Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings as we continue to celebrate the afterfeast of the Exultation of the Life-Giving Cross, having been greatly blessed by the presence of one of the Oratories relics of the Life-Giving Cross at Liturgy, having already taken the relic to Lazarica for the festal Liturgy on Saturday. Profound thanks to the Father and Brothers of the Oratory.
Today is the name-day of our very dear departed sister, Lyudmila, who touched us all in so many different ways, with her treats, her dry humour, her gentle warmth and prayerfulness, but above all in her deep humility and faith as she suffered her illness with unshakeable hope and trust in God. Please remember her and pray for her today. May her memory be eternal! Вечная память!
Celebrating newness of life, before we began yesterday’s Liturgy, we had the joy of the naming of two-week old Ezra, with the Church’s prayer asking God’s blessing, as we look forward to his baptism and reception of the Holy Mysteries.
“O Lord our God, we pray unto Thee, and we beseech Thee, that the light of Thy countenance may be shown upon Thy servant, Ezra, and that the cross of Thine only-begotten Son may be graven in his heart and in his thoughts, that he may flee from the vanity of the world and from every evil snare of the enemy, and may follow after Thy commandments. And grant, O Lord, that Thy Holy Name may remain unrejected by him and that he may be united, in due time, to Thy holy Church, and that the terrible Mysteries of Thy Christ may be administered unto him, that having lived according to Thy commandments and preserved without flaw the Seal he may receive the bliss of the elect in Thy kingdom; through the grace and love toward mankind of Thine only-begotten Son, with whom Thou art blessed, together with Thine all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.”
It reminded me of the arrival of Yuriy, who was baptised in his third week and has been at the heart of our parish ever since, and we know that Joseph will ensure, that like Yuriy, Ezra not only grows up in Faith, but as a child comfortable in the familiarity and sacred pattern of Church and parish life, surrounded by icons, candles, the smell of incense and sacred chant. Of course, Ezra has been used to the chant of the Liturgy throughout his life until now, but experienced ‘from the outside’ for the first time, yesterday. May God bless Ezra and his mum and dad. Many years to them!
This week will see our usual services…
Thursday 2 October at 18:00: Small Compline and akathist in Nazareth House, Colum Rd, Cardiff CF10 3UN . Confessions before and after the service.
Friday 3 October at 15:00: Vespers for the Eve of the Feast of St Dimitri of Rostov in the Oratory Church, Swinton St, Cardiff CF24 2NT. Confessions before and after the service.
Sunday 5 October at 09:00: The Hours and Divine Liturgy, followed by a bring-and-share lunch in St Philips Church, Tweedsmuir Rd, Tremorfa, Cardiff CF24 2QZ. Confessions before the service.
It has been a joy to welcome so many visitors over the past months, and this is a period of constant enquiries, questions and long spiritual conversations with people (usually young ones!) exploring Faith and spiritual life. The warmth of our parishioners cushions what can be a daunting experience for those coming to an Orthodox service for the first time. Let’s please ensure everyone is greeted and welcomed, and encouraged to come into the Liturgy and NOT stand to side of the sanctuary.
The last point is one that I ask existing parishioners to take on board. Standing, seeing the Liturgy from the side of an unscreened sanctuary is not the place to be in our Liturgy, but rather before the icons and Holy Table. Please enter the church, even if late, and face the Holy Table from the body of the church. We cannot change where the entrance is, but we can ensure we enter and stand together for worship. At many Liturgies there are more people at the side of the altar than before the icons, which is actually very distracting for the clergy in the sanctuary. As the weeks goes on, we will be screening the side of the sanctuary, when we are able to do so.
As you are aware our building campaign is now under way, having been launched on Friday evening, and has thus far received £8100 in donations directly into our bank account via personal bank transfer and £1, 685 from the gofundme page. Thanks to our young people for their work on this, and on social media. We really appreciate their labours.
The gofundme page me be found here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-buy-a-church-for-our-orthodox-parish
The card machine which we are trialing till the end of the year was in place for yesterday’s Liturgy and received positive feedback from the faithful who used it, the total electronic donations of £190 being split as follows: £65 General Collection, £40 Building Fund, £70 Stipend Fund, £15 Candle Purchases, £50 of the donations were gift aided giving an additional £12.50. All in all this saw total donations of £350.50.
The now affordable post-school vacation holiday season continues, and we ask prayers for our regent Olga and Valentina Nikolaevna as they travel to Rhodes, and also for Sasha and his family, presently in Lithuania, and for matushka Alla on her visit to Russia. We continue to pray for Masha and Neil with the complication of their new house, that God may give them strength and resielince in creating a wonderful home with a chapel in the garden.
As we approach October, I would like to know if there will be singers and readers for the feast of Pokrov (the Protecting Veil) on Tuesday 14 October, as we would like to celebrate the feast with a Liturgy. Please let me know if you are able to assist.
Our next Wessex Liturgy will be on Saturday 11 October, the feast of St Chariton the Confessor of Palestine, and we will celebrate our Liturgy in the chapel of St Lawrence, in Warminster, at 10.30.
Our next Cheltenham Liturgy will be the following Saturday, 18 October, and will be dedicated to the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, as we do for our Gloucestershire October Liturgy each year.
With thanks for every labour, every offering to the life of our community, and every prayer, and may God bless you all.
Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
Hieromonk Mark
