Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings for the after-feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, and the feast of our Venerable Fathers, Sergius and Herman of Valaam, for whose feast we celebrated Great Vespers in the Oratory Church, yesterday!
Today is also the feast of St Siouan the Athonite, and we send our greetings to Ruth-Silouana, on her name day.
This day is also the anniversary of the canonisation of St Xenia of St Petersburg by our Russian Church Abroad in 1978, so we greet our sisters named for the great God-pleaser and wonderworker – including our sister, Xenia, in Prestbury.
Dear sisters – Many, blessed years!
As well as celebrating vespers, Monday saw the funeral of Helen, wife of Father David Hathaway, known to some of our parishioners from his time as Anglican incumbent of St Augustine’s, Rumney, before his entry into the Roman Catholic Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Until his retirement, Father David faithfully served the sisters at Nazareth House, and our paths crossed on many a Sunday morning, when he always showed interest in our parish and its people.
Helen was a pillar of strength in supporting Father David in his ministry, and we know that even though he is now retired, a lack of ‘matushka’ figure at his side will leave an immense gap.
Please keep the newly departed Helen, and Father David and his family in your prayers.
As you are aware I was unable to travel to London for the altar-feast of the cathedral, largely due to swollen feet – something that I’ve never suffered with before – though I am glad to say that things are getting back to normal. Thankyou for your prayers!
With so many parishioners away on their travels, our Sunday numbers, in Cardiff, were rather scant, and we look forward to a little more normality with the return of our travellers and students.
Thanks to all who contributed to Sunday’s after-feast, especially our kliros.
The end of Liturgy saw a litia for Edmund‘s father-in-law, Igor, and other newly departed faithful. Please pray for the repose of Igor’s soul, for Ed’s wife, Olga, and for all the family. Memory Eternal!
After a Liturgy with rather constant background noise on Sunday, I hope that in the weeks ahead we will work together for a more peaceful worship environment, as noise and movement is becoming an obstacle to prayer and is causing much distraction – especially during he most solemn moments, such as the reading of the Gospel and the anaphora.
Distractions are disturbing the faithful, who come to church to be able to concentrate in prayer and stand before the Lord without earthly cares for a short time each week.
If we as clergy are being distracted from priestly prayers in the altar, then we know that it must be even more distracting for those closer to the children’s corner and sources of distraction.
Starting on Sunday, the children’s corner will be out of use during Liturgy, as this has become the major source of intrusive noise and a cause of disturbance, and games that cause constant noise have made it very difficult for the faithful to pray.
Any activities to occupy the children should be quiet and not involve telephones.
Children who are old enough to be confessing (from seven years and above), are old enough to increasingly join in the worship of the Church, by STANDING, and learning how to and pray and how to worship.
As Father Mark the Younger observed, even though we understand that the complete duration of the Hours and Liturgy is very long for our children, we must be clear that we come to church to pray, not play.
We are clear to our adult new-comers that we worship with our whole bodies, including making the sign of the cross, bowing during our prayers, and making prostrations on weekdays and feasts of the Cross – as we will at the veneration of the Cross this coming Sunday – and our children need to learn this by being part of worship.
As indicated several times before, from the Cherubic Hymn onwards, children need to be with parents, and learning to participate in the Church’s Liturgy, becoming familiar with the prayers and hymns, and the acts of Christian worship.
They should not needlessly be moving around the church during the Divine Liturgy.
We hope to see the development of spiritually educational activities, but this needs volunteers who are willing to undertake this obedience, and who will take care of resources needed, given our lack of space in church.
We know that it will take time for the children to learn, but we have to make a beginning.
Whilst we are discussing behaviour in church we also need to be clear that nobody should be drinking from water bottles during from the service. If there is a medical reason for needing to drink, that need not be a problem, but this needs to be discussed with the clergy to seek a blessing. In such circumstances, the faithful can go to the kitchen and do so discreetly, not in the middle of worship.
This Friday is the feast of the Exultation of the Cross, and will begin with Great Vespers in the Oratory Church at 15:00 on Thursday afternoon. We will return the next morning for the Divine Liturgy at 10:30. We will have refreshments in the church hall afterwards.
Confessions will be heard after vespers and before Liturgy, but as I will be performing a house blessing, there will be no evening confessions this week.
The second day of the feast will be celebrated in Warminster, where the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the Capel of St Lawrence – in Market Place – at 10:30.
Sunday is not only the after-feast of the Cross, but also of St Ludmilla, so we look very much look forward to greeting our elder-parishioner and sister. We will also bless our brothers who will be travelling to Mount Athos the following morning.
Just a reminder that we are asking parishioners who are helping with set up to arrive at 10:15, and other parishioners to come to St John’s at 10:30.
As you know, we have been asked to not park on the grass, and ask that parking spaces are left for our older parishioners and those bringing equipment and supplies to church.
I am sorry that much of the newsletter has been taken up with dos-and-dont’s, but I am sure you will understand that we have to make some POSITIVE changes for right-worship, the meaning of Orthodoxy/Pravoslavie, and for the glory of God.
Wishing you all a blessed and prayerful week.
Asking forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
In Christ – Hieromonk Mark