Tag Archives: pilgrimage

Parish News: 5th February

Posted on by

Dear brothers and sisters, 

Our week begins after a characteristically busy Sunday, with a well attended Liturgy in St John’s, and a larger than usual number of the faithful confessing and communing, though the number of communicants has been significantly growing over the last five or six weeks. I am grateful for the patience of our parishioners as confessions were concluded during the preparation of the chalice with the Holy Gifts.

It was wonderful to look out of the altar at the beginning of the Liturgy and see all of our children assembled to join in the chanting of the litanies before the Gospel. It was equally wonderful to see so many flowers in vases and adorning the icons.

I was very happy to see so many people enjoying trapeza after Sunday Liturgy, and particularly to see so many young people enjoying one another’s company, with students from Cardiff, Bristol and Bath joining other young people from our South Wales parishes.

A thank you to all who have been helping in the setting up and rearrangement of the church before and after Liturgy, and remind all that everyone’s aid makes these movements considerably quicker and easier.

With the growing numbers of worshippers, with more people staying for this bring-and-share lunch, I hope that we may ensure that there is enough food to at least offer some simple refreshment to all who join us.

Again I would like to thank parishioners for their greetings and gifts for the feast of St Mark of Ephesus. Having a Torte Napoleon to share with our students was very much appreciated and made for a festive student gathering.

Intercessions 

As we begin our week, the news is dominated by the cancer-diagnosis of His Majesty the King, and we offer our prayers for his health and treatment during his illness, and for a swift and speedy recovery, turning to the Mother of God ‘the Queen of All’ before whose icon we pray for all of those – including our own loved ones and parishioners – affected by cancer.

Among those who are sick, we also pray for Ludmilla, Brigid, and for Steven, Martin, Nigel and Jacky among the friends a family members of our parishioners.

Having chanted a post-Liturgy memorial service for the newly-departed Alexey, we continue to pray for the repose of his soul, also remembering His Grace Archbishop Anatoly, Yulia and Barnabas. Memory Eternal!

Confessions in Nazareth House this week

Given the limited time we have before Liturgy, if you know that a confession lasting more than five minutes is required, we will need to hear such longer confessions and commune the faithful after Liturgy. We must be firm in starting the Hours and proskomedia at 11:00, but will find appropriate ways to meet the pastoral and sacramental needs of the faithful.

Of course, we very much hope that those living in Cardiff will avail themselves of the opportunity to make their confession on Thursdays, when they may do so in the afternoon or evening, according to circumstance and need. Please email by 18:00 on Wednesday to arrange a Thursday confession, and by Saturday midday to notify us of Sunday confessions, purely to give me an idea of number.

Thursday confessions continue to be heard in Nazareth House!

Cheltenham Liturgy: 10 February

Next Saturday will be our February Liturgy in Cheltenham, when we will celebrate the feast of Saints Ephrem and Isaac the Syrian in Prestbury United Reformed Church, Deep St, Cheltenham GL52 3AN.

Due to the pastoral needs for confession, as well as setting up the church for Liturgy, from Saturday, the Hours and Liturgy will now start at 10:30: half an hour later than previously. However, confession will still begin around 9:20, and will end at 10:20. We will have our customary bring-and-share lunch after the Liturgy, and look forward to spending time with both parishioners and visitors.

Llanelli Liturgy for the Meeting of the Lord: 15 February

As the coming feast of the Meeting of the Lord on 2/15 February falls on a Thursday, we are unable to celebrate in St John’s, due to weekly use in the morning. Therefore, the Divine Liturgy of the feast will be celebrated in the chapel at Father Luke’s home in Llanelli, with the Hours and Liturgy commencing at 10:00.

Pilgrimage to the Oratory Church and Caerleon: 24 February

Looking forward to the coming months, we will recommence our pilgrimages on the fourth Sunday of each month, and will begin with a local pilgrimage in honour of the protomartyr of Britain, St Alban, and the protomartyrs of Wales, Julius and Aaron. Through the good offices of Father Sebastian and the Cardiff Oratory, we will head to the Oratory Church in Swinton Street, Splott, where we will offer a moleben before the sacred relics of St Alban at 10:30, before heading to Caerleon for lunch and a visit to the amphitheatre and Roman excavations, offering prayers to Saints Julius and Aaron,

Pilgrimage to Margam Abbey: 23 March

Our pilgrimage on Saturday 23 March, in honour of the Mother of God, will be to Margam Abbey, near Port Talbot, where we hope to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, share a picnic lunch and explore the church and neighbouring abbey ruins, returning to church for devotions to the Theotokos, whose shrine in the abbey was destroyed during the reformation. We will announce details after further discussions with the Margam clergy.

Food Bank

Thank you to all who contributed to St John’s Food Bank on Sunday. I hope that those parishioners who are able might make Sunday contributions of non-perishable foodstuffs part of their weekend routine.

Telephones

May we remind everyone to turn off their telephones before the beginning of Sunday worship, and stress that it is not appropriate for children to be using smart phones for entertainment/occupation during the Liturgy. We have some very young children who need occupying during the service, and recognise this, but ask that they play in the children’s corner, so that there is are no distractions for the clergy and faithful at the front of church during our worship.

I look forward to being with our Cheltenham parishioners on Saturday, and Cardiff parishioner on Sunday, which is the feast of the Translation of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer.

The variable of the day may be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HDV9a4R90dQWfAgp8DXETQnOP39NLCq0/view

May God bless you.

Hieromonk Mark

PENNANT MELANGELL – REFLECTIONS ON PILGRIMAGE

Posted on by

There are few things better for deepening parish spiritual life and the bonds of spiritual kinship than pilgrimages, with their shared journeys, common prayer and Liturgy, eating together and making one another cups of tea, chatting, discussing spiritual matters, sharing life’s challenges, helping one another, motivating one another, and even enduring one another – snoring, funny little mannerisms, and sometimes irritating habits: all making for deepening human relationships, as well as the divine-human relationship in a powerful and palpable way.

The tangible blessings, shared joy, common strength and developing shared spiritual-identity, all eclipse the plethora of virtual Orthodox projects that characterise an internet-Orthodoxy, which, in some cases, is becoming a dangerous and deceptive surrogate for the experiential reality of the Church – with physical contact with people in the flesh; shared spiritual experience in the same place; and the physical and localised reality of the Holy Mysteries celebrated in a real setting, at arms’ length from one another in the physically manifest sobornost of the Church.

The act of pilgrimage, as an expression of the solidarity and shared Faith of a community requires the investment of time, effort, and resources.

It demands arrangements with destinations, planning services, pilgrim activities and meals, journey routes, possibly accommodation, and coordinating the pilgrims.

It requires packing cars with the multitude of things needed for Liturgy, possibly sleeping bags and tents with the whole paraphernalia of camping, changes of clothes, groceries, bug-spray and first aid kits… and so much more.

It has a cost that necessitates going out of our comfort zone, and is no quick and easy or tick-box exercise. And… through all of this, working together, we receive such blessings from God.

Over the last five months, our parish pilgrimages – to Llandaff, on our doorstep, Llanthony and Capel-y-ffin, Mathern and Tintern, Glastonbury and Pennant Melangell have spiritually strengthened our parish, as well as uniting us with friends who travel from afar.

This weekend’s pilgrimage brought friends from Poole and Cambridge – people willing to make long and tiring journeys to worship God and honour the saints. Even some regular parishioners had to travel from Wiltshire and Somerset to honour St Melangell, whose feast fell on Friday according to the Patristic Calendar, and which we celebrated a day late, on Saturday.

Our Deacon, constantly reminds the community that spiritual life is never meant to be easy or convenient, but that it demands effort, sacrifice and the endurance of inconvenience and hardship. We are never in doubt that our Cardiff ROCOR parishioners accept this, given the number travelling from the Forest of Dean, Mid-Gloucestershire, Bath and Wiltshire, but the wonderful experience of the weekend made this even clearer – with nineteen pilgrims travelling from South Wales and Wessex on a long and winding journey into the depths of Montgomery, in order to honour St Melangell in her ancient sanctuary and to celebrate her feast.

What a wonderful celebration it was, though our Liturgy was very simple, compared to our usual rather more imposing Liturgies: only one priest, one oltarnik, one singer and one reader – but, all supported by the prayers of the other pilgrims.

Most of those present had prepared to receive the Holy Mysteries and made their confessions before and during the Hours.

It was a joy to chant the hymns to St Melangell and celebrate the Liturgy in the once-wild place of her God-centred life, where the labours of eremitical reclusion and its spiritual fruits made her an earthly angel and a heavenly woman.

Our celebration and joyful fellowship spilled out into the churchyard, where our sisters arranged a table for a picnic lunch, with warm conversation (chilled wine and hot tea!) and we were well-aware of the growing bond between regular pilgrims, who want to be together and enjoy being together – to share lives, Faith, time, labours and energy within the context of the spiritual family of our parish.

This will no doubt continue, month after month, as we make further pilgrimages to holy places, whether on our doorstep or further away, bringing us closer to one another, closer to the saints, and – above all – closer to God, whose Presence makes the holy places of His saints His sanctuaries: places of encounter, where the foretaste of His Kingdom calls us to follow in the footsteps of the saints: to live in a way that challenges the world, and to be holy to the Lord.

The Sunday and Week of the Paralytic

Posted on by

Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is Risen!

Happy St Mark’s Day!

On this feast of the Holy, All-Praised Apostle and Evangelist Mark, we congratulate our devoted Deacon, Father Mark, on his nameday. May God give him strength in his labours, and grant him many, blessed years!

After a rather minimal congregation, last Sunday, we were glad that the second bank-holiday weekend did not affect numbers, so that things were a little more normal, with forty adults in addition to the clergy, plus our parish children.

This was our oltarnik Oswald’s penultimate Cardiff Liturgy before leaving for the continent, on the first leg of the journeyman year of his apprenticeship.

We were very glad that after the considerable tidy-up – that we face every week – we were able to have social-time across the road in Brodie’s with him and our other young people. We will miss his icon stall in church, and I was glad that I finally remembered which icon I wanted last week, when Oswald had a bank-holiday event, at Woodchester Mansion, the home of his workshop and master.

And so, I returned home with the icon “Noli me tangere” (Do not touch me), showing the Risen Lord appearing to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles, St Mary Magdalene. Though it was too late for the Sunday of the Myrrh-Baring Women, this icon will be ready for St Mary’s feast in July.

I have already encouraged anyone with spare or loose euros to bring them to church, as these would be most useful and welcome for our young parishioner as he starts his journey. So, please find your change and currency left-overs for Oswald.

As announced in church, we will be making a parish pilgrimage to Glastonbury on Saturday 20th May, hopefully beginning our day with a moleben to St Brigid and the saints of Glastonbury on Bride’s Mound, in Beckery, the site of an early monastic site, with Irish associations. We will then visit the abbey, before heading to the Tor and Chalice Well, possibly visiting the rural-life museum in the abbey barn, if time permits and pilgrims are so inclined! Anyone interested should email Tracy: t_sbrain@icloud.com

Today brought additions to the summer Walsingham Pilgrimage, from 24 – 27th July, and anyone others interested should contact me, Norman or Georgina asap, as I believe there are still some places left. We would love to see more parishioners join those of us who are taking advantage of Fr Dean’s kind invitation to join him and Butetown parishioners, once again.

I also announced that, unfortunately, we will be unable to celebrate our Ascension Day Liturgy in St Mary Butetown, as hoped, so I will check the possibility of celebrating in Nazareth House and make an announcement in the next few days. However, I am very glad to announce that we are able to return to St Mary’s for Friday Study Group, looking to commence on Friday 19th May at 19:00, meeting every fortnight. On these Fridays, confessions will be heard in St Mary’s before and after the sessions if needed.

This week will see confessions on Thursday, as I would like a quiet Friday before the monthly Liturgy for our Cheltenham Mission.

Those requiring confessions on Thursday should email me before noon on Wednesday.

The Cheltenham Liturgy will be celebrated in Prestbury United Reformed Church, as usual, with confessions from 09:15, and the Hours and Liturgy commencing at 10:00. Everyone is most welcome, and there will be a bring-and-share lunch after the service. We will call at Nazareth House on the way home, and any remaining confessions may be heard at that time. Email me please.

Please continue to make the celebration of the Paschal season a reality in your homes, with the joy of the season’s prayers and hymns in your daily spiritual-life. Some new parishioners are unaware of the glory of the Paschal Canon, which I encourage the faithful to continue to use throughout the season. However, the Paschal Canon in our prayerbooks is as used on the night of Pascha only, whereas after that night we also add Theotokia (troparia to the Mother of God). This full text, with the Theotokia may be found here:

https://www.stmaryofegypt.org/files/library/Bright-Week—Preparing-for-Holy-Communionb.pdf  

… an excellent ongoing addition to our prayers during Pascha.

Atgyfododd Crist!

Hieromonk Mark

Parish Pilgrimage to Mathern and Tintern

Posted on by

Dear brothers and sisters,

I have just entered the house and boiled the kettle for a cup of tea at the end of a very long but very blessed day of pilgrimage, with our senior sister and seven of the brothers of the parish, having greatly enjoyed our spiritual-journey to Mathern and Tintern.

After chanting the Paschal Hours at Nazareth House, our eastward journey took us to Mathern, the place where St Tewdrig died from his battle wounds after leading the Welsh army against the invading Saxons.

His hope was to be buried on Ynys Echni (Flat Holm), but divine intervention took him only as far as Mathern, where a miraculous spring gushed forth – though today the waters in it are choked with autumn leaves and decaying vegetation.

However, the brothers of the parish have suggested that cleaning the well is something they would very much like to do.

Three of the brothers from Bath and Chippenham met us, having already explored the churchyard.

Our first stop, however, was neither the well nor the church – a graceful and imposing building despite its stark protestant interior – but the lovely little green area around the statue of St Tewdrig, where the instant-appearance of a table from Menna’s Land-rover (in which I greatly enjoyed travelling!) and the assembly of parishioners’ offerings conjured up a much appreciated picnic lunch.

After visiting the church, enclosing the site where St Tewdrig’s coffin and relics were found, and subsequently reburied in the 17th century, we made our way to the Holy Well, where we chanted the Paschal moleben, with the Paschal Canon and hymns to the saint.

We then made our way through the beautiful Wye Valley to Tintern, with its ruins of the great abbey.

It was here, Din-Teyryn, long before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of the Cistercians, that St Tewdrig retired from kingly-rule to live as a hermit, until an angelic messenger commanded him to emerge from his seclusion and lead the warriors of the local kingdom against the invading Saxons, and despite their victory, a blow to the head by a spear thrown by one of the fleeing Saxons mortally wounded the king.

To quote his hagiography,

“…Tewdrig, fully harnessed, mounted his horse and stood at the head of the troops to defend the ford over the Wye. The Saxons were put to flight, but one of them hurled a lance across the water and wounded the old king.

When it was perceived that the wound was mortal, his men were for removing him, but he forbade them to do so, and said that he would die there, and that he had desired his body to rest in the Isle of Echni, the Flat Holm, in the Severn Sea.

On the morrow, however, appeared two stags harnessed to a wagon, and Tewdrig, recognising that they were sent by the will of God, allowed himself to be lifted into the conveyance. The wagon carried him to the bank of the Severn and there stayed, and on the spot a sparkling spring began to flow. Then suddenly the wagon dissolved, and Tewdrig gave up the ghost.

Meurig erected an oratory on the spot, which was blessed by S. Oudoceus. The spot was Mathern, below Chepstow; there the old king was laid, and not conveyed, as he had desired, to Echni.”

The beautiful village that has grown in the more than a thousand years since the death and burial of St Tewdrig, with its centuries old cottages and gardens full of spring flowers and trees in bud and blossom, was a wonderful place in which to honour our martyred hermit-king and saint, and whilst the drama of Tintern was so impressive, and the social time spent there after exploring was a blessing, the spiritual heart and climax of our day was in the little village by the Severn, sacred to St Tewdrig.

I would partcularly like to thank our drivers, Peter, Porphyrios and Menna – and also Aldhelm for playing the accordion and bringing such cheer during our picnic lunch.

Dioch yn fawr!

Troparion to St Tewdrig, King and Hermit, Tone VI:
O Holy and Right-Believing King and Champion of the Faith, having resigned thine office thou didst retire to Tintern and the silence of the eremitical life; * but, upon the invasion of the pagans, * was prompted by an angel of God * to return and lead the victorious Christian host; * and grievously wounded, didst consecrate the Welsh soil with thy blood; * and borne to Mathern didst leave the mortal world * and wast born again in heaven. * Wherefore, O Holy Tewdrig, * intercede to Christ the High King of Heaven, * to bless our land, * and have mercy on our souls!

Venerable Hermit-King and Martyr, Tewdrig, pray to God for us!

Local Orthodox Devotion to the Mother of God, ‘Our Lady of Walsingham’

Posted on by

Walsingham, a quintessentially English place of pilgrimage in honour of the Mother of God, has paradoxically been the place of many people’s first encounter with the Orthodox Church.

For some, this encounter has been the first step, or else a stepping stone, on their personal pilgrimage to the Orthodox Christian Faith, as we know from our own community and its friends – including our very own starosta and our friend, Schema-Hierodeacon Antony

In that sacred place, the Mother of God appeared in a dream to Richold de Faverches, the Lady of the Manor, in 1056, instructing her to build a chapel according to the dimensions of the Holy House of Nazareth – measurements proved to be correct in the course of history with the translation of the Holy House to Loreto in Italy.

The shrine became a place of countless miracles and throughout the Middle Ages the Holy House and priory at Walsingham were the most important shrine in England, known as England’s Nazareth, benefitting from royal patronage, including that of Henry VIII: tragically the author of its desecration and spoliation.

But, Walsingham’s story is one of resurrection, proving that the veneration of the Mother of God could not be obliterated in these islands, with both restored Anglican and Roman Catholic shrines becoming places of prayer and pilgrimage, and the amazing legacy of Father Alfred Hope Paten continuing to touch the lives of Orthodox Christian pilgrims year after year.

Our Russian Orthodox forebears, exiles with a great love for the Mother of God, became part of this story of renewal in 1938 when the extended Anglican shrine was consecrated, and Archbishop Nestor of Kamchatka celebrated the Hierarchical Liturgy at the church’s high altar.

In the next decade, after the war, St Nikolai Velimirovic served in the shrine church whilst living in the College and convalescing after his liberation from Dachau.

Though the intended Orthodox Church was never built adjacent to the shrine church, pilgrims will be familiar with the little upstairs Orthodox Chapel consecrated on Pentecost-Trinity 1945.

The former monastery of St Seraphim, now sadly little more than a museum, played a pivotal role in the development of the veneration of the saints of Britain through the iconographic labours of Archimandrite David and his spiritual son and successor, Leon Liddament of blessed memory.

For some of us, Walsingham has a very special place in our lives and we greatly look forward to pilgrimages, despite its distance from South Wales. When we are there, we feel the reality of the Mother of God’s maternal care, protection and intercession.

With the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Irenei, I have been able to make pilgrimages and celebrate services in the Chapel of the Life-Giving Spring, in the Anglican shrine-church three or four times a year – usually with the support and good-ministrations of Norman and Georgina, but also through our inclusion in local pilgrimage by Father Dean, and also on parish pilgrimage with members of our South Wales communities.

Whilst worshipping and meeting in the chaplaincy, at Newman Hall, we sustained our ‘Walsingham devotions’ to the Mother of God in the Little Oratory of Newman Hall, with its beautiful Walsingham Icon of the Mother of God. But, that ceased when we were no longer able to worship there with the change of chaplain.

Our local Anglican friends sustain their devotions through their Cell of Our Lady of Walsingham, and I very much hope that – in a similar way – those in our community who love Walsingham and its shrine to the Mother of God (and those who simply wish to deepen their devotion to the Mother of God) may wish to come together regularly to offer devotions and intercessions for the needs of the Church, of our community and the world.

We have not come together to chant the akathist to the Mother of God in honour of her Walsingham Icon since our exodus from Newman Hall in 2020, and my hope and prayer is that we may soon remedy this, as well as looking forward to a parish pilgrimage, introducing new pilgrims to ‘England’s Nazareth.’

As I look forward to serving in Walsingham in Cheese-Fair week, I hope that discussions over the next few weeks may prove fruitful and find others who wish to share in local devotions.

From Glastonbury…

Posted on by

Dear brothers and sisters,

It has been very good to be able to rest, pray and read in Glastonbury, spending much of yesterday in the abbey and the gardens at Chalice Well with its iron-rich spring waters flowing through the beautiful gardens at the foot of Chalice Hill.

Glastonbury Abbey, a short distance away, claimed the presence, long-stays, pilgimage-visits and relics of many saints, but whether the great monastic house was ever visited by all the saints that the annals claimed, we shall never know, just as we shall never know the voracity of the many relics the monks claimed to possess – some in direct opposition to other claimant-establishments.

Around the margins of the Glastonbury Icon of the Mother of God, we see many Celtic saints that link Ireland, Wales, Brittany and Somerset – y Gwlad yr Haf – together with the Archangel Michael, St Aristobulus and St Joseph of Arimathea.

The monastic preeminence of Glastonbury Abbey, and its centrality in the growth of Christianity in this part of the British Isles is undeniable, and given the great importance of Glastonbury, it should not surprise us that such eminent saints as David, Patrick and Brigid should be linked with what came to be called Glastonbury with the coming of the English, but was still Ynys Witrin in the age of our great Celtic saints.   

As sanctuaries of holiness, culture and learning, the great religious houses of their time were not islands and isolated, but closely interlinked and connected by the much-sailed sea-roads on which monastics – saints among them – visited one another’s communities. Glastonbury was of course an island at that time, making it particularly accessible for those coming from South Wales, with its great religious centres at Llancarfan, Llanilltud-Fawr.

Even though there is now so little to see of the greatest English Abbey that claimed precedence over every other monastic establishment in Britain, and whose abbot sat in the House of Lords, people are still drawn to the ruins, though many through a concocted belief system of their own making.

Yet, whatever people may believe, their coming and going (and I’ve encountered people that repeatedly and regularly come from the far corners of the world) means that the site is loved and cared for, even though it sometimes feels like the Anglican custodians of the ruined abbey have consciously tried to quash any manifestation of spirituality and piety since the millennium: quite ironic considering what the millennium marked.

But, praise God, the site is preserved, even if one can only wonder at the glory of the once great abbey that stood here, and equally wonder at the wanton violence and demonic acts of those who desecrated the great sanctuary on England’s holiest earth. Whilst, in Walsingham England has its Nazareth, in Glastonbury the whole of Britain had its Jerusalem.

Gone are the dazzling colours of gold, paint, jewels and enamel which once adorned the shrines and their treasured relics, but now the colours of nature shine here, especially in autumn.

The abbey has a great many species of trees, soon to be resplendent in their autumn colours, and the flower and herb beds still manage a few flowers after the passing of summer.

I always say to those put off Glastonbury by the New-Age, occult, and and do-it-yourself-pseudo-religious commercially lucrative rubbish, to not be robbed of our holiest site by these works of darkness.

I recall seeing a documentary on the growth of occultism in Glastonbury when I was a teenager, with the camera looking down on the town form the tower of St John’s Church, and its vicar saying what no Anglican incumbent in the town would dare to say now – that the cosmic battle between good and evil is going on right here in this little Somerset town.

This is why must come!

We must come to worship, pray and venerate the holy sites, as I have been doing since I was a teenager – back then, sometimes with the most wonderfully devout friends on the West of England Pilgrimage – a very English, but also very Anglo-Catholic and in-your-face (with all of the senses) demonstration of Christianity.

Much has changed since then. The obvious Christian presence is much diminished, despite the imposing Catholic Parish Church, served by Benedictine monks.

Christianity seems very much in the shadows… which is why we MUST come, honouring the Mother of God in the place of her first British shrine, with David, Patrick, Brigid, Collen, Rumon, Fili, Kea, Indract, Dominica, Beon, Gildas the Wise, Dunstan, and all of the saints who shone forth in Glastonbury.

May they pray for us and for this confused and suffering holy-place.

The Coming Feast of St Alban

Posted on by

Dear brothers and sisters,

This coming Tuesday is the feast of the Holy Protomartyr, Alban, and to celebrate his memory, we will serve a moleben before the saint’s relics and newly-painted icon in the Oratory Church at 16:00.

Their presence is a great blessing, and some of us make pilgrimages to pray before them week by week. However, it has been some months since a parish group did so, and we look forward to praying and venerating them in the week ahead.

The Cardiff Oratory, The Church of St Alban on the Moors, Swinton St, Splott, Cardiff  CF24 2NT.

Holy Protomartyr, Alban, pray to God for us!

In Christ – Hieromonk Mark

Pilgrim-Prayers at the Shrine of St Alban

Posted on by

It was wonderful for a small group of parishioners to be given the opportunity to gather at the shrine of St Alban in the Oratory Church in Splott, yesterday afternoon, offering a moleben to the Holy Protomartyr with the biographical canon telling the story of his passion.

This was the first liturgical visit to the shrine, and though a number of parishioners have been quietly visiting the relics to seek the intercession and help of St Alban, the public celebration in English and Church Slavonic brought Orthodox chant to the church, as we prayed for our communities, for the Church and for the world.

It was a great blessing for the faithful to be able to venerate a relic of St Alban after the dismissal of the moleben, having prayed before the relic enshrined in the feretory.

We extend our thanks to the Fathers and brethren of the Oratory, who have been supporters and benefactors of our Russian Orthodox parish over the last four years, and look forward to regular Orthodox prayers at the shrine.

Holy Protomartyr Alban, pray to God for us!

Troparion, Tone 3: With faith, piety and devotion let us hasten to the sacred shrine of the wondrous martyr Alban, the first in Britain to shed his blood for Christ the Lord, for Whom he willingly laid down his life; and let us pray that through his supplications our souls may find mercy and salvation.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Kontakion, Tone 2: Spec: Imbued with courage and bravery from on high, the glorious martyr Alban stood undaunted before the tyrant and boldly confessed Christ as the only God of all; and he utterly refused to offer sacrifice to false deities. Wherefore, having laid down his life for the Lord, he maketh earnest entreaty in behalf of our souls.

Celebrating St Cadoc at Llancarfan

Posted on by

Last Saturday saw the first parish pilgrimage of the year, as a small group of parishioners headed out of the city into the Vale of Glamorgan and Llancarfan, with its medieval church and wall-paintings.

With Sunday being the commemoration of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, we anticipated the feast of St Cadoc, celebrating on the site of his monastery, at ‘the church of the stags’.

We were welcomed with great warmth, and very much enjoyed the historical talk from Sam Smith, who was both entertaining and informative as he guided us through the medieval wall-paintings, dominated by the incredible mural of the Holy Great-Martyr, George.

The wealth of surviving medieval details in the church – woodwork, masonry, wall painting – in addition to the architecture of the church in its valley, beside the stream, bore witness to centuries of continual prayer and devotion on this ancient site, founded in the Age of the Saints.

After the wonderful talk, we gathered behind the fine medieval screen of the Lady Chapel, where we chanted a simple moleben, with a canon to St Cadoc, even having charcoal and incense being brought from the sacristy for our use. It was lovely to have a few Llancarfan parishioners with us, and we hope that in the future, we may be able to celebrate the Liturgy on the site of St Cadoc’s ascetic labours.

Though a prince and son of the local King Gwynllyw and Queen Gwladys of Glywysing (both saints), St Cadoc (c. 497 – c. 580) dedicated his life to asceticism and the monastic life and the monastery that he founded at Llancarfan became a great seat of Christian learning, a nursery of asceticism and school of holiness.

With the monastics living in its daughter-houses and cells, Llancarfan became an important monastic centre, with St Cadoc considered a founding-father of the monastic life in Wales.

St Cadoc’s travels linked Wales with Ireland and Brittany, in addition to distant Rome and Jerusalem, and the contrasting poverty of his hermit-retreat on the island of Flatholme in the Severn Channel.

Llancarfan was a place of fellowship between St Cadoc and other great saints of our land, including St Illtud and St Gildas the Wise.

According to tradition, when he was too old to serve as abbot, St. Cadoc retired and withdrew from Llancarfan, and whilst visiting Beneventum (Weedon in Northamptonshire), he was killed by a pagan as he celebrated Liturgy.

It was a great blessing to mark the feast with prayers in the llan of St Cadoc, and to honour him on the site of his own ascetic struggles.

We hope and pray that this visit will be the first of many, and encourage parishioners and friends to make the journey through the narrow lanes of the Vale to seek the blessing of St Cadoc and enjoy the treasures of Llancarfan church.

Our thanks go to the parishioners who greatly honoured St Cadoc, their patron, by the warmth and generosity of their welcome.

Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us!

Tomorrow: Pilgrimage in Honour of St Cadoc

Posted on by

Dear brothers and sisters,

Just to remind you that the parish pilgrimage to Llancarfan tomorrow will be at noon at St Cadoc’s Church, where we will serve a moleben in honour of St Cadoc’s Feast, which we will keep tomorrow, given that the feast of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia displaces Sunday’s commemorations.

The moleben text is below, and we will be celebrating this quite simply, given that it is our first visit – and hopefully, the first of many.

God bless – Fr Mark

MOLEBEN TO OUR VENERABLE FATHER CADOC

ABBOT OF LLANCARFAN

Priest: Blessed is our God always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

Chanters: Amen. O Heavenly King, O Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Reader: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice) 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. 

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake. 

Lord, have mercy. (Thrice) 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. 

Our Father, Who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. 

Priest: For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. 

Reader: Amen. Lord, have mercy. (Twelve times)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen

O come let us worship God our King. 

O come let us worship and. fall down before Christ our King and God. 

O come let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and God. 

Psalm 142: O Lord, hear my prayer, give ear unto my supplication in Thy truth; hearken unto me in Thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with Thy servant for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath humbled my life down to the earth. He hath sat me in darkness as those that have been long dead, and my spirit within me is become despondent; within me my heart is troubled. I remembered days of old, I meditated on all Thy works, I pondered on the creations of Thy hands. I stretched forth my hands unto Thee; my soul thirsteth after Thee like a waterless land. Quickly hear me, O Lord; my spirit hath fainted away. Turn not Thy face away from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Thy mercy in the morning; for in Thee have I put my hope. Cause me to know, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk; for unto Thee have I lifted up my soul. Rescue me from mine enemies, O Lord; unto Thee have I fled for refuge. Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Thy good Spirit shall lead me in the land of uprightness; for Thy name’s sake, O Lord, shalt Thou quicken me. In Thy righteousness shalt Thou bring my soul out of affliction, and in Thy mercy shalt Thou utterly destroy mine enemies. And Thou shalt cut off all them that afflict my soul, for I am Thy servant. 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Chanters: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  / Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Glory to Thee, O God. (Thrice)

And God is the Lord: tone 4: God is the Lord, and hath appeared unto us. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Stichos 1: O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.

Chanters: God is the Lord…

Stichos 2: Surrounding me they compassed me, and by the name of the Lord I warded them off.

Chanters: God is the Lord…

Stichos 3: 1 shall not die, but live, and I shall tell of the works of the Lord.

Chanters: God is the Lord…

Stichos 4: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the comer. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.

Chanters: God is the Lord…

Troparion of St. Cadoc, Tone 5: Having been raised to piety, O Hierarch Cadoc,/ thou didst dedicate thy life to God,/ serving Him in the monastic state./ As with joyful heart thou didst fulfil thy daily obedience,/ caring for the earthly needs of countless paupers,/ look now upon our spiritual poverty/ and beseech Christ our God,/ that He will grant us great mercy. (Twice)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Tone 5:  Rejoice, impassible gate of the Lord!  / Rejoice, rampart and protection of those who have recourse unto thee!  / Rejoice, haven untouched by storms, / thou that knowest not wedlock, / who gavest birth in the flesh to thy Creator and God!  / fail not in thy supplications // for those who hymn and venerate thy birthgiving!

Reader – Psalm 50: Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy compassions blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil before Thee, that Thou mightest be justified in Thy words, and prevail when Thou art judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me. For behold, Thou hast loved truth; the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom hast Thou made manifest unto me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be made clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me to hear joy and gladness; the bones that be humbled, they shall rejoice. Turn Thy face away from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and with Thy governing Spirit establish me. I shall teach transgressors Thy ways, and the ungodly shall turn back unto Thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; my tongue shall rejoice in Thy righteousness. O Lord, Thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise. For if Thou hadst desired sacrifice, I had given it; with whole-burnt offerings Thou shalt not be pleased. A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise. Do good, O Lord, in Thy good pleasure unto Sion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be builded. Then shalt Thou be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.

Ode 1, Irmos: Having passed through the water as upon dry land, * and having escaped the malice of the Egyptians, * the Israelites cried aloud: * Unto our God and Redeemer let us sing.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

From thy youth thou wast adorned with goodly moral qualities, cleaving unto Christ, and mortifying the passions of the flesh with abstinence and fasting, thou hast passed over unto life, O venerable one.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

O most wise Father, being a doer of the divine sayings and laws, thou hast been blessed with divine gifts and miracles, wherefore all are richly illumined with thy splendour.

Refrain: Venerable Father Cadoc, pray to God for us

Strengthened by Christ, thou, O Father, subdued the might and power of the enemy, wherefore in honour of thy victory thou hast been rewarded with the gift of miracles, O venerable one.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Possessing a clear conscience, and directing the eye of thy heart towards God O most wise one, God, in answer to thy prayers, hath numbered thee among the just.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

I implore thee, O most pure Virgin, subdue the passions of my flesh and quieten the beguiling thoughts of my mind, and do thou thyself set me upon the right path.

Ode 3, Irmos: O Lord, thou art the confirmation of those who flee to Thee, * Thou art the Light of those in darkness, * and my spirit doth hymn Thee.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Altogether devoted to the Almighty, thou, O most wise venerable Father, didst escape all the wiles of the demons, and adorned with the loftiest humility, by thy most excellent works, thou didst overcome the proud boaster.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

While still in the flesh thou, O most wise Father, shamed the stiff-neckedness of the wicked one by thy humble instructions.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Having the grace of God as thine effectual helper, thou, O most wise and wondrous father, wast granted the gift of miracles, driving away diseases.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

In becoming incarnate, the Creator found an abode within thy womb, O all-immaculate one, unto the profit of those who with faith hymn thee.

Katavasia: Pray to God for us, O holy father, Cadoc, for we fervently flee unto thee, the speedy helper and intercessor for our souls.

Then the priest says the ectenia: Have mercy upon us, O God…

Sessional Hymn, Tone 4: Spec. Mel.: “Go thou quickly before …”: Vanquishing the fleshly subtlety of the passions through fasting, * thou didst make the weaker subject unto the better, * O most glorious Father Cadoc, * and thereby destroyed the scheming of the enemy. * In the brilliant radiance of thy virtues thou didst shine forth in the world * as a beacon of divine light; ** Wherefore we ever hymn thee.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Theotokion, Tone 4: O Virgin Theotokos, * thou art an invincible wall for all Orthodox Christians. * For having recourse unto thee we remain unharmed * and in thee we have a sure intercessor for the forgiveness of our sins; * wherefore rendering thanks unto thee, we cry aloud! ** Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Stavrotheotokion: O most immaculate Virgin, * Mother of Christ God, * a sword pierced thy most holy soul * when thou didst behold thy Son and God * crucified of His own will. * Him do thou never cease to entreat, O blessed one, ** that He grant us the forgiveness of our transgressions.

Ode 4, Irmos: O Lord, I have heard the mystery of Thy dispensation; * I have considered Thy works, * and I have glorified Thy Divinity.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Making thy soul a temple of the Holy Spirit, thou didst become an heir of the Heavenly Kingdom, together with the hosts on high.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Thou dost ever relieve the suffering of those who, afflicted with manifold infirmities, have recourse unto thee; for thou, O venerable one, hast obtained from the Lord the grace to work wonders and miracles.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Thou, O Father, sprouted forth like a preeminent blossom in the temple of God, adorned with virtues and filled with the sweet fragrance of grace-filled fruit.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thou, O Ever-Virgin art a truly spiritual field, for from thy furrow thou didst bring forth the fruit that doth feed the whole of creation, the God of all.

Ode 5, Irmos: Rising early we cry to Thee, O Lord; * save us, for Thou art our God, *  and we know none other besides Thee.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

With thy mind purified, O most glorious one, thou didst behold the ineffable goodness of Christ, the God of all.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Like unto Elijah, thou, O Father, aided by the Holy Spirit, ascended into heaven on the chariot of thy virtues.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Having withered thy body with abstinence and attained bodily purity, thou, O Father, didst ascend unto the fullness of the loftiest abodes on high.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Heal the blindness of my polluted mind, O all-immaculate Lady for thou hast given birth unto Christ the great Physician.

Ode 6, Irmos: I will pour out my prayer unto the Lord, * and to Him will I proclaim my grief; * for my soul is filled with evils, * and my life unto Hades hath drawn nigh, * and like Jonah I pray unto Thee: * Raise me up from corruption, O God.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

By thy sacred prayers, O thou who art blessed by God, the cunning serpent hath been slain and the malice of those who demanded of thee a sign hath been destroyed, for thou, as one favoured by God, art effulgent with the light of the Godhead in thine unshakable faith.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Assiduously ploughing the fields of thy soul, and most wisely sowing the diversely fruitful seeds of virtues, thou, O sacred Father, hast harvested the rich bounty of abundant healings.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Helped, O holy Father, by the strength of the Spirit, thou hast subdued the might and power of the enemy, and in honour of thy victory thou hast been rewarded, O holy one, with the effulgent gift of miracles.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Lord is with thee, O most pure one! As it was well pleasing to Him, to be with thee O Maiden, so by thine intercessions, He hath delivered us all from the reign of the deceitful one; wherefore as is meet, from generation to generation we call thee blessed.

Katavasia: Pray to God for us, O holy father, Cadoc, for we fervently flee unto thee, the speedy helper and intercessor for our souls.

Then the priest says the ectenia: Have mercy upon us, O God…

Kontakion of St. Cadoc, Tone 5: We honour thee with hymns, O righteous Hierarch Cadoc,/ for the pilgrimage of thy life was found pleasing to God,/ Who in His goodness adorned thee with authority,/ and as thou didst receive the crown of martyrdom,/ whilst serving the Holy Mysteries,/ pray for us that we also may be blessed to die in Christ.

Ikos: Having conceived within thyself a loving attachment to the divine commandments of Christ, and a hatred for the delights of this world, with diligence thou didst achieve thy God-pleasing goals, like a divine lamp enlightening the ends of the world with spiritual radiance. Wherefore falling down before thee I implore thee: Enlighten my spiritual eyes that I may worthily hymn thine endeavours of fasting, thy watchfulness, the shedding of thy tears, thy labours and the emaciation of thy body, all for the sake of a blessed future life, which thou dost now enjoy; do thou ever pray for us who celebrate thy holy memory!

Ode 7, Irmos: The Children of Judaea, * who of old came to dwell in Babylon, * trampled underfoot the flame of the furnace * through their faith in the Trinity, * as they sang: “O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.”

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Having with great resolve completed thine exploits of fasting, thou, O Father, hast humbled the proudest of minds by thy divine humility, singing: “O God of our fathers, Blessed art Thou”.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Thou, O Father, sprouted forth like a preeminent blossom in the temple of God, adorned and filled with the sweet fragrance of the grace-filled fruits of virtue.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Having enlightened thy heart, O Father, thou wast made the guide of thy sacred assembly, giving them spiritual direction, teaching them and rousing them all to fulfil the will of God, singing: “O God of our fathers, Blessed art Thou”.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Giving birth to a new Child, the beginningless Word, thou, O Virgin, hast renewed us who have grown old through sin, and granted us strength to sing: “O God of our fathers, Blessed art Thou”.

Ode 7, Irmos: Treading down the fiery flame in the furnace, * the divinely eloquent children sang: * “Bless the Lord, ye works of the Lord”.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

As an heir of the divine habitations, thou, O Father, didst live like an angel; wherefore with the Angels thy spirit rejoiceth.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

O most wise and right wondrous Father, without wavering thou didst proceed along the divine paths leading to heaven, and thou didst, even unto the end, avoid those that lead to perdition.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Through the grace which found an abode in thy soul, O Father, the unclean spirits that cunningly find their abode in mortals, are driven away.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thou, O Virgin, art an inexhaustible source of spiritual water, drinking of which we all are filled with grace, and cleansed in both soul and body.

Ode 9, Irmos: All are awestruck at hearing of God’s ineffable condescension, * for the Most High voluntarily descended and assumed flesh, * becoming man in the Virgin’s womb; * wherefore we the faithful magnify the most pure Theotokos.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

By the action of the Holy Spirit thine honoured relics shed forth healings, curing the long standing diseases of those who have recourse unto thee, O Father; driving away cunning ferocious spirits, and raising the faithful to praise thy splendid deeds.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

Like a great sun that shineth forth with the majesty of thine ascetic deeds, O godly-wise one, thou hast enlightened the ends of the earth, and in thy death hast been exalted from light unto a most effulgent light; wherefore we cry unto thee: Enlighten our thoughts, O holy Father Cadoc.

Refrain: Venerable Father, Cadoc, pray to God for us

By touching thine enduring body resplendent with ascetic endeavours, O blessed  one, incurable diseases are healed, for our God and Saviour hath greatly glorified thee O most wise and wonder-worthy Father Cadoc; wherefore, for thy good works, thou art showered with fame, O holy one.

Refrain: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

In the hollows of fasting hast thou, O most praised Father, blossomed like a sweet-smelling rose, and like a lily hast thou filled the consciences of the faithful with the fragrances of thy virtues and miracles; wherefore, O holy one, drive away from us putrid passions.

Refrain: Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Enlighten, O pure Virgin, my heart ever grieving from my transgressions and the multitude of worldly distractions, and never leave me to mine enemies, that I may glorify and with love hymn thee, O all-hymned one.

And then: It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and most immaculate, and the Mother of our God. More honourable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without defilement gavest birth to God the Word, the true Theotokos, thee do we magnify.

Reader: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.

Lord, have mercy. (Thrice).

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.

Priest: For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

Reader: Amen.

Troparion, Tone 5: Having been raised to piety, O Hierarch Cadoc,/ thou didst dedicate thy life to God,/ serving Him in the monastic state./ As with joyful heart thou didst fulfil thy daily obedience,/ caring for the earthly needs of countless paupers,/ look now upon our spiritual poverty/ and beseech Christ our God,/ that He will grant us great mercy.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Kontakion, Tone 5: We honour thee with hymns, O righteous Hierarch Cadoc,/ for the pilgrimage of thy life was found pleasing to God,/ Who in His goodness adorned thee with authority,/ and as thou didst receive the crown of martyrdom,/ whilst serving the Holy Mysteries,/ pray for us that we also may be blessed to die in Christ.

Then the priest says the ectenia: Have mercy upon us, O God…

Priest: Wisdom. Most Holy Theotoks, save us.

Chanters: More honourable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without defilement gavest birth to God the Word, the true Theotokos, thee do we magnify.  

Priest: Glory to Thee, O Christ God, our hope, glory to Thee. 

Chanters: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.  

Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)  

Master give the blessing. 

Priest: May Christ our true God, through the prayers of His Most-Pure Mother, of our Venerable and God-Bearing Father, Cadoc, and of all the saints, have mercy upon us, and save us, for He is good and the lover of mankind. Amen.