Sunday 11 August N.S.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today saw the celebration of the Nativity of St Nicholas in Cardiff after the feast of the Smolensk icon in Warminster yesterday.
In my homily in Warminster, I reflected upon the life of the Smolensk icon, being carried in battle against the Mongol Hordes and against the invading French Army of 1812, stressing that, as Vladyka recently pointed out to us, the ceaseless Christian war is actually one that exists in each of our lives – not against worldly powers and regimes, but against sin and temptation.
As an Hodegetria Icon in which the Mother of God is ‘she who shows the way’, pointing to Christ as the very centre of her and our lives, it is through her example and guidance, following that iconographic hand in Her Smolensk icon, to concentrate upon Christ as the focal point and meaning of lives obedient to the Law of God, determined by the Gospel, and fighting against sin and temptation, that we will gain the real victory.
A great example of this is to be seen in St Nicholas, whose very name means Victor, or Winner – as explained to our youngsters at the end of Liturgy. The Mother of God and the Holy Wonderworker Nicholas show us that there is no victory unless we fight and labour for Christ.
If there is no battle, we will be spiritually crushed and lose the crown prepared for us by the Saviour, Who was victorious over hades, death and Satan through in His Life-Giving Passion and Glorious Resurrection. Victory was gained through the Cross, reminding us that without struggle and fighting for the Kingdom of Heaven, there will be no victory. The Cross is our weapon and token of victory, but only if it is lived and embraced!
Thank you to all who laboured for our weekend celebrations, especially for such generous hospitality and support whilst travelling away from home. It was lovely to have new people to join us for Liturgy, and wonderful that parish hospitality embraced them as they stopped to have lunch and chat, and to have our young people engage and make them welcome.
It was a blessing to have Father Mark the Younger preach the homily at Liturgy, an we are grateful for such a well expressed encapsulation of the Sunday Gospel, highlighting that like the blind men, we need to follow Christ, keeping up with him and being persistent in our prayers when He may not respond to them in our time, rather than His time. Thank you, Father!
This Wednesday, the feast of the All-Merciful Saviour and the Procession of the Cross marks the beginning of the Dormition Fast, and Vespers will be chanted in the Oratory Church on Tuesday, the eve of the feast at 15:00. This is the first feast of the Saviour in August, known to us as the ‘Honey Saviour’ – ‘medovy spas’.
To once more quote St Nikolai Velimirovich:
“This feast was instituted by a mutual agreement of the Greeks and Russians at the time of the Greek Emperor Manuel and the Russian Prince Andrew in commemoration of the simultaneous victories of the Russians over the Bulgarians and the Greeks over the Saracens [in 1164]. In both of these battles, crosses were carried by the armies from which heavenly rays shone. It was therefore instituted that, on August 1, the Cross be carried first to the middle of the Church of the Divine Wisdom [Hagia Sophia] and after that, along the streets for the people to venerate as a commemoration of the miraculous help of the Cross in previous battles. This was not an ordinary cross but the true Honourable Cross which was kept in the church of the imperial court. On July 31, the Honourable Cross was carried from the imperial court to the Church of the Holy Wisdom of God and from there it was carried along the streets for the consecration of the earth and the air. Finally, on August 14, it was again returned to the church of the imperial palace.”
As most parishioners will be at work on the feast, we will bless honey after next Sunday’s Liturgy, so please bring your honey, honey-cakes, mead, poppy seeds and poppy-seed cakes and any other festal fare to be blessed, so that we can rally “taste and see how good the Lord is.”
Rather than vespers, Thursday will see the chanting of a moleben to St Vasily the Blessed of Moscow, in our usual Thursday afternoon 3 o’clock gathering in the Oratory Church. Please message me if you’d like confession on Thursday.
Saturday is our monthly Cheltenham visit, with the Hours and Liturgy in Prestbury United Reformed Church at 10:30. We look forward to Father Mark’s first priestly celebration on Cheltenham, and will perform the honey blessing at the end of the service.
Monday 19th August (6th Old Style) is the feast of the Transfiguration, and will be marked by the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and blessing of new fruits in the Oratory Church at 10:30. I know that Masha very much wants to remain in Cardiff on Sunday night to be with us for the Transfiguration in Liturgy, so if anyone is able to offer a night’s hospitality, please get in touch with her.
As previously announced, Saturday 24th August will be see our Wessex pilgrimage to the Saxon church of St Laurence in Bradford-on-Avon, with the Hours at 09:00, followed by the Divine Liturgy at 9:30. Weather permitting we will have a picnic lunch in the churchyard after the service.
Please think about what you can take on during the short fast ahead of us, in order to dedicate the thirteen days – fourteen with the feast of Dormition – to the Mother of God. If possible, read a supplication canon in her honour every day. Use these days to spiritually prepare for our Summer Pascha, when we will celebrate the falling asleep, resurrection and assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos into heaven.
May God bless you.
Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
Hieromonk Mark