been found worthy of forgiveness, / Clothe him with the robe of grace, as I have commanded, I the Master and Lord of all the ages.”![]()
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In the placing of the ring upon his finger (a signet ring with its seal), we see the symbol of anointing with oil of the catechumens in the name of the Trinity, and chrismation – the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.![]()
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St Romanos alludes to the seal/sealing, symbolised by the ring, saying that![]()
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“It is a pledge of the undivided Trinity, / To guard him since he has recourse to it, so that when he displays his seal it may appear that he is my son, the son of the ruler of all.”![]()
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In the killing of the calf, we see the image of sacrifice, centred upon Christ, having given Himself for us on the Cross, continues to give Himself to us in the great banquet of the Divine Liturgy.![]()
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In the icon of the Hospitality of Abraham, we also see the calf as a sacrificial and eucharistic image, with its head in the dish at the centre of the altar-like table around which the three angelic visitors sit. The central angel, recognised in Church Tradition as the Angel of Great Counsel – the Pre-Incarnate Saviour, Himself – stretches out to bless the dish: an image of Christ as both the Offering and the One Who offers, as both High Priest and the sacrifice, and in this, St Andrei (Rublev) of Makovetz and other iconographers were drawing upon patristic tradition, in alluding to Christ as the Eucharistic offering.![]()
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With allegorical reference to Holy Baptism, in St Romanos’s hymn, the father commands the servants,![]()
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“Let us behold a supper marvellously spread / for the former prodigal now becomes temperate. / For his father, or rather the Father of all humankind, / receives him repentant, in His love for humankind, rejoicing at his repentance says to His servants, “Hurry, make ready for us the all-holy supper. / Hurry, above all sacrifice the calf to which a virgin heifer gave birth, because my son was lost before / and has now been found. But let us celebrate; / he was dead and has returned to life, he whom I have taken in my heart, the Master and Lord of all the ages.![]()
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O priests, my faithful servants, sacrifice this calf and, to all who are worthy of my supper, give to eat the spotless calf, pure in every way, / fattened from the unsown earth that he fashioned.* / Give them to drink a precious drink, / blood and water that springs from his side for those who believe. / Eat this then, all of you always, / For though it is not divided, not separated, not consumed, but satisfies all unto the ages, / for he offers himself as all-holy food, the Lover of mankind, the Master and Lord of all the ages.”![]()
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*(i.e. the Theotokos)![]()
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Through the many layers of rich imagery, St Romanos reminds us that our return and reconciliation with the Father is not in abstraction, but within the physical-spiritual household of the Church, which the Saviour has established unto the ages, as His theandric Body in the world.![]()
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It is not simply through repentance, but through the Holy Mysteries that the Lord calls us back to His household, to be reclothed in the garment of light with which Adam and Eve were invested, to be sealed in the Name of the Holy Trinity as the heirs of the Kingdom, to receive the Gift of Divine Grace, and to be nourished in the banquet in which the Saviour offers Himself for us, having made clear that like the Old Passover, in the New Passover anticipated and perpetuated in His Mystical Supper, we must be partakers: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”![]()
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As prodigal children, the Heavenly Father looks for our return, not simply waiting, but looking for us and seeking us out. Let us hasten, through repentance within the community and household of Faith, knowing that He awaits us, ready with the new robe, the seal that claims us as His, giving us a place at the table of His Divine and Mystic Banquet.![]()
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In repentance we cry with St Romanos,![]()
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“O Son and Logos of God, Creator of all things, we your unworthy servants ask and implore you, have mercy on all, who call upon you. / As you did the prodigal son who had sinned. / Accept and save through compassion those who in repentance run to you, O King, crying, “We have sinned… Make us partakers of your supper, as you did the prodigal son, you he Master and Lord of all the ages.”
Our service for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son will be in Tremorfa Community Hall, next to St Philip’s Church, with the Hours and Liturgy starting, as usual, at 09:00. We look forward to seeing you!
The Life of St. Xenia of Petersburg. January 24/February 6
orthochristian.com
Having come to know the inconstancy of earthly happiness through the death of her beloved husband, Xenia strove toward God with all her heart, and sought protection and comfort only in Him. Earthly, t...
Happy Feast and name day greetings to our Xenias and Oksana’s named for Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg. На многая и благая лета! Many, blessed years!
Whenever we travel, as Orthodox believers, it is important that we are prepared for prayer on our journeys, packing the things we need and having suitable icons, so that in a minute, a shelf, a window-ledge or the top of a cabinet can become our instant icon-corner and the domestic church where we worship the Lord, and where we glorify His all-holy Name. In these quiet, humble corners, invisible to the world, God is worshipped and glorified, the saints and angels are honoured, and the imprint of grace changes places for ever, as they are made holy to the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, may I remind you that there will be no Thursday or Friday services this week as I am in London for a pre-Lenten visit, before pastoral visits on Friday and Saturday. ![]()
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On Sunday, confessions will begin upon arrival in TREMORFA COMMUNITY CENTRE (not St Philip’s) at 8:30.![]()
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Sunday’s variables may be found at: drive.google.com/file/d/1TEFVe1FY53Jljj0hItTcD7S6qf9YDZsl/view#
The Canon to St Maximos the Greek - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
The Canon to the Venerable Maximos the Greek, in Tone I Ode I, Irmos: O ye people, let us all chant a hymn of victory unto Him Who delivered Israel from the bitter bondage of Pharaoh, and led them d...
ST MAXIMUS THE GREEK: Saint Maximus the Greek was the son of a rich Greek dignitary in the city of Arta (Epiros), and he received a splendid education. In his youth he travelled widely and he studied languages and sciences (i.e. intellectual disciplines) in Europe, spending time in Paris, Florence, and Venice.![]()
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Upon returning to his native land, he went to Athos and became a monk at the Vatopedi monastery. And with enthusiasm he studied ancient manuscripts left on Athos by the Byzantine Emperors Andronicus Paleologos and John Kantakuzenos (who became monks).![]()
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During this period the Moscow Great Prince Basil III (1505-1533) wanted to make an inventory of the Greek manuscripts and books of his mother, Sophia Paleologina, and he asked the Protos of the Holy Mountain, Igumen Simeon, to send him a translator. Saint Maximus was chosen to go to Moscow, for he had been brought up on secular and ecclesiastical books from his youth. Upon his arrival, he was asked to translate patristic and liturgical books into Slavonic, starting with the Annotated Psalter.![]()
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Saint Maximus tried to fulfill his task, but since Slavonic was not his native language, there were certain imprecisions in the translations.![]()
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Metropolitan Barlaam of Moscow highly valued the work of Saint Maximus, but when the See of Moscow was occupied by Metropolitan Daniel, the situation changed.![]()
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The new Metropolitan ordered Saint Maximus to translate the Church History of Theodoritus of Cyrrhus into Slavonic. Saint Maximus absolutely refused this commission, pointing out that “in this history are included letters of the heretic Arius, and this might present danger for the semi-literate.” This refusal caused a rift between Maximus and the Metropolitan. Despite their differences, Saint Maximus continued to labor for the spiritual enlightenment of Rus. He wrote letters against Moslems, Roman Catholics, and pagans. He translated Saint John Chrysostom’s Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John, and he also wrote several works of his own.![]()
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When the Great Prince wished to divorce his wife Solomonia because of her infertility, the dauntless confessor Maximus sent the Prince his “Instructive Chapters on Initiating Right Belief,” in which he persuasively demonstrated that the Prince was obliged not to yield to bestial passions. The Prince never forgave Maximus for his audacity, and locked Saint Maximus in prison. From that moment a new period began in the life of the monk, filled with much suffering.![]()
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Mistakes in his translations were regarded as deliberate and intentional corruptions of the text by Saint Maximus. It was difficult for him in prison, but in his sufferings the saint also gained the great mercy of God. An angel appeared to him and said, “Endure, Abba! Through this temporary pain you will be delivered from eternal torments.”![]()
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In prison the Elder wrote a Canon to the Holy Spirit in charcoal upon a wall, which even at present is read in the Church: “Just as Israel was nourished with manna in the wilderness of old, so Master, fill my soul with the All-Holy Spirit, that through Him I may serve Thee always....”![]()
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After six years, Saint Maximus was set free from prison and sent to Tver. There he lived under the supervision of the good-natured Bishop Acacius, who dealt kindly with guiltless sufferer. The saint then wrote in his autobiography: “While I was locked in prison and grieving, I consoled and strengthened myself with patience.” Here are some more words from this vivid text: “Neither grieve, nor be sad, beloved soul, that you have suffered unjustly, for it behooves you to accept all for your benefit.”![]()
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Only after twenty years at Tver did they decide to let Maximus live freely, and remove the church excommunication. Saint Maximus, now about seventy years of age, spent the final years of his life at the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Oppression and work took their toil on his health, but his spirit remained vigorous, and he continued with his work. Together with his cell-attendant and disciple Nilus, the saint translated the Psalter from Greek into Slavonic.![]()
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Saint Maximus reposed on January 21, 1556. He was buried at the northwest wall of the Holy Spirit church of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Many manifestations of grace took place at the grave of Saint Maximus, and a Troparion and Kontakion were composed in his honor. Saint Maximus is depicted on the icon of the Synaxis of the Saints of Radonezh (July 6).
Prayer service with LGBT female bishop held at Phanar US Archdiocese church
spzh.eu
The head of the Greek Archdiocese in the US held a prayer service together with a Lutheran “woman bishop” – the first openly lesbian person in that position in New York.
In the Rhythm of the Church. Part 1: Where to Begin?
orthochristian.com
If you know at least a little bit about how Church worship is organized, any “average” parishioner burdened with work and family duties can add some elements of the Church’s worship to his home ...
ROCOR’s Metropolitan Mark of Berlin turns 85
orthochristian.com
Metropolitan Mark is the elder hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia both in terms of age and years in the episcopal ministry, and among the eldest in the Russian Orthodox Church a...
Евфимий Великий: житие, иконы, день памяти
azbyka.ru
Краткое житие преподобного Евфимия ВеликогоПреподобный Евфимий Великий происходил из города Мелитины в Арм...
Monday February 2, 2026 / January 20, 2026: St Euthymius the Great.![]()
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Saint Euthymius the Great came from the city of Melitene in Armenia, near the River Euphrates. His parents, Paul and Dionysia, were pious Christians of noble birth. After many years of marriage they remained childless, and in their sorrow they entreated God to give them offspring. Finally, they had a vision and heard a voice saying, “Be of good cheer! God will grant you a son, who will bring joy to the churches.” The child was named Euthymius (“good cheer”).![]()
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Saint Euthymius’ father died soon after this, and his mother, fulfilling her vow to dedicate her son to God, gave him to her brother, the priest Eudoxius, to be educated. He presented the child to Bishop Eutroius of Melitene, who accepted him with love. Seeing his good conduct, the bishop soon made him a Reader.![]()
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Saint Euthymius later became a monk and was ordained to the holy priesthood. At the same time, he was entrusted with the supervision of all the city monasteries. Saint Euthymius often visited the monastery of Saint Polyeuctus, and during Great Lent he withdrew into the wilderness. His responsibility for the monasteries weighed heavily upon the ascetic, and conflicted with his desire for stillness, so he secretly left the city and headed to Jerusalem. After venerating the holy shrines, he visited the Fathers in the desert.![]()
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Since there was a solitary cell in the Tharan lavra, he settled into it, earning his living by weaving baskets. Nearby, his neighbor Saint Theoctistus (September 3) also lived in asceticism. They shared the same zeal for God and for spiritual struggles, and each strove to attain what the other desired. They had such love for one another that they seemed to share one soul and one will.![]()
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Every year, after the Feast of Theophany, they withdrew into the desert of Coutila (not far from Jericho). One day, they entered a steep and terrifying gorge with a stream running through it. They saw a cave upon a cliff, and settled there. The Lord, however, soon revealed their solitary place for the benefit of many people. Shepherds driving their flocks came upon the cave and saw the monks. They went back to the village and told people about the ascetics living there.![]()
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People seeking spiritual benefit began to visit the hermits and brought them food. Gradually, a monastic community grew up around them. Several monks came from the Tharan monastery, among them Marinus and Luke. Saint Euthymius entrusted the supervision of the growing monastery to his friend Theoctistus.![]()
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Saint Euthymius exhorted the brethren to guard their thoughts. “Whoever desires to lead the monastic life should not follow his own will. He should be obedient and humble, and be mindful of the hour of death. He should fear the judgment and eternal fire, and seek the heavenly Kingdom.”![]()
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The saint taught young monks to fix their thoughts on God while engaging in physical labor. “If laymen work in order to feed themselves and their families, and to give alms and offer sacrifice to God, then are not we as monks obliged to work to sustain ourselves and to avoid idleness? We should not depend on strangers.”![]()
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The saint demanded that the monks keep silence in church during services and at meals. When he saw young monks fasting more than others, he told them to cut off their own will, and to follow the appointed rule and times for fasting. He urged them not to attract attention to their fasting, but to eat in moderation.![]()
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In these years Saint Euthymius converted and baptized many Arabs. Among them were the Saracen leaders Aspebet and his son Terebon, both of whom Saint Euthymius healed of sickness. Aspebet received the name Peter in Baptism and afterwards he was a bishop among the Arabs.![]()
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Word of the miracles performed by Saint Euthymius spread quickly. People came from everywhere to be healed of their ailments, and he cured them. Unable to bear human fame and glory, the monk secretly left the monastery, taking only his closest disciple Dometian with him. He withdrew into the Rouba desert and settled on Mt. Marda, near the Dead Sea.![]()
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In his quest for solitude, the saint explored the wilderness of Ziph and settled in the cave where David once hid from King Saul. Saint Euthymius founded a monastery beside David’s cave, and built a church. During this time Saint Euthymius converted many monks from the Manichean heresy, he also healed the sick and cast out devils.![]()
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Visitors disturbed the tranquillity of the wilderness. Since he loved silence, the saint decided to return to the monastery of Saint Theoctistus. Along the way they found a quiet level place on a hill, and he remained there. This would become the site of Saint Euthymius’ lavra, and a little cave served as his cell, and then as his grave.![]()
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Saint Theoctistus went with his brethren to Saint Euthymius and requested him to return to the monastery, but the monk did not agree to this. However, he did promise to attend Sunday services at the monastery.![]()
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Saint Euthymius did not wish to have anyone nearby, nor to organize a cenobium or a lavra. The Lord commanded him in a vision not to drive away those who came to him for the salvation of their souls. After some time brethren again gathered around him, and he organized a lavra, on the pattern of the Tharan Lavra. In the year 429, when Saint Euthymius was fifty-two years old, Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem consecrated the lavra church and supplied it with presbyters and deacons.![]()
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The lavra was poor at first, but the saint believed that God would provide for His servants. Once, about 400 Armenians on their way to the Jordan came to the lavra. Seeing this, Saint Euthymius called the steward and ordered him to feed the pilgrims. The steward said that there was not enough food in the monastery. Saint Euthymius, however, insisted. Going to the storeroom where the bread was kept, the steward found a large quantity of bread, and the wine casks and oil jars were also filled. The pilgrims ate their fill, and for three months afterwards the door of the storeroom could not be shut because of the abundace of bread. The food remained undiminished, just like the widow of Zarephath’s barrel of meal and cruse of oil (1/3 Kings 17:8-16).![]()
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Once, the monk Auxentius refused to carry out his assigned obedience. Despite the fact that Saint Euthymius summoned him and urged him to comply, he remained obstinate. The saint then shouted loudly, “You will be rewarded for your insubordination.” A demon seized Auxentius and threw him to the ground. The brethren asked Abba Euthymius to help him, and then the saint healed the unfortunate one, who came to himself, asked forgiveness and promised to correct himself. “Obedience,” said Saint Euthymius, “is a great virtue. The Lord loves obedience more than sacrifice, but disobedience leads to death.”![]()
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Two of the brethren became overwhelmed by the austere life in the monastery of Saint Euthymius, and they resolved to flee. Saint Euthymius saw in a vision that they would be ensnared by the devil. He summoned them and admonished them to abandon their destructive intention. He said, “We must never admit evil thoughts that fill us with sorrow and hatred for the place in which we live, and suggest that we go somewhere else. If someone tries to do something good in the place where he lives but fails to complete it, he should not think that he will accomplish it elsewhere. It is not the place that produces success, but faith and a firm will. A tree which is often transplanted does not bear fruit.”![]()
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In the year 431, the Third Ecumenical Council was convened in Ephesus to combat the Nestorian heresy. Saint Euthymius rejoiced over the affirmation of Orthodoxy, but was grieved about Archbishop John of Antioch who defended Nestorius.![]()
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In the year 451 the Fourth Ecumenical Council met in Chalcedon to condemn the heresy of Dioscorus who, in contrast to Nestorius, asserted that in the Lord Jesus Christ there is only one nature, the divine (thus the heresy was called Monophysite). He taught that in the Incarnation, Christ’s human nature is swallowed up by the divine nature.![]()
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Saint Euthymius accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon and he acknowledged it as Orthodox. News of this spread quickly among the monks and hermits. Many of them, who had previously believed wrongly, accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon because of the example of Saint Euthymius.![]()
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Because of his ascetic life and firm confession of the Orthodox Faith, Saint Euthymius is called “the Great.” Wearied by contact with the world, the holy abba went for a time into the inner desert. After his return to the lavra some of the brethren saw that when he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, fire descended from Heaven and encircled the saint. Saint Euthymius himself revealed to several of the monks that often he saw an angel celebrating the Holy Liturgy with him. The saint had the gift of clairvoyance, and he could discern a person’s thoughts and spiritual state from his outward appearance. When the monks received the Holy Mysteries, the saint knew who approached worthily, and who received unworthily.![]()
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When Saint Euthymius was 82 years old, the young Savva (the future Saint Savva the Sanctified, December 5), came to his lavra. The Elder received him with love and sent him to the monastery of Saint Theoctistus. He foretold that Saint Savva would outshine all his other disciples in virtue.![]()
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When the saint was ninety years of age, his companion and fellow monk Theoctistus became grievously ill. Saint Euthymius went to visit his friend and remained at the monastery for several days. He took leave of him and was present at his end. After burying his body in a grave, he returned to the lavra.![]()
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God revealed to Saint Euthymius the time of his death. On the eve of the Feast of Saint Anthony the Great (January 17) Saint Euthymius gave the blessing to serve the all-night Vigil. When the service ended, he took the priests aside and told them that he would never serve another Vigil with them, because the Lord was calling him from this earthly life.![]()
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All were filled with great sadness, but the saint asked the brethren to meet him in church in the morning. He began to instruct them, “If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). Love is the highest virtue, and the bond of perfectness (Col. 3:14). Every virtue is made secure by love and humility. The Lord humbled Himself because of His Love for us and became man. Therefore, we ought to praise Him unceasingly, especially since we monks have escaped worldly distractions and concerns.”![]()
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“Look to yourselves, and preserve your souls and bodies in purity. Do not fail to attend the church services, and keep the traditions and rules of our community. If one of the brethren struggles with unclean thoughts, correct, console, and instruct him, so that he does not fall into the devil’s snares. Never refuse hospitality to visitors. Offer a bed to every stranger. Give whatever you can to help the poor in their misfortune.”![]()
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Afterwards, having given instructions for the guidance of the brethren, the saint promised always to remain in spirit with them and with those who followed them in his monastery. Saint Euthymius then dismissed everyone but his disciple Dometian. He remained in the altar for three days, then died on January 20, 473 at the age of ninety-seven.![]()
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A multitude of monks from all the monasteries and from the desert came to the lavra for the holy abba’s burial, among whom was Saint Gerasimus. The Patriarch Anastasius also came with his clergy, as well as the Nitrian monks Martyrius and Elias, who later became Patriarchs of Jerusalem, as Saint Euthymius had foretold.![]()
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Dometian remained by the grave of his Elder for six days. On the seventh day, he saw the holy abba in glory, beckoning to his disciple. “Come, my child, the Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be with me.”![]()
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After telling the brethren about the vision, Dometian went to church and joyfully surrendered his soul to God. He was buried beside Saint Euthymius. The relics of Saint Euthymius remained at his monastery in Palestine, and the Russian pilgrim Igumen Daniel saw them in the twelfth century.
Dear brothers and sisters, I’m sure Macarius (Chris) would agree with me in saying how lovely it was to have this year’s name day fall on a Sunday, with the opportunity to not only attend the Divine Liturgy, but also to commune of the Holy Mysteries.![]()
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Traditionally, this was central to the way Orthodox Christians celebrated their name day, but our circumstances often make this either difficult or impossible today.![]()
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However, we can look forward to the opportunities for name day Liturgies when the Lord grants us our own temple.![]()
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We can can all cultivate a spiritual relationship with our heavenly patron, whose name we bear: reading and knowing their life; emulating their example; celebrating their feast(s); prayerfully turning to them day by day; asking their intercessions, and praying their canon or akathist regularly.![]()
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They should become a central part of our life, our spiritual identity, and Christian consciousness.
We congratulate Macarius (Chris) on his first celebration of the feast of the great Egyptian desert father since his baptism, and his first name day. May God grant him, many blessed years!
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TOMORROW’S LITURGY: Dear brothers and sisters. As we haven’t seen inside St Philip’s this week, we shall celebrate tomorrow’s Liturgy in the community hall, next door.
With carpentry work going on in the Oratory, today, we took refuge in the baptistry chapel and chanted compline with the Great Canon at the altar behind the font. We will return tomorrow at 15:00, and will additionally chant the Great Canon in a simpler evening service in Nazareth House at 18:00. Confessions will follow the service.
KONTAKION OF THE GREAT CANON (TONE 6): My soul, my soul arise! Why art thou sleeping? The end is drawing near and thou wilt be confounded. Awake then and be watchful, that thou mayest be spared by Christ God, Who is everywhere and fillest all things.
Enjoying Lenten homilies of St Theophan the Recluse, and hoping that spiritual reading is happening in parish homes!
What a blessing to celebrate today’s services for the second day of Great Lent in the Oratory Church and Nazareth House, and to have the assistance of our young people, with four of our student gentlemen reading capably and with great devotion. Praise God!
“O Lord of Hosts be with us…” from today’s Great Compline of the Tuesday of the first week of Great Lent.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that your start of the Great Fast is as spiritually bright as this wonderful day is sunny and warm!![]()
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Parishioners hopefully have reading for spiritual food during Great Lent, and have extra free time in which to read, rather than spending time on food preparation and cooking. ![]()
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Sadly, so many people replace eating the plainest and most basic Lenten food, with vegetarian options that require time and a multitude of ingredients - some meals taking longer to prepare than before Lent. ![]()
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The ustav appoints the plainest food to FREE us from spending time in the kitchen, to give us time for reading and prayer!![]()
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Today - we will pray the Great Canon, shortly, in the Oratory at 15:00, and will also pray the canon in the evening pravilo in Nazareth House, tonight at 18:00.![]()
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Good strength and every blessing for the season. May it be the springtime of your soul.![]()
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Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.![]()
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Struggle well!![]()
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In Christ - Hieromonk Mark
In Old Testament, we read how the patriarchs and prophets took stones and built altars to the Living-God, setting up sanctuaries to Him, where they offered worship and sacrifice. As the children of the Church, the New Israel of God, wherever we go, we too, like the patriarchs and prophets of old, set up altars to offer our sacrifice of praise, but not with stones - bare and without inscription - but with the Holy Icons inscribed with the image of the Incarnate-Word, the Stone from the Uncut Mountain, the very Stone which the builders rejected, Which has become the Head of the corner and is marvellous in our eyes!
Brotherhoods: A network against the empire
spzh.eu
In 1596, Orthodoxy in Ukraine was declared “dead.” But while elites were drifting into Catholic cathedrals, ordinary townsmen built a structure that outplayed both empire and Jesuits.
Dear brothers and sisters, Having celebrated the Vespers of Forgiveness, we have liturgically entered the forty days of the Great Fast, and though we may be finishing off our last non-fasting food tonight, our prayers and services are already of a Lenten nature, with the prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian being the sign of this penitential season, par excellence.![]()
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In the week ahead, and then on Thursday of the fifth week, the Great Canon of Repentance, the work of St Andrew of Crete (8th century) is an important part of our Lenten praxis and our spiritual culture and identity. ![]()
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This great penitential hymn, draws upon a wealth of Biblical references to illustrate the history of the fall, and their healing through the mystery of repentance.![]()
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The canon will be chanted at 15:00 in the Oratory Church from Monday to Thursday, and additionally in Nazareth House at 18:00, on Tuesday and Thursday.![]()
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Though we look forward to Liturgies of the Pre-Sanctified in subsequent weeks of the Fast, this Friday we will replace it with the Akathist to the Life-Giving Passion, in the Oratory Church, at 15:00.![]()
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As already announced, a group of us will attend Liturgy for the Saturday of St Theodore in Lazarica, in Bournville. The Hours and Liturgy begin at 09:00.![]()
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I am so pleased that despite the seeming failure of our planned Lenten Psalter prayers, we now have more than enough readers to ensure that the complete Psalter is read every day. This is a wonderful offering of prayer and praise for the community. Please refer to the spread sheet that Alexander has emailed to see your allocation, if you are one of our readers. Glory to God, and thanks to our volunteers. ![]()
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The first Sunday of Great Lent is a wonderful commemoration of the Restoration of the Holy Icons and the Triumph of Orthodoxy, and we encourage you to bring an icon with you to Liturgy, next Sunday, to mark the celebration, when we will remember the Holy Autocrats Theodora and Basil of Blessed Memory, the pious sovereigns and holy fathers, also praying for our hierarchs and those who govern us, according to God’s will. The Synodikon of Orthodoxy will follow our Liturgy as a celebration of our Faith: наша Вера Православна!![]()
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Many thanks to all who made Forgiveness Sunday such a wonderful celebration. ![]()
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Our choir worked hard to make our services solemn and prayerful, and it was a joy to have so many people at Liturgy - including Oswald, now a qualified stone-mason. ![]()
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Given his place in past parish life, having him in both Cheltenham and Cardiff Liturgies this weekend was a real blessing.![]()
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I hope and pray that we will support one another during the Holy Forty Days, through prayer, through words of encouragement, through positive example one to another, and through struggling for forgiveness and reconciliation!![]()
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Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake, and wishing you a good struggle in the Fast.![]()
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Kalo stadhio! A good arena!![]()
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In Christ - Hieromonk Mark
Forgiveness warms the coldest heart; softens the hardest heart; and can make even the most inhospitable human heart a worthy dwelling for Christ, Whose forgiveness of each and everyone of us makes it possible for us to forgive others, even when it seems impossible. As we are conformed to His image, we become vessels of His boundless love, and as that love changes and transfigures us, the mystery of forgiveness dissolves all emnity and division, uniting us in love and peace. Let us forgive, even as we have been forgiven, and let us seek to love, even as we are loved.
A short part of our Fr Mark's homily from today's Forgiveness Sunday.
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Thanks to everyone for a wonderful Liturgy in Prestbury, today. ![]()
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It was lovely to have so many children with us, and to have their lively interaction in our homily, which spoke about the example of the venerable fathers and mothers, who shone with the reflection of Christ’s image… reminding us that during the coming days of the Fast, we must clean and polish ourselves, like the mirrors of the ancient world, so that, cleansed and purified, Christ’s image may be seen in us, and that we may reflect Him in lives of holiness, spiritual labour and obedience to Him!![]()
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We look forward to our March Liturgy, which will be a week later than planned, on Saturday 28 March, due to soborovanie in the cathedral the week before.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we come to Forgiveness Sunday, we are able to thank God and our many benefactors for our crossing the £12,000 marker in our gofundme campaign.![]()
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Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has so generously supported this progress towards our goal, which though seemingly far off, draws closer with every donation.![]()
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Contemplating the various locations for next week’s services, the need for our own temple presses upon us. ![]()
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Whilst building works continue in St Philip’s, Sunday Liturgies will continue to be celebrated in Tremorfa Community Hall; Lenten afternoon worship will be in the Oratory Church; evening worship in Nazareth House; then, again, we will return to the Community Hall weekend by weekend.![]()
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Our Lenten worship will be limited by our lack of a sanctuary that may be used at any hour; by lack of a place of our own to reserve the Holy Gifts; by the simple lack of liturgical objects and equipment whilst building work necessitates our worship things being scattered across Cardiff, kept safe in parishioners’ homes.![]()
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As we pray and worship in different places through this penitential season, the limitations of our borrowed buildings and itinerant life will become doubly obvious to us… which is why we need every parishioner to be proactive and serious in maintaining the momentum of our fund-raiser, so that it does not simply become “old news”.![]()
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Our vision must drive us forward, with energy, commitment and determination to reach the day when we open the doors of our own temple.![]()
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So, please continue sharing and publicising our fundraiser, and just as importantly PRAY for the temple that will be a spiritual home and beacon of Orthodox Christianity in South East Wales.![]()
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Wishing you all a good and profitable spiritual struggle during the holy forty days.![]()
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May you fight well in the spiritual arena. Kalo stadhio.![]()
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May God bless you.![]()
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In Christ - Hieromonk Mark
Donate to Help us buy a Church for our Orthodox Parish in Wales!, organized by Hieromonk Mark
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Building Orthodoxy in a Land of Saints. Wales is an ancient ... Hieromonk Mark needs your support for Help us buy a Church for our Orthodox Parish in Wales!
Dear brothers and sisters, as tomorrow is the eve of the Great Fast, Liturgy will be followed by Forgiveness Vespers, in the course of which we make the liturgical entrance into the Fast, before the rite of forgiveness.![]()
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At 15:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we will anticipate Great Compline with the Canon of Repentance, chanting the service in the Oratory Church.![]()
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To make allowance for those working in the day-time, on Tuesday and Thursday, there will also be evening prayers with the chanting of the Great Canon in the chapel of Nazareth House at 18:00.![]()
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On Friday, we will chant the akathist to the Lord’s Passion in the Oratory Church at 15:00.![]()
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The Saturday of St Theodore, will see a group of us keeping this first Saturday of Lent in the Church of St Lazar, in Bournville, where the Hours and Liturgy will vommence at 09:00.![]()
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We look forward to celebrating the Triumph of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of the Great Fast, commemorating the restoration of the Holy Icons and chanting the Synodikon of Orthodoxy with the solemn confession of our Faith.
Gloucestershire calls, as we set off from Swansea for our Cheltenham Liturgy, which we will celebrate this morning in Prestbury United Reformed Church at 10:00. Everyone welcome!
The order of the Small Panikhida![]()
(Litia for the Departed, without a priest)![]()
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Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us. Amen. Bow![]()
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Troparion, Tone 2: Remember, O Lord, Thy servants, for Thou art good, and forgive them whatsoever sins they have committed in life; for none is sinless but Thee Who art able to give repose unto them that are departed.![]()
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Troparion, Tone 8: O Thou Who in the depths of wisdom orderest all things with love toward man; Who grantest to all men that which is for their benefit; Thou only Creator, grant rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy departed servants, for in Thee have they put their hope, our Maker and Fashioner and our God.![]()
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Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit![]()
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Kontakion, Tone 8: With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life eternal.![]()
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Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.![]()
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Theotokion,Tone 8: Thee have we as a wall and a refuge, and a Mediatrix well-pleasing to God, Whom thou hast borne, O Theotokos unwedded, salvation of the faithful.![]()
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Lord have mercy. (40 times)![]()
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Remember, O Lord God, Thy servants who have fallen asleep in faith and in the hope of eternal life, (names). As Thou art good and lovest mankind, disregard their sins and consume their iniquities; absolve, remit and forgive them all their offences, voluntary and involuntary, and raise them up at Thy second coming unto participation and Thine eternal good things, for they believed in Thee alone, the True God and Lover of mankind. For Thou art the resurrection, the life, and the repose of Thy servants, O Christ our God, and unto Thee do we send up glory, together with Thine unoriginate Father, and with the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.![]()
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More honourable than the cherubim and truly more glorious than the seraphim; thou, who without defilement gavest birth to God the Word, the true Mother of God, thee do we magnify.![]()
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Bow![]()
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Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Bow![]()
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Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, bless. Bow![]()
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Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother, of our venerable and God-bearing fathers and of all the saints, have mercy and grant rest to the souls of Thy servants unto endless ages, for Thou art good and lovest mankind. Amen.![]()
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To the servants of God departed this life, our fathers and brethren and all Orthodox Christians, on whose behalf we also make this commemoration: Eternal Memory. (thrice)![]()
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Grants rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants. (Bow) Forgive and have mercy upon them, for whatever sins they have humanly committed, for Thou art a God who lovest mankind. (Bow) And deliver then from eternal torment. (Bow) Make them sharers in the kingdom of heaven. (Bow) And do whatever is profitable for our souls. (Bow).![]()
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We say this troparion thrice, with 15 bows, and then three bows with the prayer of the publican: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.![]()
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Prayer over the Kutiya In Memory of the Departed![]()
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O Lord our God, the Hope of all who call upon Thee and who know Thy most holy Name, bless these seeds which are offered in Thy holy Church in memory of Thy servant N., who hath gone to his rest, and him on whose behalf they have been brought do Thou establish in the bosom of Abraham and in the land of the living. Grant him pardon and absolution of his sins. Yea, O Master, Who knowest the weakness of men and how easily they fall: Enter not into judgement with Thy servant who hath passed over to Thee with faith and hope. As Thou grantest us to do Thy commandments in holiness, do Thou also grant a fitting decision to them that commemorate his repose. For Thou art the Resurrection, and the Life and the repose of the departed, Christ our God, and unto Thee do we send up glory, together with Thine unoriginate Father and Thy most holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Replying to the granddaughter of the newly-departed Alexandra, I reminded her that not only priests, but even lay people can and should be praying for the departed… hence the layman’s version of the memorial service.![]()
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azbyka.ru/molitvoslov/chin-litii-sovershaemoj-miryaninom-doma-i-na-kladbishhe.html![]()
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English following.
Лития, совершаемая мирянином дома и на кладбище - Молитвослов
azbyka.ru
См. также: Лития, совершаемая мирянином дома и на кладбище церковнославянским шрифтом
It was a blessing to be able to entrust our younger generation with praying the akathist to the Precious and Life-Giving Cross in the Oratory, this afternoon, and to have such dedicated and spiritually serious young people: the future of the Church!
Thanks to the sisters and brothers who gathered in Nazareth House for our customary Thursday compline and akathist, which we offered to the Lord in English, Slavonic and Romanian. It is always a joy to pray in our former spiritual home, and to especially have our young people taking such a central rôle in worship.![]()
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Tomorrow will see our moleben to the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, in the Oratory Church at 15:00.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are still seeking participants to read a kathisma of the Psalter at home each day during Lent / Пост, as we have over the last few years. Please message psaltergroup@fastmail.com asap if you are able to join in.
Tomorrow evening, Thursday 19 February, compline will be chanted in Nazareth House at 18:00, with the akathist to the Mother of God, “The Deliverer of Those Who Suffer From Misfortunes” («Избавление от бед страждущих»). Confessions may be heard before and after the service.
On Forgiveness Sunday, during the post-vesperal rite of forgiveness for the eve of the Great Fast, we customarily quietly sing Paschal Hymns, and though we will not be chanting the following 6th century Ambrosian Paschal hymn, we might contemplate its words, as we look forward to our celebration of the Paschal Mystery, fasting, praying and spiritually struggling to prepare ourselves to meet the Risen Lord. The ancient Latin hymn is followed by an English translation.![]()
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Ad cenam Agni providi, stolis salutis candidi,![]()
post transitum maris Rubri, Christo canamus principi.![]()
Cuius corpus sanctissimum, in ara crucis torridum,![]()
sed et cruorem roseum, gustando Dei vivimus.![]()
Protecti paschae vespero, a devastante angelo,![]()
de Pharaonis aspero, sumus erepti imperio.![]()
Iam pascha nostrum Christus est, agnus occisus innocens;![]()
sinceritatis azyma, qui carnem suam obtulit.![]()
O vera, digna hostia, per quam franguntur tartara,![]()
captiva plebs redimitur, redduntur vitae praemia!![]()
Consurgit Christus tumulo, victor redit de barathro,![]()
tyrannum trudens vinculo, et paradisum reserans.![]()
Esto perenne mentibus, paschale, Iesu, gaudium![]()
et nos renatos gratiae, tuis triumphis aggrega.![]()
Iesu, tibi sit gloria, qui morte victa praenites,![]()
cum Patre et almo Spiritu, in sempiterna saecula.![]()
Amen.![]()
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After the transit of the Red Sea, let us sing to Christ, our leader,![]()
as, in the white robes of salvation, we look forward to the supper of the Lamb,![]()
whose holiest body was parched, on the altar of the cross;![]()
but we live by tasting, the roseate blood of God.![]()
On that paschal evening, we were protected from the devastating angel![]()
and snatched from the harsh rule of Pharaoh.![]()
Our pasch is now Christ, the innocent lamb who was slain,![]()
who offered his flesh as the unleavened bread of sincerity.![]()
O truly worthy victim, by whom hell is shattered,![]()
a captive people is redeemed, and the rewards of life are restored!![]()
Christ rose from the grave, the victor has come back from the abyss,![]()
putting down the tyrant with a chain and reopening paradise.![]()
O Jesus, be for our minds an everlasting paschal joy,![]()
and join us to your triumph,we who have been reborn to grace.![]()
O Jesus, glory be to you, who, death having been conquered,![]()
are resplendent with the Father and the nourishing Spirit forever.![]()
Amen.
Parish News – Sunday 15 February![]()
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Dear brothers and sisters, Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord: the culmination of four days of prayer and services in Cardiff and our Wessex mission in Warminster. Our Thursday and Friday services have become a set part of our weekly routine, with our Thursday celebration of compline framing the chanting of an akathist in which we alternate languages to ensure a balance of worship in Slavonic as well as English....![]()
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Parish News - Sunday 15 February - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Dear brothers and sisters, Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord: the culmination of four days of prayer and services in Cardiff and our Wessex mission in Warminster. Our Thursday and Fri...
Thanks to our Cardiff parishioners living in Wessex for our wonderful Memorial Saturday Liturgy. It was a blessing and joy to be back in the chapel of St Lawrence for the first time since October (and feeling so well whilst celebrating Liturgy). Our bring-and share lunch gave ample time for fellowship and catching up with one another. We look forward to the resumption of monthly services, and returning to being part of the life of St Lawrence’s. Special thanks to Ian, chair of the feoffees, for his infectious and inspirational energy and encouragement!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.![]()
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Dear brothers and sisters, ![]()
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Greetings for the feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple.![]()
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As we stand before and look upon the icon of the feast, we do not see the memorialisation of the Temple rituals of the Saviour’s Presentation and the Virgin’s Purification, with the priestly-offering of the sacrificial doves that St Joseph presented, but rather the long-awaited encounter of St Symeon the God-Receiver and the Prophetess Anna with the infant Lord.![]()
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Rather than seeing the sacrifices and rituals of the old covenant, we rather look upon the unfolding of the new covenant, as St Symeon recognises that he is holding the Saviour of the whole of humanity in his arms.![]()
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Rather than looking back to the past and the imperfect, temporary and incomplete sacrifices and rites of the Old Law, this feast and its representation in the holy icons looks forward to the completion and fulfilment of the Economy of Salvation through the Cross, Passion, death and Resurrection of the very Child Who is recognised as the long awaited Messiah and Saviour.![]()
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This is our abiding vision of the feast: not priests or figures of the Jewish religious establishment, but rather the elder and the St Anna – two figures that had kept vigil in the temple, anticipating the long-awaited Saviour – their gaze, as also that of the Mother of God and St Joseph the Betrothed, centred on the Infant Lord.![]()
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We see the Creator Himself held in frail, elderly human arms; the God Whom Moses could not look upon, glimpsing only “His back parts”, recognised and welcomed by the righteous elders who had long awaited this vision; the same Lord Who had been seen of old seated in glory upon the cherubim, now enthroned in the arms of St Symeon.![]()
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Gloom, darkness, and the shadowy symbols and figures of the Old Covenant have passed asay: the Light of the world has come!![]()
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By the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, Symeon recognised the Messiah, whom he held in his agèd arms, declaring Him whom Moses beheld in the gloom of Sinai to be “the Light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people, Israel.”![]()
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How and when St Symeon first realised that the ‘erchomenos’ (the expected One) was drawing near we shall never know, but the joy that filled that righteous old man and drove him forward to take hold of the Child and absorb the meaning of Him in that moment must have been beyond human expression.![]()
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The first ode of the canon poetically prompts and pushes him forward, as though we were there as witnesses, encouraging him and hurrying him on his elderly legs.![]()
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“Be strong, ye hands of Symeon feeble with age; and ye weary legs of the elder, move quickly and straight to meet Christ…”![]()
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…and in the fourth ode, we poetically encourage him not to be shy, but to press forward and take hold of his Light and Saviour:![]()
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“O Symeon, rejoicing take up Christ, the little Child, on Whom thou hast set thy hope, the Consolation of the Israel of God, the Creator and Master of the law, Who fulfilleth the order of the law; and cry aloud unto Him: All things are filled with Thy praise!”![]()
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As his eyes beheld the Messiah; as his elderly arms held Him; as he touched and caressed the Child, can we even begin to understand what he felt in his heart; what joy and relief filled his soul; what awe and wonder possessed his mind; how his ancient frame trembled with what was finally happening?![]()
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Symeon’s immense joy and all-possessing sense of fulfilment, contentment and peace remain beyond our understanding, and may be easily overlooked as we chant his memorialised words at vespers, each day:![]()
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“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.”![]()
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What spiritual light filled the soul of the elder, and what mysteries did he perceive in the depths of his heart as he withdrew from the precincts of the Temple and from the world with the greatest sense of peace and contentment?![]()
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Perhaps he even felt relief that his elderly and frail body could find rest in the peace for which he prayed: the peace from above, for which we ask in the Great Litany.![]()
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We pray for that peace and for the salvation of our souls, and though Symeon received that peace, he would not live to see the unfolding of the Saviour’s works of salvation. ![]()
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Nevertheless, he was still able to say, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation…” and in Christ’s victory of the Cross and the Harrowing of Hell, Symeon would once more see the “Light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people, Israel” in the Lord as the Conqueror of death and hell and as his salvation.![]()
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And what of us?![]()
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The annual feast calls us to greet the Lord and to recognise Him, to see Him, as though through Symeon’s eyes, as our Light and salvation – for, as St Sophronios of Jerusalem wrote,![]()
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“Through Symeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves.”![]()
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All of the feasts call us to spiritual renewal and participation in the Christian Mystery, and as we celebrate the Meeting of the Lord, the same vesperal verses that usher Symeon forward to receive the Saviour also call us to go press forward:![]()
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“Let us come and greet Christ with divine hymns, and let us receive Him Whom Symeon perceived as our salvation.”![]()
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“Let us receive Him” not come as bystanders or onlookers, but rather as spiritual participators in the meaning of the feast: the Saviour’s manifest presence in the world as our God and Lord who has revealed Himself to us – not passively observing His presence, but receiving Him and become the very means of this indwelling presence in the world: not in our arms, as those of Symeon, but within our hearts.![]()
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Each of us must have and carry Him as God-Receivers, as was the Righteous Symeon and as Christ-Bearers like St Ignatius of Antioch, whose feast of the translation if his relics was celebrated only a few days ago.![]()
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We receive and bear Christ through living the Gospel in active lives of prayer, ascetism, fasting and participation in the Holy Mysteries, as members of His Body – the Church – in which we have been joined to Him in Holy Baptism, healed and renewed by Him through repentance and confession, nourished and consecrated by partaking of Him in the Eucharistic Mystery.![]()
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Through Christ-centred lives, each of us can say to the Lord, “mine eyes have seen Thy salvation…” and with confidence, we will be able to consciously say the words of St Sophronios:![]()
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“By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as He came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen Him present among us and have noetically received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence…”![]()
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St Theophan the Recluse reminds us, “… all are called to have and carry the Lord in themselves, and to disappear in Him with all the powers of their spirit.”![]()
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And so, through Christ-centred lives, in which the Lord is reflected and revealed in us, others should see Him, be touched by Him and be called to Him as their enlightenment and salvation.![]()
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Amen.
From the Akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ.![]()
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KONTAKION 13: O Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, accept this small act of thanksgiving offered to Thee with all our soul, and heal us by Thy saving Passion from all sickness of soul and body. Protect us by Thy Cross from enemies visible and invisible, and forsake us not at the end of our life, that saved by Thy death from eternal death, we may unceasingly cry to Thee: Alleluia!
Pray! May God protect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from government persecution. Even bishops are not safe!![]()
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In Chernivtsi, TRC attempts to abduct UOC bishop
spzh.eu
Bishop Nikita managed to escape from TRC officers on the church grounds.
THE SATURDAY OF THE DEAD![]()
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The Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated, tomorrow, in the Chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster, commencing at 10:30.![]()
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After a hiatus of several months, we look forward to the return Orthodox liturgical life to the chapel, and social time together after the Liturgy.
Friday 13 February, Akathist to the Divine Passion before the Relic of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, in the Cardiff Oratory Church st 15:00.
azbyka.ru/days/prazdnik-sobor-vselenskih-uchitelej-i-svjatitelej-vasilija-velikogo-grigorija-bogo...
Собор вселенских учителей и святителей Васи́лия Великого, Григо́рия Богослова и Иоа́нна Златоустого
azbyka.ru
Собор вселенских учителей и святителей Васи́лия Великого, Григо́рия Богослова и Иоа́нна Златоустого
Canons for the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Canon of the Theotokos, the composition of John Mauropus, Metropolitan of Euchaïta, in Tone II Ode I, Irmos: Come, ye people, let us chant a hymn to Christ God, Who divided the sea and guided the peo...
Three Guiding Lights of True Faith. Fr. Stephen Rogers
orthochristian.com
As the month of January draws to a close, the Church calls us on the 30th to celebrate the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom. I...
Happy Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. С праздником!
Акафист Пресвятой Богородице перед иконой «Умягчение злых сердец» - Молитвослов
azbyka.ru
Текст акафиста утвержден на заседании Священного Синода 25 августа 2022 года (журнал № 78).
THURSDAY COMPLINE: Dear brothers and sisters, tomorrow evening will see the celebration of Small Compline with the akathist to the Mother of God, “The Softener of Evil Hearts”, in the chapel of Nazareth House at 18:00. I will be available to hear confessions before and after the service.![]()
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russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com/the-mother-of-god-the-softener-of-evil-hearts
ST. ANDREW (RUBLEV) OF RUSSIA, ICONOGRAPHER (1430): Commemorated on January 29 (day of his death)![]()
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Many consider him the greatest iconographer of all time, and his "Holy Trinity" the finest icon. Very little is known of his life. He was born around 1360, and probably studied with the Byzantine iconographer Theophanes the Greek. He is known to have created icons for the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow and the Cathedral of the Dormition at Vladimir. He created a highly spiritual and distinctively Russian iconographic style that set the standard for Russian iconography for centuries thereafter. It is said that he knew St Sergius of Radonezh (July 5). In his later years he became a monk.
Faithful in Paphos defend Metropolitan Tychikos, accuse Church leadership of abuses
orthochristian.com
A group of faithful from Paphos, Cyprus, has issued a strongly worded public statement in defense of His Eminence Metropolitan Tychikos, who was removed from the Diocese of Paphos last year and later ...
A PRAYER TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD, BY ST ISAAC THE SYRIAN: Make me worthy, O Lord, to know and love Thee, not with knowledge from the exercise of a scattered nous; but make me worthy of that knowledge whereby, beholding Thee, the nous glorifies Thy nature, in divine vision which robs the mind of awareness of the world. Account me worthy to be lifted above my will's wandering eye which begets imaginings, and to behold Thee in the constraint of the Cross's bond, in the second part of the crucifixion of the nous, which willingly ceases from its conceptual imaginings to abide in Thy continuous vision that surpasses nature. Implant in my heart an increase of Thy love, that it may be drawn back from this world by fervent love for Thee. Awake in me understanding of Thy humility, wherewith Thou didst sojourn in the world in the covering of flesh which Thou didst bear from our members by the mediation of the Holy Virgin, that with this continual and unfailing recollection I may accept the humility of my nature with delight.
Happy Feast! I attach the link for the combined canons for St Ephraim and Isaac - such wonderful saints, with an amazing spiritual legacy.![]()
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The Canons to St Ephraim and Isaac - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Dear brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the feast of Saints Ephraim and Isaac, the Syrians, I am repostig their canons below, combined as I use them in my own prayers. Canon of the venerable one, t...
ST. ISAAC THE SYRIAN THE BISHOP OF NINEVEH: Commemorated on January 28 ![]()
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orthochristian.com/100840.html
orthochristian.com
The prayer may be said to capsulize the teaching of this eloquent Holy Father of the Church, who left several volumes of spiritually instructive writings which merited high praise from his illustrious...
Parish News: Meatfare Week – 9th February![]()
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Dear brothers and sisters, As the days grow longer and the first flowers of the year grace our gardens, parks, and the countryside around us, the Church calendar takes us closer and closer to the beginning of the Lent: the Great Fast. After a fast free week, this week sees the last week of meat, ending with Meatfare Sunday, before cheesefare week....![]()
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Parish News: Meatfare Week - 9th February - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
Dear brothers and sisters, As the days grow longer and the first flowers of the year grace our gardens, parks, and the countryside around us, the Church calendar takes us closer and closer to the begi...
ST ROMANOS ON THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON: Having just celebrated the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, in our preparatory lead up to the Great Fast, it is always good to consider patristic interpretations of the Gospel, including the killing of the calf for the celebratory meal for the return of the dissolute son, and the symbolism of the calf, representing Christ, in both salvific and eucharistic terms.![]()
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The generosity shown by the father was not without cost, as represented by the father’s gifts and the celebratory meal, which – for the Church Fathers – was rich in sacramental imagery, showing the Holy Mysteries of the Church to be central to the restoration of the fallen, and the reconciliation of prodigal humanity with God, through the Church, represented by the household of the merciful father, who saw his returning son from far off… which means that he was constantly looking and anticipating that longed-for return.![]()
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In the robe brought to clothe his dirty and shabby son, who had fallen to looking after swine and eating pigs’ swill, we see the symbol of baptismal cleansing and the baptismal robe, explored by St Romanos the Melodist in his kontakion sequence “On the Prodigal Son”, originally intended for the second Sunday in Lent, explores this with rich allegorical imagery.![]()
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“Quickly, give my child the first robe, / which the baptismal font weaves for all… For I judge it improper to see unprovided or unadorned, the one who has run to me in repentance and has been found worthy of forgiveness, / Clothe him with the robe of grace, as I have commanded, I the Master and Lord of all the ages.”![]()
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In the placing of the ring upon his finger (a signet ring with its seal), we see the symbol of anointing with oil of the catechumens in the name of the Trinity, and chrismation – the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.![]()
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St Romanos alludes to the seal/sealing, symbolised by the ring, saying that![]()
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“It is a pledge of the undivided Trinity, / To guard him since he has recourse to it, so that when he displays his seal it may appear that he is my son, the son of the ruler of all.”![]()
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In the killing of the calf, we see the image of sacrifice, centred upon Christ, having given Himself for us on the Cross, continues to give Himself to us in the great banquet of the Divine Liturgy.![]()
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In the icon of the Hospitality of Abraham, we also see the calf as a sacrificial and eucharistic image, with its head in the dish at the centre of the altar-like table around which the three angelic visitors sit. The central angel, recognised in Church Tradition as the Angel of Great Counsel – the Pre-Incarnate Saviour, Himself – stretches out to bless the dish: an image of Christ as both the Offering and the One Who offers, as both High Priest and the sacrifice, and in this, St Andrei (Rublev) of Makovetz and other iconographers were drawing upon patristic tradition, in alluding to Christ as the Eucharistic offering.![]()
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With allegorical reference to Holy Baptism, in St Romanos’s hymn, the father commands the servants,![]()
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“Let us behold a supper marvellously spread / for the former prodigal now becomes temperate. / For his father, or rather the Father of all humankind, / receives him repentant, in His love for humankind, rejoicing at his repentance says to His servants, “Hurry, make ready for us the all-holy supper. / Hurry, above all sacrifice the calf to which a virgin heifer gave birth, because my son was lost before / and has now been found. But let us celebrate; / he was dead and has returned to life, he whom I have taken in my heart, the Master and Lord of all the ages.![]()
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O priests, my faithful servants, sacrifice this calf and, to all who are worthy of my supper, give to eat the spotless calf, pure in every way, / fattened from the unsown earth that he fashioned.* / Give them to drink a precious drink, / blood and water that springs from his side for those who believe. / Eat this then, all of you always, / For though it is not divided, not separated, not consumed, but satisfies all unto the ages, / for he offers himself as all-holy food, the Lover of mankind, the Master and Lord of all the ages.”![]()
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*(i.e. the Theotokos)![]()
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Through the many layers of rich imagery, St Romanos reminds us that our return and reconciliation with the Father is not in abstraction, but within the physical-spiritual household of the Church, which the Saviour has established unto the ages, as His theandric Body in the world.![]()
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It is not simply through repentance, but through the Holy Mysteries that the Lord calls us back to His household, to be reclothed in the garment of light with which Adam and Eve were invested, to be sealed in the Name of the Holy Trinity as the heirs of the Kingdom, to receive the Gift of Divine Grace, and to be nourished in the banquet in which the Saviour offers Himself for us, having made clear that like the Old Passover, in the New Passover anticipated and perpetuated in His Mystical Supper, we must be partakers: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”![]()
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As prodigal children, the Heavenly Father looks for our return, not simply waiting, but looking for us and seeking us out. Let us hasten, through repentance within the community and household of Faith, knowing that He awaits us, ready with the new robe, the seal that claims us as His, giving us a place at the table of His Divine and Mystic Banquet.![]()
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In repentance we cry with St Romanos,![]()
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“O Son and Logos of God, Creator of all things, we your unworthy servants ask and implore you, have mercy on all, who call upon you. / As you did the prodigal son who had sinned. / Accept and save through compassion those who in repentance run to you, O King, crying, “We have sinned… Make us partakers of your supper, as you did the prodigal son, you he Master and Lord of all the ages.”
Our service for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son will be in Tremorfa Community Hall, next to St Philip’s Church, with the Hours and Liturgy starting, as usual, at 09:00. We look forward to seeing you!
The Life of St. Xenia of Petersburg. January 24/February 6
orthochristian.com
Having come to know the inconstancy of earthly happiness through the death of her beloved husband, Xenia strove toward God with all her heart, and sought protection and comfort only in Him. Earthly, t...
Happy Feast and name day greetings to our Xenias and Oksana’s named for Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg. На многая и благая лета! Many, blessed years!
Whenever we travel, as Orthodox believers, it is important that we are prepared for prayer on our journeys, packing the things we need and having suitable icons, so that in a minute, a shelf, a window-ledge or the top of a cabinet can become our instant icon-corner and the domestic church where we worship the Lord, and where we glorify His all-holy Name. In these quiet, humble corners, invisible to the world, God is worshipped and glorified, the saints and angels are honoured, and the imprint of grace changes places for ever, as they are made holy to the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, may I remind you that there will be no Thursday or Friday services this week as I am in London for a pre-Lenten visit, before pastoral visits on Friday and Saturday. ![]()
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On Sunday, confessions will begin upon arrival in TREMORFA COMMUNITY CENTRE (not St Philip’s) at 8:30.![]()
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Sunday’s variables may be found at: drive.google.com/file/d/1TEFVe1FY53Jljj0hItTcD7S6qf9YDZsl/view#
The Canon to St Maximos the Greek - Parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
russianorthodoxchurchcardiff.com
The Canon to the Venerable Maximos the Greek, in Tone I Ode I, Irmos: O ye people, let us all chant a hymn of victory unto Him Who delivered Israel from the bitter bondage of Pharaoh, and led them d...
ST MAXIMUS THE GREEK: Saint Maximus the Greek was the son of a rich Greek dignitary in the city of Arta (Epiros), and he received a splendid education. In his youth he travelled widely and he studied languages and sciences (i.e. intellectual disciplines) in Europe, spending time in Paris, Florence, and Venice.![]()
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Upon returning to his native land, he went to Athos and became a monk at the Vatopedi monastery. And with enthusiasm he studied ancient manuscripts left on Athos by the Byzantine Emperors Andronicus Paleologos and John Kantakuzenos (who became monks).![]()
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During this period the Moscow Great Prince Basil III (1505-1533) wanted to make an inventory of the Greek manuscripts and books of his mother, Sophia Paleologina, and he asked the Protos of the Holy Mountain, Igumen Simeon, to send him a translator. Saint Maximus was chosen to go to Moscow, for he had been brought up on secular and ecclesiastical books from his youth. Upon his arrival, he was asked to translate patristic and liturgical books into Slavonic, starting with the Annotated Psalter.![]()
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Saint Maximus tried to fulfill his task, but since Slavonic was not his native language, there were certain imprecisions in the translations.![]()
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Metropolitan Barlaam of Moscow highly valued the work of Saint Maximus, but when the See of Moscow was occupied by Metropolitan Daniel, the situation changed.![]()
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The new Metropolitan ordered Saint Maximus to translate the Church History of Theodoritus of Cyrrhus into Slavonic. Saint Maximus absolutely refused this commission, pointing out that “in this history are included letters of the heretic Arius, and this might present danger for the semi-literate.” This refusal caused a rift between Maximus and the Metropolitan. Despite their differences, Saint Maximus continued to labor for the spiritual enlightenment of Rus. He wrote letters against Moslems, Roman Catholics, and pagans. He translated Saint John Chrysostom’s Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John, and he also wrote several works of his own.![]()
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When the Great Prince wished to divorce his wife Solomonia because of her infertility, the dauntless confessor Maximus sent the Prince his “Instructive Chapters on Initiating Right Belief,” in which he persuasively demonstrated that the Prince was obliged not to yield to bestial passions. The Prince never forgave Maximus for his audacity, and locked Saint Maximus in prison. From that moment a new period began in the life of the monk, filled with much suffering.![]()
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Mistakes in his translations were regarded as deliberate and intentional corruptions of the text by Saint Maximus. It was difficult for him in prison, but in his sufferings the saint also gained the great mercy of God. An angel appeared to him and said, “Endure, Abba! Through this temporary pain you will be delivered from eternal torments.”![]()
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In prison the Elder wrote a Canon to the Holy Spirit in charcoal upon a wall, which even at present is read in the Church: “Just as Israel was nourished with manna in the wilderness of old, so Master, fill my soul with the All-Holy Spirit, that through Him I may serve Thee always....”![]()
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After six years, Saint Maximus was set free from prison and sent to Tver. There he lived under the supervision of the good-natured Bishop Acacius, who dealt kindly with guiltless sufferer. The saint then wrote in his autobiography: “While I was locked in prison and grieving, I consoled and strengthened myself with patience.” Here are some more words from this vivid text: “Neither grieve, nor be sad, beloved soul, that you have suffered unjustly, for it behooves you to accept all for your benefit.”![]()
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Only after twenty years at Tver did they decide to let Maximus live freely, and remove the church excommunication. Saint Maximus, now about seventy years of age, spent the final years of his life at the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Oppression and work took their toil on his health, but his spirit remained vigorous, and he continued with his work. Together with his cell-attendant and disciple Nilus, the saint translated the Psalter from Greek into Slavonic.![]()
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Saint Maximus reposed on January 21, 1556. He was buried at the northwest wall of the Holy Spirit church of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Many manifestations of grace took place at the grave of Saint Maximus, and a Troparion and Kontakion were composed in his honor. Saint Maximus is depicted on the icon of the Synaxis of the Saints of Radonezh (July 6).
Prayer service with LGBT female bishop held at Phanar US Archdiocese church
spzh.eu
The head of the Greek Archdiocese in the US held a prayer service together with a Lutheran “woman bishop” – the first openly lesbian person in that position in New York.
In the Rhythm of the Church. Part 1: Where to Begin?
orthochristian.com
If you know at least a little bit about how Church worship is organized, any “average” parishioner burdened with work and family duties can add some elements of the Church’s worship to his home ...
ROCOR’s Metropolitan Mark of Berlin turns 85
orthochristian.com
Metropolitan Mark is the elder hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia both in terms of age and years in the episcopal ministry, and among the eldest in the Russian Orthodox Church a...
Евфимий Великий: житие, иконы, день памяти
azbyka.ru
Краткое житие преподобного Евфимия ВеликогоПреподобный Евфимий Великий происходил из города Мелитины в Арм...
Monday February 2, 2026 / January 20, 2026: St Euthymius the Great.![]()
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Saint Euthymius the Great came from the city of Melitene in Armenia, near the River Euphrates. His parents, Paul and Dionysia, were pious Christians of noble birth. After many years of marriage they remained childless, and in their sorrow they entreated God to give them offspring. Finally, they had a vision and heard a voice saying, “Be of good cheer! God will grant you a son, who will bring joy to the churches.” The child was named Euthymius (“good cheer”).![]()
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Saint Euthymius’ father died soon after this, and his mother, fulfilling her vow to dedicate her son to God, gave him to her brother, the priest Eudoxius, to be educated. He presented the child to Bishop Eutroius of Melitene, who accepted him with love. Seeing his good conduct, the bishop soon made him a Reader.![]()
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Saint Euthymius later became a monk and was ordained to the holy priesthood. At the same time, he was entrusted with the supervision of all the city monasteries. Saint Euthymius often visited the monastery of Saint Polyeuctus, and during Great Lent he withdrew into the wilderness. His responsibility for the monasteries weighed heavily upon the ascetic, and conflicted with his desire for stillness, so he secretly left the city and headed to Jerusalem. After venerating the holy shrines, he visited the Fathers in the desert.![]()
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Since there was a solitary cell in the Tharan lavra, he settled into it, earning his living by weaving baskets. Nearby, his neighbor Saint Theoctistus (September 3) also lived in asceticism. They shared the same zeal for God and for spiritual struggles, and each strove to attain what the other desired. They had such love for one another that they seemed to share one soul and one will.![]()
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Every year, after the Feast of Theophany, they withdrew into the desert of Coutila (not far from Jericho). One day, they entered a steep and terrifying gorge with a stream running through it. They saw a cave upon a cliff, and settled there. The Lord, however, soon revealed their solitary place for the benefit of many people. Shepherds driving their flocks came upon the cave and saw the monks. They went back to the village and told people about the ascetics living there.![]()
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People seeking spiritual benefit began to visit the hermits and brought them food. Gradually, a monastic community grew up around them. Several monks came from the Tharan monastery, among them Marinus and Luke. Saint Euthymius entrusted the supervision of the growing monastery to his friend Theoctistus.![]()
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Saint Euthymius exhorted the brethren to guard their thoughts. “Whoever desires to lead the monastic life should not follow his own will. He should be obedient and humble, and be mindful of the hour of death. He should fear the judgment and eternal fire, and seek the heavenly Kingdom.”![]()
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The saint taught young monks to fix their thoughts on God while engaging in physical labor. “If laymen work in order to feed themselves and their families, and to give alms and offer sacrifice to God, then are not we as monks obliged to work to sustain ourselves and to avoid idleness? We should not depend on strangers.”![]()
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The saint demanded that the monks keep silence in church during services and at meals. When he saw young monks fasting more than others, he told them to cut off their own will, and to follow the appointed rule and times for fasting. He urged them not to attract attention to their fasting, but to eat in moderation.![]()
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In these years Saint Euthymius converted and baptized many Arabs. Among them were the Saracen leaders Aspebet and his son Terebon, both of whom Saint Euthymius healed of sickness. Aspebet received the name Peter in Baptism and afterwards he was a bishop among the Arabs.![]()
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Word of the miracles performed by Saint Euthymius spread quickly. People came from everywhere to be healed of their ailments, and he cured them. Unable to bear human fame and glory, the monk secretly left the monastery, taking only his closest disciple Dometian with him. He withdrew into the Rouba desert and settled on Mt. Marda, near the Dead Sea.![]()
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In his quest for solitude, the saint explored the wilderness of Ziph and settled in the cave where David once hid from King Saul. Saint Euthymius founded a monastery beside David’s cave, and built a church. During this time Saint Euthymius converted many monks from the Manichean heresy, he also healed the sick and cast out devils.![]()
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Visitors disturbed the tranquillity of the wilderness. Since he loved silence, the saint decided to return to the monastery of Saint Theoctistus. Along the way they found a quiet level place on a hill, and he remained there. This would become the site of Saint Euthymius’ lavra, and a little cave served as his cell, and then as his grave.![]()
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Saint Theoctistus went with his brethren to Saint Euthymius and requested him to return to the monastery, but the monk did not agree to this. However, he did promise to attend Sunday services at the monastery.![]()
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Saint Euthymius did not wish to have anyone nearby, nor to organize a cenobium or a lavra. The Lord commanded him in a vision not to drive away those who came to him for the salvation of their souls. After some time brethren again gathered around him, and he organized a lavra, on the pattern of the Tharan Lavra. In the year 429, when Saint Euthymius was fifty-two years old, Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem consecrated the lavra church and supplied it with presbyters and deacons.![]()
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The lavra was poor at first, but the saint believed that God would provide for His servants. Once, about 400 Armenians on their way to the Jordan came to the lavra. Seeing this, Saint Euthymius called the steward and ordered him to feed the pilgrims. The steward said that there was not enough food in the monastery. Saint Euthymius, however, insisted. Going to the storeroom where the bread was kept, the steward found a large quantity of bread, and the wine casks and oil jars were also filled. The pilgrims ate their fill, and for three months afterwards the door of the storeroom could not be shut because of the abundace of bread. The food remained undiminished, just like the widow of Zarephath’s barrel of meal and cruse of oil (1/3 Kings 17:8-16).![]()
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Once, the monk Auxentius refused to carry out his assigned obedience. Despite the fact that Saint Euthymius summoned him and urged him to comply, he remained obstinate. The saint then shouted loudly, “You will be rewarded for your insubordination.” A demon seized Auxentius and threw him to the ground. The brethren asked Abba Euthymius to help him, and then the saint healed the unfortunate one, who came to himself, asked forgiveness and promised to correct himself. “Obedience,” said Saint Euthymius, “is a great virtue. The Lord loves obedience more than sacrifice, but disobedience leads to death.”![]()
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Two of the brethren became overwhelmed by the austere life in the monastery of Saint Euthymius, and they resolved to flee. Saint Euthymius saw in a vision that they would be ensnared by the devil. He summoned them and admonished them to abandon their destructive intention. He said, “We must never admit evil thoughts that fill us with sorrow and hatred for the place in which we live, and suggest that we go somewhere else. If someone tries to do something good in the place where he lives but fails to complete it, he should not think that he will accomplish it elsewhere. It is not the place that produces success, but faith and a firm will. A tree which is often transplanted does not bear fruit.”![]()
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In the year 431, the Third Ecumenical Council was convened in Ephesus to combat the Nestorian heresy. Saint Euthymius rejoiced over the affirmation of Orthodoxy, but was grieved about Archbishop John of Antioch who defended Nestorius.![]()
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In the year 451 the Fourth Ecumenical Council met in Chalcedon to condemn the heresy of Dioscorus who, in contrast to Nestorius, asserted that in the Lord Jesus Christ there is only one nature, the divine (thus the heresy was called Monophysite). He taught that in the Incarnation, Christ’s human nature is swallowed up by the divine nature.![]()
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Saint Euthymius accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon and he acknowledged it as Orthodox. News of this spread quickly among the monks and hermits. Many of them, who had previously believed wrongly, accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon because of the example of Saint Euthymius.![]()
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Because of his ascetic life and firm confession of the Orthodox Faith, Saint Euthymius is called “the Great.” Wearied by contact with the world, the holy abba went for a time into the inner desert. After his return to the lavra some of the brethren saw that when he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, fire descended from Heaven and encircled the saint. Saint Euthymius himself revealed to several of the monks that often he saw an angel celebrating the Holy Liturgy with him. The saint had the gift of clairvoyance, and he could discern a person’s thoughts and spiritual state from his outward appearance. When the monks received the Holy Mysteries, the saint knew who approached worthily, and who received unworthily.![]()
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When Saint Euthymius was 82 years old, the young Savva (the future Saint Savva the Sanctified, December 5), came to his lavra. The Elder received him with love and sent him to the monastery of Saint Theoctistus. He foretold that Saint Savva would outshine all his other disciples in virtue.![]()
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When the saint was ninety years of age, his companion and fellow monk Theoctistus became grievously ill. Saint Euthymius went to visit his friend and remained at the monastery for several days. He took leave of him and was present at his end. After burying his body in a grave, he returned to the lavra.![]()
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God revealed to Saint Euthymius the time of his death. On the eve of the Feast of Saint Anthony the Great (January 17) Saint Euthymius gave the blessing to serve the all-night Vigil. When the service ended, he took the priests aside and told them that he would never serve another Vigil with them, because the Lord was calling him from this earthly life.![]()
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All were filled with great sadness, but the saint asked the brethren to meet him in church in the morning. He began to instruct them, “If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). Love is the highest virtue, and the bond of perfectness (Col. 3:14). Every virtue is made secure by love and humility. The Lord humbled Himself because of His Love for us and became man. Therefore, we ought to praise Him unceasingly, especially since we monks have escaped worldly distractions and concerns.”![]()
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“Look to yourselves, and preserve your souls and bodies in purity. Do not fail to attend the church services, and keep the traditions and rules of our community. If one of the brethren struggles with unclean thoughts, correct, console, and instruct him, so that he does not fall into the devil’s snares. Never refuse hospitality to visitors. Offer a bed to every stranger. Give whatever you can to help the poor in their misfortune.”![]()
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Afterwards, having given instructions for the guidance of the brethren, the saint promised always to remain in spirit with them and with those who followed them in his monastery. Saint Euthymius then dismissed everyone but his disciple Dometian. He remained in the altar for three days, then died on January 20, 473 at the age of ninety-seven.![]()
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A multitude of monks from all the monasteries and from the desert came to the lavra for the holy abba’s burial, among whom was Saint Gerasimus. The Patriarch Anastasius also came with his clergy, as well as the Nitrian monks Martyrius and Elias, who later became Patriarchs of Jerusalem, as Saint Euthymius had foretold.![]()
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Dometian remained by the grave of his Elder for six days. On the seventh day, he saw the holy abba in glory, beckoning to his disciple. “Come, my child, the Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be with me.”![]()
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After telling the brethren about the vision, Dometian went to church and joyfully surrendered his soul to God. He was buried beside Saint Euthymius. The relics of Saint Euthymius remained at his monastery in Palestine, and the Russian pilgrim Igumen Daniel saw them in the twelfth century.
Dear brothers and sisters, I’m sure Macarius (Chris) would agree with me in saying how lovely it was to have this year’s name day fall on a Sunday, with the opportunity to not only attend the Divine Liturgy, but also to commune of the Holy Mysteries.![]()
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Traditionally, this was central to the way Orthodox Christians celebrated their name day, but our circumstances often make this either difficult or impossible today.![]()
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However, we can look forward to the opportunities for name day Liturgies when the Lord grants us our own temple.![]()
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We can can all cultivate a spiritual relationship with our heavenly patron, whose name we bear: reading and knowing their life; emulating their example; celebrating their feast(s); prayerfully turning to them day by day; asking their intercessions, and praying their canon or akathist regularly.![]()
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They should become a central part of our life, our spiritual identity, and Christian consciousness.
We congratulate Macarius (Chris) on his first celebration of the feast of the great Egyptian desert father since his baptism, and his first name day. May God grant him, many blessed years!
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TOMORROW’S LITURGY: Dear brothers and sisters. As we haven’t seen inside St Philip’s this week, we shall celebrate tomorrow’s Liturgy in the community hall, next door.