Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings to you all in the week of All Saints – our weekend services having celebrated the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the great company of the saints across the ages, whether of the Old Covenant or New Covenant. In the coming weeks, we look forward to the various local celebrations of the saints of the Orthodox homelands, as well as those of these isles.
As we begin July, the ordination of our Deacon draws nearer, and your prayers are asked for Fr Mark, Alla and Yuriy. The transport for the journey to London is now confirmed and we look forward to around thirty parishioners celebrating the altar-feast of the lower cathedral church, and being present for the ordination.
As I’ve already commented on Facebook and WhatsApp – I’m extremely happy to have been able to use the Oratory Church for prayers, services and confessions so much over the last few weeks.
The schedule will continue, with the akathist at 15:00 on Tuesdays, Vespers at 15:00 on Thursdays and any Saturdays when I do not need to be in Warminster or Cheltenham.
We usually chant our services simply, gathered before the holy icons or the relics of St Alban, and sometimes have a little vocal competition with Saturday baptisms, but it is a blessing to offer the services of the Church on behalf of all.
Next week, there will be weekday services at 15:00 on Tuesday 2 July, Thursday 4 July and Saturday 6 July.
Thursday will be the eve of the feast of St Alban (and the summer feast of the Kursk Root icon), so Great Vespers will be offered before the enshrined portion of the Protomartyr’s relics.
The following week, there will be weekday services on Tuesday 9 July and Thursday 11 July at 15:00 – Thursday being the eve of the feast of St Peter and Paul.
The festal Liturgy will be celebrated in the Oratory Church on Friday morning (12 July) at 10:30. Our Ascension Liturgy proved how well the Sacred Heart chapel suits Orthodox services, and we look forward to regular feast day Liturgies.
If parishioners wish to use the church hall for refreshments, we will have shrine prayers before the relics of St Alban, and venerate them after lunch.
The following morning, Saturday 13 July, will see the Liturgy for the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles celebrated in Warminster, where our Cardiff parishioners living in Wessex will gather in the Chapel of St Lawrence for the Hours and Liturgy at 10:30. As our newly-ordained priest, will be in London for the days after his ordination, there will be no Cheltenham Liturgy the following weekend.
I will be available to hear confessions in St Alban’s on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons, after vespers, this week – and already have a request for a Thursday evening confession in Nazareth House. So, Thursday afternoon confessions will be in the Oratory Church, and evening confessions in Nazareth House for those who wish to take advantage of the Sister’s hospitality. As I will be there, compline will be chanted after confessions, at 19:00.
We very much look forward to celebrating the Nativity of St John the Baptist next Sunday, and the variables for the Liturgy may be found at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1POaQM4A-ZDAWlEocXTGnYvAvaXhhGJIg/view
We will also celebrate the memory of St Calogero the Hermit, whose icon was gifted to us by iconographer-priest, Efraim Augello and matushka Olympiada in Sicily.
Your prayers are asked for Masha’s aunt, Nataliya, as she returns home to Kiev. It was a joy for the Cardiff Wessex parishioners to pray with her and have supper on Porphyrios’s narrow boat last Monday, and it has been a joy having her as part of our community whilst she has been in Britain.
We also ask your prayers for the repose of the soul of Masha’s young pupil, Aurelia, who fell asleep in the Lord last Thursday, at the tender age of eight years. May the Lord remember her in his Kingdom. We continue to pray for the souls of the martyred Archpriest Nikolia and the martyred Mikhail, and for Anatoliy and Svetlana. Memory Eternal!
May God bless and protect you and our community.
Asking you forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
Hieromonk Mark