The following services are held regularly in Wellington Church. Updates and changes will be posted below and on our facebook page. If you are travelling a distance, please email Fr Augustine to confirm first. Our newsletter is sent out monthly, so please sign up if you wish to receive notices, sermons and other information.
All are warmly welcome to come and pray with us, non-Orthodox Christians may receive the blessed bread at the end of the Liturgy.
| Monday | |||
| Tuesday | 10:00 am Divine Liturgy | ||
| Wednesday | |||
| Thursday | 10:00 am Divine Liturgy | ||
| Friday | |||
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Saturday |
10:00 am Divine Liturgy | ||
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Sunday |
8.00 am Divine Liturgy |
Dear friends, our iconographer friend Katherine has completed a few icons which are available on her new website. Prints and other paintings will follow when her current commissions are complete. Please sign up for her mailing list to be notified of these and like her facebook page to support our very own Scottish Orthodox iconographer. katherinesandersicons.com/shop/
Dear all! On Saturday 16th Br Basil will lead Readers' Matins at 10.00 am followed by tea and biscuits.
This Sunday, is Sunday of Orthodoxy, and we have been kindly invited by Fr George Bliortu of the Romanian Orthodox church in Shettleston to celebrate together. Therefore, there will not be Liturgy in the chapel that day but in Shettleston. The Liturgy will start at 10.00 am and Russkaya Cappella will be there to sing at the service. We hope that many of you are able to come.
There will be a meal afterwards in the hall.
Address: 111 Killin Street, Glasgow, G32 9AH
AN INTRODUCTION TO LENTMetropolitan Anthony of Sourozh This talk was given by Metropolitan Anthony to the London Group of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius and their friends on Saturday, 17 February 1968. It was taken down in shorthand, transcribed, corrected by Metropolitan Anthony and published at the time in booklet form by the Fellowship, but has long been out of print. The editor of the original booklet mentioned in his introduction that 'because of the large crowds the meeting at Saint Basil's House (the London centre of the Fellowship) had to be transferred to the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Notting Hill.' Contrary to what many think or feel, Lent is a time of joy. It is a time when we come back to life. It is a time when we shake off what is bad and dead in us in order to become able to live, to live with all the vastness, all the depth, and all the intensity to which we are called. Unless we understand this quality of joy in Lent, we will make of it a monstrous caricature, a time when in God's own name we make our life a misery. This notion of joy connected with effort, with ascetical endeavour, with strenuous effort may indeed seem strange, and yet it runs through the whole of our spiritual life, through the life of the Church and the life of the Gospel. The Kingdom of God is something to be conquered. It is not simply given to those who leisurely, lazily wait for it to come. To those who wait for it in that spirit, it will come indeed: it will come at midnight; it will come like the Judgement of God, like the thief who enters when he is not expected, like the bridegroom, who arrives while the foolish virgins are asleep. This is not the way in which we should await Judgement and the Kingdom. Here again we need to recapture an attitude of mind which usually we can't manage to conjure up out of our depth, something which had become strangely alien to us: the joyful expectation of the Day of the Lord - in spite of the fact that we know this Day will be a Day of judgement. It may strike us as strange to hear that in Church we proclaim the Gospel - the 'good news' - of judgement, and yet we do. We proclaim that the Day of the Lord is not fear, but hope, and declare together with the spirit of the Church: 'Come, Lord Jesus, and come soon' (cf. Rev. 22.20). So long as we are incapable of speaking in these terms, we lack something important in our Christian consciousness. We are still, whatever we may say, pagans dressed up in evangelical garments. We are still people for whom God is a God outside of us, for whom his coming is darkness and fear, and whose judgement is not our redemption but our condemnation, for whom to meet the Lord is a dread event and not the event we long and live for. Unless we realise this, then Lent cannot be a joy, since Lent brings with it both judgement and responsibility: we must judge ourselves in order to change, in order to become able to meet the Day of the Lord, the Resurrection, with an open heart, with faith, ready to rejoice in the fact that he has come. Every coming of the Lord is judgement. The Fathers draw a parallel between Christ and Noah. They say that the presence of Noah in his generation was at the same time condemnation and salvation. It was condemnation because the presence of one man who remained faithful, of just one man who was a saint of God, was evidence that holiness was possible and that those who were sinners, those who had rejected God and turned away from him, could have done otherwise. So the presence of a righteous man was judgement and condemnation upon his time. Yet it was also the salvation of his time, because it was only thanks to him that God looked with mercy on mankind. And the same is true of the coming of the Lord. There is also another joy in judgement. Judgement is not something that falls upon us from outside. Yes, the day will come when we will stand before God and be judged; but while our pilgrimage still continues, while we still live in the process of becoming, while there still lies ahead of us the road that leads us towards the fullness of the stature of Christ, towards our vocation, then judgement must be pronounced by ourselves. There is a constant dialogue within us throughout our lives. You remember the parable in which Christ says: 'Make your peace with your adversary while you are on the way' (Mt. 5.25). Some of the spiritual writers have seen in the adversary not the devil (with whom we cannot make our peace, with whom we are not to come to terms), but our conscience, which throughout life walks apace with us and never leaves us in peace. Our conscience is in continuous dialogue with us, gainsaying us at every moment, and we must come to terms with it because otherwise the moment will come when we finally reach the Judge, and then our adversary will become our accuser, and we will stand condemned. So while we are on the road, judgement is something which goes on constantly within ourselves, a dialogue, a dialectical tension between our thoughts and our emotions and our feelings and our actions which stand in judgement before us and before whom we stand in judgement. But in this respect we very often walk in darkness, and this darkness is the result of our darkened mind, of our darkened heart, of the darkening of our eye, which should be clear. It is only if the Lord himself sheds his light into our soul and upon our life, that we can begin to see what is wrong and what is right in us. There is a remarkable passage in the writings of John of Kronstadt, a Russian priest of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, in which he says that God does not reveal to us the ugliness of our souls unless he can see in us sufficient faith and sufficient hope for us not to be broken by the vision of our own sins. In other words, whenever we see ourselves with our dark side, whenever this knowledge of ourselves increases, we can then understand ourselves more clearly in the light of God, that is, in the light of the divine judgement. This means two things: it means that we are saddened to discover our own ugliness, indeed, but also that we can rejoice at the same time, since God has granted us his trust. He has entrusted to us a new knowledge of ourselves as we are, as he himself always saw us and as, at times, he did not allow us to see ourselves, because we could not bear the sight of truth. Here again, judgement becomes joy, because although we discover what is wrong, yet the discovery is conditioned by the knowledge that God has seen enough faith, enough hope and enough fortitude in us to allow us to see these things, because he knows that now we are able to act. All this is important if we want to understand that joy and Lent can go together. Otherwise the constant, insistent effort of the Church - and of the word of God - to make us aware of what is wrong in us can lead us to despair and to darkness, until finally we have been brought so low that we are no longer capable of meeting the Resurrection of Christ with joy, because we realise - or imagine that we realise - that the Resurrection has nothing to do with us. We are in darkness, God is in light. We see nothing but our judgement and condemnation at the very moment when we should be emerging out of darkness into the saving act of God, which is both our judgement and our salvation. The Orthodox Church introduces Lent with a series of preparatory weeks in which the readings of the Gospel lead us step by step from outer darkness, as it were, to the point of judgement. I would like to remind you quickly of these stages. The first, dramatic stage in which we find ourselves consists in the fact that we are blind and yet are unaware of our blindness. We are in darkness and are unaware that this darkness is within and around us. Our eye is dark and darkens all that is inside us, while we remain unaware of it. The first reading from the Gospel that confronts us with this aspect of our preparation for Lent is the story of Bartimaeus, the blind man at the gate of Jericho, a man who either had lost his sight or was born blind, but was left there in the darkness, in the outer darkness. There was no light for him, there was no life for him, either, and there was no joy for him. He probably had come to terms with his distress. He continued to exist, since he could not live. He continued to exist day after day thanks to the cold, indifferent charity of passers-by. But one thing made his misery both dramatic and tragic: he lived in the time of Jesus. More than once Bartimaeus must have heard of this man of God who had come to the world, who was healing and renewing people and things, a man who had opened the eye of blind men, who had given sight to the man born blind. The presence of the possibility of salvation, of an impossible healing, must have made his darkness even darker. Possible it was, if God came his way, yet impossible, because how could he find the itinerant preacher and healer who never was still, never in the same place? How could a blind man keep pace with him? Darkness came into his awareness because there was a possibility that he might see. His despair became deeper than ever before, because there was hope. And so, when Christ came near him he could ask for healing from the very depth of his despair and from the very depth of a total, passionate longing for salvation. The coming of God had made him aware of darkness as he had never been before, aware as never before of the tragedy which he lived. This is the first step, which we must accept and which we find so difficult to accept: we must face our true situation, not consoling ourselves with the thought that we have some sort of life within us that can replace divine life. We must accept that we are in darkness as far as the light of God is concerned. And then we must do something about it. First of all we must become aware of the fact that without light we are lost, because the darkness in which we are left is death, the absence of God. But when it comes to doing something, there are two things that stand in our way. First of all, we will not act unless we are aware that we are in a desperate situation. If we are not aware that it is really a question of life and death, of the only thing that matters, then we will do nothing. We will pray God to do something. We will hope that even though we are not even praying, he will come and act. But it is only out of a sense of deadly urgency that we can begin to act, like Bartimaeus, whom no one could stop from crying out, shouting for help, since he knew that this was the decisive moment. Christ was passing by. In a minute he would be gone and the darkness would become permanent, irremediable. Another thing that prevents us from doing something is the way we are afraid of people. I remember a man in prison who told me how marvelous it was to be found out, because, as he said, 'So long as I had not been found out, I spent all my time, an my effort, trying to look as though I was alright. The moment I was caught I felt, "Now I can choose: I can either remain what I was, a thief and a cheat, or else I can change. Now I am free to become different, and no one will be any more surprised than they were to discover that I was a thief."' As long as you have appearances to maintain it is terribly difficult to change, and this is what the parable of Zacchaeus, which follows the story the Blind Man, brings out so clearly. The problem of Zacchaeus was this: he wanted to see Christ. Would he take the risk of being ridiculous or not? To be ridiculous is a lot more difficult than to be disapproved of, because when we are sharply disapproved of we can hide behind our own pride. We feel that we stand against the whole world, even if this world is so small that it is not even worth noticing. But to be laughed at, to be ridiculed, is something which is beyond the courage of most of us. Can you imagine a bank manager in a small town climbing a tree in the midst of a big crowd, with all the boys whistling, pointing at him with their fingers, making cat-cries and the rest, just for the sake of meeting Christ? Well, that was the position of Zacchaeus, the rich man. But for him meeting Christ was so essential, such a question of death and life, that he was prepared to disregard the ridicule, the humiliation, attached to his action - and he saw Christ. There are two ways out of our dependence upon human opinions and human judgements. We must either do what Zacchaeus did, accept humiliation because it is essential to be saved, or we can let our hearts be hardened, and accept the pride that will negate the judgement of others. There is no third way. There is only the spontaneous oscillation which we all experience, knowing what is right, knowing what is wrong, and never deciding for either right or wrong because whenever we turn to the wrong we are afraid of the judgement of God, while whenever we turn to the right we are afraid of the judgement of men. Pride or humility are the only two paths by which we can leave this situation. And then there is the problem of God's judgement. The story of Zacchaeus shows how we can oscillate between the judgement of men and the judgement of God. Now comes the opportunity for another move. Isn't it time, when we are confronted with life and death, for us to judge ourselves and not be completely dependent upon others? We see this in the Publican and the Pharisee - the first, sharp, definite judgement which is both human and divine, because both coincide. If we ask ourselves how it is possible that the Pharisee could be so proud in spite of knowing so much about God and things divine, how it was that the Publican could be so truly humble in spite of being simple, I think we can find the answer in this: the terms of reference for the Pharisee were found in the law, the letter of the law. One can always be right as far as the law and the letter is concerned. One can always fulfil rules and commandments. One can always have 'done one's duty' and feel irreproachable. The terms of reference of the Publican, however, were different. He was not a good man. What he knew of the law was this: certain aspects of the law condemned him because he knew what he was like. Certain other aspects of the law he could use in order to extort whatever he wanted out of other people. The law for him was a powerful, cruel, hard instrument in his hands or in the hands of God. And as he knew life, he knew perfectly well that the only salvation from the law was human mercy, human compassion, a human approach and attitude to one another. That was the only thing that could save a debtor from prison or save an extortioner from the judgement of the magistrate: a human touch. And so his terms of reference were in tension between a law which was inexorable, implacable, always a power that could not be fulfilled because he was too weak for it and, on the other hand, a law that could be used with such cruelty against others - and then the human relationship that could redeem all. The Publican's terms of reference were people, his neighbours, including that invisible neighbour, God. This is why he could stand at the threshold of the temple and beat his breast, though hopelessly: in spite of all the logic of things, he knew that in his world of hard, cruel, implacable men there were moments when all things become possible, for a man can be a man even when he is hardened and cruel. And so it was with God. The law was there to condemn him, but God was 'someone'. He was not only the law-giver. He was not only the one who made sure that the law is observed. He was free within his law to act with humanity. This knowledge made the Publican humble before God, because his terms of reference contained hope, and the object of his hope was mercy, pity, charity. This made all things possible, in spite of the fact that it is so humiliating to be loved and to be saved by love. The same truth appears in another way in the next parable, that of the Prodigal Son. Here again we find two men, one who is righteous and another who is unrighteous. The Prodigal Son is in a way another aspect of the Publican, and the elder brother is the same as the Pharisee. But here we are confronted not only with the tension between a law that is objective, and therefore dead, and mercy, which is subjective because alive and personal, but we are confronted with the theme of sin itself. What does it mean to be in sin? It can be clearly defined in terms of the short conversation between the son and the father at the beginning of the parable. And if you want to put it in words more modern and cruder than the Gospel, it really amounts to this: 'Father, I want to live, and you stand in my way. As long as you are alive the goods are yours. Die, for all intents and purposes. Let us suppose that you are already dead. I have no time to wait until you die in fact. Let us agree that as far as I am concerned I have no father left, but I have his goods because I have inherited them'. This is the sort of speech which we find, with the same or perhaps lesser hardness, on so many occasions between children and parents, between people who are related to one another in one way or another. It really involves saying: 'As a person you do not matter. You stand in my way. The only thing that is of value to me is what I can get out of you. And so that I may get all I can from you, you must surrender even your existence. You must accept not to be'. This is sin, sin with regard to God, and sin with regard to man. With regard to God we are happy to take everything he gives and then turn him out of our lives. We are happy to go into a strange country to spend all he has given, while denying his existence with the same ruthlessness with which, in Holy Week, the soldiers covered the eyes of Christ so he could not see, so that they would be able to laugh at him more freely. The same is so often true of our relationships with people. And this is also sin. This is the very point: to rule the other out because he doesn't matter. What matters are things - and the use I can make of them. And then there is another aspect in this parable: hunger, distress, loneliness, all those things which we so hate in life, and yet which come to us as our only salvation, because as long as we are surrounded with comfort, we don't notice our true situation. We prove unable to move inward and to see that we are lonely in the midst of this crowd and that we are poor in the midst of all this richness. It is important for us to realise that all that comes our way which is bitter, which is hard, which is difficult, which we hate with all our greed and with all or fear - that is our salvation. To be deprived is essential for us. And if we are not deprived, we must learn to deprive ourselves to the point of becoming aware that we are face to face with the living God in the final, total nakedness and dereliction which is man's condition when he does not hide behind things. We misjudge our situation so badly in this respect. There is a beautiful passage in the Tales of the Hassidim translated by Martin Buber, in which he tells about a man, a rabbi, who lived in appalling misery and yet every morning and every evening thanked God for his generous gifts. One of those who heard his prayer said to him, 'How can you be so hypocritical? Don't you see that God has given you nothing?' And he said, 'No, you are mistaken. God looked on me and thought, "This man, to be saved, needs hunger and thirst and cold and loneliness and illness and dereliction." And he has given me these things in abundance'. This is the true, Christian attitude, the attitude of a believer for whom the soul really matters. And this is what the return of the Prodigal Son to himself shows us. It also shows us another thing. The Prodigal Son comes back, having rehearsed his confession, and says: 'I have sinned against heaven and against thee. I am no longer worthy to be called thy son. Let me be like the hired servants'. But the father does not allow him to say the last words. Each of us can be a prodigal son, a prodigal daughter, an unworthy son, an unworthy daughter, an unworthy friend. What no one can do is to adjust himself to a relationship, however worthy, below his rank. No one who is an unworthy son can become a worthy hireling. We cannot step down from our birthright, from the right which love gave us in the first place. And therefore we are not to look for compromise and for legal readjustments with God and say, 'I can't give you my heart but I will behave well. I can't love you but I will serve you', and so forth. This is a lie, a relationship which God is not prepared to accept and will refuse to accept. The last step on our way towards Lent is one which is shown to us in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. It sets before us the following problem: what are we going to judge and to be judged about? And the answer is absolutely clear. In all this process of judgement we may have thought that we will be judged on whether we have a deep knowledge of God, whether we are theologians, whether we live in the transcendental realm. Well, this parable makes it absolutely clear that God's question to us, before we can enter into any kind of divine reality, is this: have you been human? If you have not been human, then don't imagine that you will be able to become like God-become-man, like the God-Man Jesus, who is the measure of all things. This is very important, because the type of judgement which we are constantly making is a falsified judgement. We notice how pious we are, how much knowledge of God we have, questions belonging to the realm of what an English writer has called 'Churchianity' as contrasted with Christianity. But the question which Christ asks us is this: Are you human or sub-human? In other words, are you capable of love or not? I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was naked, I was in prison, I was ill. What did you do about it? Were you able to respond with your heart to my misery, were you able to respond at a cost and with all your humanity - or not? At this point we must remember what we have said before concerning the Pharisee and the Publican. Christ does not ask us to fulfil the law. He will not count the number of loaves of bread and of cups of water and the number of visits we pay to hospitals and so forth. He will measure our heart's response. And this is made clear from the words of Christ in another part of St John's Gospel, where he says, 'And when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants'. The doing means nothing. We become human at the moment when, like the Publican, like the Prodigal Son, we have entered into the realm of broken-heartedness, into the realm of love which is a response both to divine love and to human suffering. This cannot be measured. We can never, on that level, say, 'I am safe. I will come to the judgement and be one of the sheep', because it will not be a question of whether or not we have accomplished the law, but whether this law has become so much ourselves that it has grown into the mystery of love. There, at that point, we will be on the fringe, on the very threshold of entering into that spring of life, that renewal of life, that newness of all things, which is Lent. We will have gone through all these stages of judgement, and will have emerged from blindness and from the law into a vision of the mysterious relationship which may be called 'mercy' or 'grace'. And we will be face to face with being human. But we must remember that to be human does not mean to be 'like us' but 'like Christ'. With this we can enter Lent and begin to experience through the readings of the Church, through the prayers of the Church, through the process of repentance, that discovery of the acts of divine grace which alone can lead us towards growth into the full stature of the likeness of Christ. I have brought you to the gate. Now you must walk into it. Sourozh 1987. N. 27. P. 3-13
Dear all! On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (11th-14th March), we will read the Canon of St Andrew at 7.00 pm.
The canon is a dialog between St. Andrew and his soul. The ongoing theme is an urgent exhortation to change one’s life. St Andrew always mentions his own sinfulness placed in juxtaposition to God’s mercy, and uses literally hundreds of references to good and bad examples from the Old and New Testament to “convince himself” to repent.
Please come and pray with us and let us start this Lent by praying together! O:)
Here's some information about Cheesfare Saturday:
On this day, we commemorate all the righteous and God-bearing Fathers and Mothers, both known and unknown, who shone forth in asceticism. With these two weeks of Meatfare and Cheesefare, the Church gradually eases us into the full fasting which begins on Monday.
The holy acetics are virtuous men and women who contended against the devil and their own passions. By examining their lives and their struggles against the Enemy, we take courage from the victory they have achieved, and are inspired to imitate their God-pleasing conduct. They also teach us that fasting is not merely abstinence from food, but involves refraining from inappropriate speech and unseemly actions.
Since these holy ascetics share the same human nature that we have, their example is an encouragement to us as we embark on our own spiritual struggles. Their lives are a model for us to follow as we seek to acquire and practice the various virtues and to turn away from everything evil. If we undertake these same struggles of prayer, fasting, and good works, we shall receive from God the same reward they did.
Most of the holy ascetics commemorated today have their own separate Feast Day during the year, while some are remembered only on this day.
Troparion — Tone 8
Only Creator, with wisdom profound, You mercifully order all things, and give that which is needed to all men: Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Your servants who have fallen asleep, for they have placed their trust in You, our Maker and Fashioner, and our God.
Kontakion — Tone 8
With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Your servants, where there is neither sickness nor sorrow, and no more sighing, but life everlasting.
(source: oca)
Dear all! This Saturday (9th) is Cheesfare Saturday. We will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am followed by a very cheesy and dairy filled meal. We would like to encourage everyone to bring an appropriate dish with them to share.
At 4.00 pm, the Russian School based in the Kelvin College- East End Campus will celebrate Maslenitsa (Shrovetide). Singers from Russkaya Cappella will sing folk songs with the kids. There will be a buffet afterwards where bliny and other Russian delicacies will be served. Please come along if you're able.
On Sunday 10th, we will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 8.00 am. This is the Sunday before Great Lent starts and the Church remembers Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise. After the Liturgy we will have Forgiveness Vespers. This is a very important and beautiful service where we are reminded of our weaknesses and ask each other for forgiveness.
As always, we look forward to seeing you.
Χαίρετε!
Έλαβα αυτό σε e-mail και ασχέτως τι ψηφίζει ο καθένας, ίσως βρείτε αυτό το μήνυμα βοηθητικό.
Απ’ ότι κατάλαβα μάλλον θα στηθούν κάλπες και εδώ για τις ευρωεκλογές.
Να και δύο link που θα σας φανούν χρήσιμα:
www.ypes.gr/epe2019/(S(shu5di55mxpsp345b5oc1s45))/Greeks_in_EU_2019.pdf
www.ypes.gr/services/eea/eeagr/eea.ht
Καλό βράδυ!
Dear all! Our next Divine Liturgy will take place on Thursday 7th at 10.00 am. Mother Mary, from the skete of St Sunniva, will be visiting our community that day, so please come and join us.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards!
Dear all. We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Sunday 3rd at 8.00 am.
We look forward to seeing you!
There will be Readers Matins with Br Basil tomorrow, Thursday 28th at 10.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
We look forward to seeing you!
MEMORIAL SATURDAYS
Our Church calendar provides many occasions when we are asked to face up to the fact of death. Good Friday is one such occasion. So is Easter. Sunday is another. Every Sunday is a “little Easter” celebrating Christ’s victory over death. On our Church calendar, every year there are special Memorial Saturdays or “Saturdays of the Souls” which provide another opportunity for us to face up to death, i.e, the two Saturdays preceding Great Lent and the Saturday before Pentecost. On these Saturdays the Divine Liturgy is celebrated and special prayers are offered for our deceased loved ones. We pray for the dead especially on Saturdays since it was on the Sabbath day that Christ lay dead in the tomb, “resting from all His works and trampling down death by death.” Thus in the New Testament, Saturday becomes the proper day for remembering the dead and offering prayers for them.
When Orthodox Christians pray for departed loved ones, they focus not only on them but also on Christ in Whom they died: “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith….” (Hebrews 12:1). “I am the resurrection and the life,” He said, “he who believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live; and he who lives and believes in me shall have life everlasting.”
Memorial prayer services which affirm the reality of physical death and also the reality of resurrection into life eternal play a vital role in healing of grief for the Orthodox Christian.
The names of the departed are remembered in prayer at every liturgy. Names may be given to the priest weekly-if desired- not only of the dead but also of the living. The list of names should be submitted in two columns: one list marked LIVING IN THE LORD and one marked ASLEEP IN THE LORD. The list may be emailed or given to the priest before the liturgy.
On Memorial Saturdays the liturgical hymns pray universally for all the departed. However, a special litany is included to pray personally for departed loved ones whose names are submitted to the priest.
Please give to Fr Augustine (by email or on the day) names of deceased loved ones whom you wish to have remembered in prayer this coming Memorial Saturday.
Dear all! Our next Liturgy will take place on Saturday 2nd March at 10.00 am. This Saturday of Meatfare week is known as "Memorial Saturday" so please send us the names of people you would like the Church to pray for.
We will bless and serve koliva after the service.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! There will be morning prayer with Br Basil on Saturday 23rd at 10.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! Fr Augustine is attending important meetings in Paris this week so we will therefore not be able to celebrate any Liturgies this week.
Instead, Br Basil will do morning prayer on Saturday 23rd at 10.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
On this Sunday of the Prodigal son, there will be Divine Liturgy in the church of St Kentigern in Govan at 10.30 am and also at St Luke's at approximately the same time.
We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Russkaya Cappella singing "Our Father" with University of Glasgow Chapel choir in the Memorial Chapel on January 31st in memory of Stuart Campbell. 😇N. Kedroff: "Our Father" (1921) Dedicated to the memory of Stuart Campbell (1949 - 2018). Russkaya Cappella and the University of Glasgow Chapel Choir, 31 Ja...
PUBLICAN AND PHARISEE:THE JESUS PRAYERThe most normal form of unceasing prayer in the Orthodox tradition is the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer is the form of invocation used by those practicing mental prayer, also called the "prayer of the heart." The words of the prayer most usually said are "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." The choice of this particular verse has a theological and spiritual meaning. First of all, it is centered on the name of Jesus because this is the name of Him whom "God has highly exalted," the name given to the Lord by God Himself (Luke 1:31), the "name which is above every name." (Philip-plans 2:9-10, cf. Ephesians 1:21) ... for there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) All prayer for Christians must be performed in the name of Jesus: "if you ask anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:13-14) The fact that the prayer is addressed to Jesus as Lord and Christ and Son of God is because this is the center of the entire faith revealed by God in the Spirit. He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." And Jesus answered, "Blessed are you... for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven ... and on this rock I will build my Church ..." (Matthew 16:16-18) That Jesus is the Christ, and that the Christ is Lord is the essence of the Christian faith and the foundation of the Christian church. To believe and proclaim this is granted by the Holy Spirit. ... no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) . . . every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philip-plans 2:11) In calling Jesus the Son of God is to acknowledge God as His Father. To do this is, at the same time, to have God as one's own Father, and this too is granted by the indwelling Spirit. And when the time had fully come. God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:4-6) When we cry "Abba! Father!" it is the Spirit Him-self bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God . . . (Romans 8:15-16) Thus, to pray "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God" is already to be a child of God, and already to be certain that the Holy Spirit is in you. In this way, the Jesus Prayer brings the Spirit of God into the heart of man. "Have mercy on me a sinner" is the publican's prayer. When uttered with humble conviction it brings divine justification, (cf. Luke 18:9-14) Generally speaking, divine mercy is what man needs most of all. It is for this reason that the numberless repetition of the request for the Lord's mercy is found everywhere in the prayers of the Church. And finally, all men are sinners. To know this is a fact, and to confess it with faith is to be justified and forgiven by God.(cf. Romans 3:10-12, Psalm 14:1-3) The Jesus Prayer basically is used in three different ways. First as the verse used for the "prayer of the heart" in silence in the hesychast method of prayer. Second as the continual mental and unceasing prayer of the faithful outside the hesychast tradition. And third as the brief spoken prayer used to ward of temptations. Of course, in the actual life of a person these three uses of the prayer are often interrelated and combined. In the hesychast method of prayer the person sits alone in a bodily position with his head bowed and his eyes directed toward his chest or his stomach. He continually repeats the prayer with each aspiration and breath, placing his "mind in his heart" by concentrated attention. He empties his mind of all rational thoughts and discursive reasoning, and also voids his mind of every picture and image. Then, without thought or imagination, but with all proper attention and concentration he rhythmically repeats the Jesus Prayer in silence — hesychia means silence — and through this method of contemplative prayer is united to God by the indwelling of Christ in the Spirit. According to the fathers, such a prayer, when faithfully practiced within the total life of the Church, brings the experience of the uncreated divine light of God and unspeakable joy to the soul. Its purpose is to make man a servant of God. . . . the mind when it unites with the heart is filled with unspeakable joy and delight. Then a man sees that the Kingdom of heaven is truly within us. When you enter the place of the heart . . . give thanks to God, and praising His mercy, keep always to this activity, and it will teach you things which you will learn in no other way. . . . when your mind becomes established in the heart, it must not remain idle, but it should constantly repeat the prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!" and never cease. For this practice, keeping the mind from dreaming, renders it invincible against all suggestions of the devil and every day leads it more and more to love and longing for God. (St. Nicephorus, 14th c.. Discourse on Sobriety) To practice the hesychast method of prayer requires always and without exception the guidance of a spiritual guide, one must not use this method unless one is a person of genuine humility and sanity, filled with all wisdom and peace. To use this method without guidance or humble wisdom, is to court spiritual disaster, for the temptations that come with it are many. Indeed, the abuses of the method became so great in recent centuries that its use was greatly curtailed. Bishop Theophan tells that the bodily postures and breathing techniques were virtually forbidden in his time since, instead of gaining the Spirit of God, people succeeded only "in ruining their lungs." (cf. The Art of Prayer, Igumen Chariton, ed.) Such abusive and abortive use of the method — itself something genuine and richly rewarding — were already known in fourteenth century Byzantium when St. Gregory Palamas defended the tradition. And evidence exists from as early as the fourth century to show that even then people were using the prayer foolishly and to no avail by reducing it to a "thing in itself and being captivated by its form without interest in its purpose. Indeed, the idolatrous interest in spiritual technique and in the pleasurable benefits of "spirituality" and "mysticism" are the constant temptations of the spiritual life — and the devil's most potent weapon. Bishop Theophan called such interest "spiritual hedonism"; John of the Cross (16th c. Spain) called it "spiritual gluttony" and "spiritual luxury." Thus, by way of example from various times and places, come the following admonitions. Those who refuse to work with their hands under the pretext that one should pray without ceasing, in reality do not pray either. Through idleness ... they entangle the soul in a labyrinth of thoughts . . . and make it incapable of prayer. (St. Nilus of Sinai, 5th c.. Texts on Prayer) As long as you pay attention only to bodily posture for prayer and your mind cares only for the external beauty of the tabernacle (i.e. proper forms), know that you have not yet found the place of prayer and its blessed way is still far from you. Know that in the midst of all spiritual joy and consolation, that it is still more necessary to serve God with devotion and fear. (St. Nilus of Sinai, Texts on Prayer) It is natural for the mind to reject what is at hand and dream of something else to come ... to build fantasies and imaginings about achievements before he has attained them. Such a man is in considerable danger of losing what he has and falling into self-delusion and being deprived of good sense. He becomes only a dreamer and not a man of continual prayer (i.e. a hesychast). (St. Gregory of Sinai, 14th c., Texts on Commandments and Dogmas) If you are truly practicing the continual prayer of silence, hoping to be with God and you see something sensory or spiritual, within or without, be it even the image of Christ, or an angel, or some saint, or if an image of light pervades your mind in no way accept it... always be displeased with such images, and keep your mind clear, without image or form . . . and you will suffer no harm. It has often happened that such things, even when sent by God as a test before victory, have turned into harm for many ... who have then done harm to others equally unwise . . . leading to pride and self-conceit. For the fathers say that those who live rightly and are faultless in their behavior with other men ... who seek God with obedience, questioning and wise humility . . . will always be protected from harm by the grace of Christ. (St. Gregory of Sinai, Instructions to Hesychasts) The use of the Jesus Prayer outside the hesychast method for unceasing prayer is to repeat the prayer constantly and continually, whatever one is doing, without the employment of any particular bodily postures or breathing techniques. This is the way taught by St. Gregory Palamas in his short discourse about how unceasing mental prayer is the duty of all Christians. (see p. 130) Anyone can do this, whatever his occupation or position in life. This also is shown in The Way of the Pilgrim. The purpose and results of this method of prayer are those generally of all prayer: that men might be continually united with God by unceasing remembrance of His presence and perpetual invocation of His name, so that one might always serve Him and all men with the virtues of Christ and the fruits of the Spirit. The third method of using the Jesus Prayer is to have it always ready for moments of temptation. In this way, as St. John Climacus has said, you can "flog your enemies, i.e. the temptations, with the name of Jesus for there is no stronger weapon in heaven or on earth." (The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 21) This method works best when one practices the prayer without ceasing, joining "to every breath a sober invocation of Jesus' name." (Evagrius of Pontus) When one practices the continual "prayer of the heart," and when the temptations to sin enter the heart, they are met by the prayer and are defeated by grace. Man cannot live in this world without being tempted. When temptation comes to a person, there are only three possible results. Either the person immediately yields to the temptation and sins, or he tries to ward off the temptation by the power of his will, and is ultimately defeated after great vexation and strife. Or else he fights off the temptation by the power of Christ in his heart which is present only by prayer. This does not mean that he "prays the temptation away." Or that God miraculously and magically descends to deliver him. It means rather that his soul is so filled with the grace and the power of God that the temptation can have no effect. It is in this sense that the Apostle John has written: "no one who abides in Christ sins."(l John 3:6) He who sins is of the devil.. . The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of (the devil. No one born of God commits sins; for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot sin for he is born of God. By this may be seen who are children of God, and who are children of the devil. (1 John 3:8-10) One becomes a child of God, born of God in the Church through baptism. One continues as a child of God and does not sin only by continual prayer: the remembrance of God, the abiding in Him, the calling upon His name without ceasing in the soul. The third use of the Jesus Prayer, like the first two, is to accomplish this end: that man might not sin.
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Saturday 16th at 10.00 am for the feast of St Nicholas, Equal to the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan.
There will be a meal afterwards so please feel free to bring with you any dish you would like to share.
"O holy saint Nicholas, The Enlightener of Japan, You share a dignity and the throne of the Apostles; You are a wise and faithful servant of Christ, a temple chosen by the Divine Spirit, a vessel overflowing with the love of Christ. O Hierarch equal to the Apostles. Pray to the Life-Creating Trinity, for all your flock and for the whole world."
On Sunday the 17th, there will be Liturgy at 8.00 am. This Sunday is known as the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee.
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. O:)
#Valentinesday #Orthodox #Love #AdamandEve #1Corinthians13
Here is the story of St Valentine and his connection with love and marriage! 🙂
#Valentinesday #StValentine #Orthodox #ChurchOn the western calendar of saints, February 14 is traditionally the feast of St. Valentine of Rome. The eastern calendar, which is followed by most of the Orthodox Church, celebrates St. Valentine of Rome on July 6.
According to the hagiographic tradition, St. Valentine was a priest, renowned for his mercy to the poor and to those suffering or in need. However, most celebrations of St. Valentine, especially in Western countries associate the saint with romantic love and marriage.
There is some traditional basis for this connection to love and marriage, but not because he was some sort of Cupid. Rather, as the story goes, during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, it was declared that men couldn't marry before completing their military obligations. This was because recently married men could use their marriage as an excuse to avoid serving. At that time, there was a shortage of soldiers, and this loophole hindered Claudius's war effort. Thus, in order to further imperial prerogative, it was declared that people should give love the backseat to civics.
Valentine, as was typical for Christians of his time, cared little for the ambitions of Emperors, and so he began to marry couples in secret. By defending marriage, Valentine also subverted the war effort and helped young families resist the draft. For his treason and sedition, Valentine was executed.
His martyric witness to the Gospel was that we should ultimately look to the bonds between people to build societies, not the force of arms. Or in the words of the popular slogan, "Make love, not war!"
Dear all! This week, we are sadly not able to do morning prayers or weekday Liturgy.
We will only have Liturgy on Saturday and Sunday the 16th and 17th.
We look forward to seeing you all then!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 10th at 8.00 am. This Sunday is known as Zacchaeus Sunday.
In the Orthodox Church, the first sign of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its beginning. On this Sunday, the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus the tax-collector. It tells how Christ brought salvation to the sinful man, and how his life was changed simply because he “sought to see who Jesus was” (Luke 19:3). The desire and effort to see Jesus begins the entire movement through Lent towards Pascha. It is the first movement of salvation.
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! There will be Divine Liturgy on Saturday 9th at 10.00 am for the Prophet Zachariah.
"The memory of Your prophet Zachariah. We celebrate today, O Lord. By his prayers, we beseech You, O Christ God, save our souls!"
There will be a community lunch afterwards so please bring with you any dish you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! On this Saturday 9th February, Svetlana Zvereva, a native speaker of Russian and musical director of Russkaya Cappella, will offer Russian language lessons in the cafe of Wellington Church from 4.00 pm- 5.00 pm. All who are interested in learning some Russian are very welcome to attend.
The first lesson is free!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Thursday 7th at 10.00am for St Parthenius of Lampsakos, known for being a curer of many illnesses.
"In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you. Hierarch Father Parthenius, entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! There will be morning prayer with Br Basil, tomorrow, Tuesday 5th at 10.00 am.
The prayers will be followed by tea and coffee.
We look forward to seeing you!
Our icon of Аrchangel Gabriel
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You searched for: GitsyArt! Discover the unique items that GitsyArt creates. At Etsy, we pride ourselves on our global community of sellers. Each Etsy seller helps contribute to a global marketplace of creative goods. By supporting GitsyArt, you’re supporting a small business, and, in turn, Etsy!Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Sunday 3rd at 8.00 am.
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Saturday 2nd February at 10.00 am for the important feast of The Meeting of our Lord in the Temple.
"Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, full of grace! From you shone the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God. Enlightening those who sat in darkness! Rejoice, and be glad, O righteous elder; You accepted in your arms the Redeemer of our souls, Who grants us the Resurrection."
The Liturgy will be followed by a meal afterwards so please bring with you any dish you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! Here's a reminder about tomorrow, Thursday 31st.
We will celebrate the feast day of the Wonderworker and Unmercenary, Cyrus with Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am.
"You have given us the miracles of Your martyrs, Cyrus and John, as an invincible rampart; through their prayers, frustrate the plans of the heathens, and strengthen the faith of the Orthodox Christians, for You alone are good and love mankind."
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! There will be Morning Prayer with Br Basil tomorrow, Tuesday 29th at 10.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
On Thursday 31st, we will celebrate the feast day of the Wonderworker and Unmercenary, Cyrus with Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am.
"You have given us the miracles of Your martyrs, Cyrus and John, as an invincible rampart; through their prayers, frustrate the plans of the heathens, and strengthen the faith of the Orthodox Christians, for You alone are good and love mankind."
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 27th at 8.00 am for the feast of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
"O ye holy hierarchs, royal passion-bearers and pastors,
monks and laymen, men, women and children,
ye countless new-martyrs, confessors,
blossoms of the spiritual meadow of Russia,
who blossomed forth wondrously in time of grievous persecutions bearing good fruit for Christ in your endurance:
Entreat Him, as the One that planted you,
that He deliver His people from godless and evil men,
and that the Church of Russia
be made steadfast through your blood and suffering,
unto the salvation of our souls."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Saturday 26th at 10.00 am for the feast of the Venerable Xenophon and his family.
"O God of our Fathers, always act with kindness towards us; take not Your mercy from us, but guide our lives in peace through the prayers of Venerable Xenophon and his family."
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards. Please bring with you any dish you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear alll! There will be morning prayer with Br Basil tomorrow at 10.00 am, followed by tea and coffee.
Tomorrow is the feast day of St Timothy of the Seventy.
"Having learned goodness and maintaining continence in all things, you were arrayed with a good conscience as befits a priest. From the chosen Vessel you drew ineffable mysteries; you kept the faith, and finished a course equal to His. Bishop martyr Timothy, entreat Christ God that our souls may be saved."
Our next Liturgy will take place on Thursday 24th at 10.00 am to celebrate St Xenia of Rome.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday, 20th January at 8.00 am, to commemorate Venerable Euthymius the Great.
"Rejoice, O barren wilderness! And be glad, sterile desert, that has never known the travail of birth! The man of desires has multiplied your sons; He has planted them in faith and piety. He has watered them with the Holy Spirit: They grow in self-denial and perfect virtue. Through His intercessions, O Christ God, preserve Your people in peace!"
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Saturday 19th at 10.00 am, for the feast of St Macarius the Great of Egypt.
"Dweller of the desert and angel in the body, you were shown to be a wonder-worker, our God-bearing Father Macarius. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil, and prayer: healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith. Glory to Him who gave you strength! Glory to Him who granted you a crown! Glory to Him who through you grants healing to all!"
The Liturgy will be followed by a light meal. Please feel free to bring any dish you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! There will be Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Thursday 17th at 10.00 am for the feast of St Anthony the Great.
"You imitated the ways of zealous Elijah, and followed the straight path of John the Baptist. You became a desert dweller and strengthened the world by your prayers. Father Anthony, intercede with Christ God that our souls may be saved."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
Below is a biography of St Anthony's life.
Saint Anthony the Great is known as the Father of monasticism, and the long ascetical sermon in The Life of Saint Anthony by Saint Athanasius (Sections 16-34), could be called the first monastic Rule.
He was born in Egypt in the village of Coma, near the desert of the Thebaid, in the year 251. His parents were pious Christians of illustrious lineage. Anthony was a serious child and was respectful and obedient to his parents. He loved to attend church services, and he listened to the Holy Scripture so attentively, that he remembered what he heard all his life.
When Saint Anthony was about twenty years old, he lost his parents, but he was responsible for the care of his younger sister. Going to church about six months later, the youth reflected on how the faithful,in the Acts of the Apostles (4:35), sold their possessions and gave the proceeds to the Apostles for the needy.
Then he entered the church and heard the Gospel passage where Christ speaks to the rich young man: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me” (Mt.19:21). Anthony felt that these words applied to him. Therefore, he sold the property that he received after the death of his parents, then distributed the money to the poor, and left his sister in the care of pious virgins in a convent.
Leaving his parental home, Saint Anthony began his ascetical life in a hut not far from his village. By working with his hands, he was able to earn his livelihood and also alms for the poor. Sometimes, the holy youth also visited other ascetics living in the area, and from each he sought direction and benefit. He turned to one particular ascetic for guidance in the spiritual life.
In this period of his life Saint Anthony endured terrible temptations from the devil. The Enemy of the race of man troubled the young ascetic with thoughts of his former life, doubts about his chosen path, concern for his sister, and he tempted Anthony with lewd thoughts and carnal feelings. But the saint extinguished that fire by meditating on Christ and by thinking of eternal punishment, thereby overcoming the devil.
Realizing that the devil would undoubtedly attack him in another manner, Saint Anthony prayed and intensified his efforts. Anthony prayed that the Lord would show him the path of salvation. And he was granted a vision. The ascetic beheld a man, who by turns alternately finished a prayer, and then began to work. This was an angel, which the Lord had sent to instruct His chosen one.
Saint Anthony tried to accustom himself to a stricter way of life. He partook of food only after sunset, he spent all night praying until dawn. Soon he slept only every third day. But the devil would not cease his tricks, and trying to scare the monk, he appeared under the guise of monstrous phantoms. The saint however protected himself with the Life-Creating Cross. Finally the Enemy appeared to him in the guise of a frightful looking black child, and hypocritically declaring himself beaten, he thought he could tempt the saint into vanity and pride. The saint, however, vanquished the Enemy with prayer.
For even greater solitude, Saint Anthony moved farther away from the village, into a graveyard. He asked a friend to bring him a little bread on designated days, then shut himself in a tomb. Then the devils pounced upon the saint intending to kill him, and inflicted terrible wounds upon him. By the providence of the Lord, Anthony’s friend arrived the next day to bring him his food. Seeing him lying on the ground as if dead, he took him back to the village. They thought the saint was dead and prepared for his burial. At midnight, Saint Anthony regained consciousness and told his friend to carry him back to the tombs.
Saint Anthony’s staunchness was greater than the wiles of the Enemy. Taking the form of ferocious beasts, the devils tried to force the saint to leave that place, but he defeated them by trusting in the Lord. Looking up, the saint saw the roof opening, as it were, and a ray of light coming down toward him. The demons disappeared and he cried out, “Where have You been, O Merciful Jesus? Why didn’t You appear from the very beginning to end my pain?”
The Lord replied, “I was here, Anthony, but wanted to see your struggle. Now, since you have not yielded, I shall always help you and make your name known throughout all the world.” After this vision Saint Anthony was healed of his wounds and felt stronger than before. He was then thirty-five years of age.
Having gained spiritual experience in his struggle with the devil, Saint Anthony considered going into the Thebaid desert to serve the Lord. He asked the Elder (to whom he had turned for guidance at the beginning of his monastic journey) to go into the desert with him. The Elder, while blessing him in the then as yet unheard of exploit of being a hermit, decided not to accompany him because of his age.
Saint Anthony went into the desert alone. The devil tried to hinder him, by placing a large silver disc in his path, then gold, but the saint ignored it and passed by. He found an abandoned fort on the other side of the river and settled there, barricading the entrance with stones. His faithful friend brought him bread twice a year, and there was water inside the fort.
Saint Anthony spent twenty years in complete isolation and constant struggle with the demons, and he finally achieved perfect calm. The saint’s friends removed the stones from the entrance , and they went to Saint Anthony and besought him to take them under his guidance. Soon Saint Anthony’s cell was surrounded by several monasteries, and the saint acted as a father and guide to their inhabitants, giving spiritual instruction to all who came into the desert seeking salvation. He increased the zeal of those who were already monks, and inspired others with a love for the ascetical life. He told them to strive to please the Lord, and not to become faint-hearted in their labors. He also urged them not to fear demonic assaults, but to repel the Enemy by the power of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord.
In the year 311 there was a fierce persecution against Christians, in the reign of the emperor Maximian. Wishing to suffer with the holy martyrs, Saint Anthony left the desert and went to Alexandria. He openly ministered to those in prison, he was present at the trial and interrogations of the confessors, and accompanying the martyrs to the place of execution. It pleased the Lord to preserve him, however, for the benefit of Christians.
At the close of the persecution, the saint returned to the desert and continued his exploits. The Lord granted the saint the gift of wonderworking, casting out demons and healing the sick by the power of his prayer. The great crowds of people coming to him disrupted his solitude, and he went off still farther, into the inner desert where he settled atop a high elevation. But the brethren of the monasteries sought him out and asked him to visit their communities.
Another time Saint Anthony left the desert and arrived in Alexandria to defend the Orthodox Faith against the Manichaean and Arian heresies. Knowing that the name of Saint Anthony was venerated by all the Church, the Arians said that he adhered to their heretical teaching. But Saint Anthony publicly denounced Arianism in front of everyone and in the presence of the bishop. During his brief stay at Alexandria, he converted a great multitude of pagans to Christ.
People from all walks of life loved the saint and sought his advice. Pagan philosophers once came to Abba Anthony intending to mock him for his lack of education, but by his words he reduced them to silence. Emperor Constantine the Great (May 21) and his sons wrote to Saint Anthony and asked him for a reply. He praised the emperor for his belief in Christ, and advised him to remember the future judgment, and to know that Christ is the true King.
Saint Anthony spent eighty-five years in the solitary desert. Shortly before his death, he told the brethren that soon he would be taken from them. He instructed them to preserve the Orthodox Faith in its purity, to avoid any association with heretics, and not to be negligent in their monastic struggles. “Strive to be united first with the Lord, and then with the saints, so that after death they may receive you as familiar friends into the everlasting dwellings.”
The saint instructed two of his disciples, who had attended him in the final fifteen years of his life, to bury him in the desert and not in Alexandria. He left one of his monastic mantles to Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (January 18), and the other to Saint Serapion of Thmuis (March 21). Saint Anthony died peacefully in the year 356, at age 105, and he was buried in the desert by his disciples.
The Life of the famed ascetic Saint Anthony the Great was written by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. This is the first biography of a saint who was not a martyr, and is considered to be one of the finest of Saint Athanasius’ writings. Saint John Chrysostom recommends that this Life be read by every Christian.
“These things are insignificant compared with Anthony’s virtues,” writes Saint Athanasius, “but judge from them what the man of God Anthony was like. From his youth until his old age, he kept his zeal for asceticism, he did not give in to the desire for costly foods because of his age, nor did he alter his clothing because of the infirmity of his body. He did not even wash his feet with water. He remained very healthy, and he could see well because his eyes were sound and undimmed. Not one of his teeth fell out, but near the gums they had become worn due to his advanced age. He remained strong in his hands and feet.... He was spoken of everywhere, and was admired by everyone, and was sought even by those who had not seen him, which is evidence of his virtue and of a soul dear to God.”
The following works of Saint Anthony have come down to us:
Twenty Sermons on the virtues, primarily monastic (probably spurious).
Seven Letters to various Egyptian monasteries concerning moral perfection, and the monastic life as a spiritual struggle.
A Rule for monastics (not regarded as an authentic work of Saint Anthony).
In the year 544 the relics of Saint Anthony the Great were transferred to Alexandria, and after the conquest of Egypt by the Saracens in the seventh century, they were transferred to Constantinople. The holy relics were transferred from Constantinople in the tenth-eleventh centuries to a diocese outside Vienna. In the fifteenth century they were brought to Arles (in France), to the church of Saint Julian.
(source: OCA)
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 15th at 10.00 am, followed by tea and coffee.
" O God of our fathers, who ever dealest with us according to Thy gentleness, withdraw not Thy mercy from us, but by their supplications, govern our life in peace."
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! There will be morning prayer with Br Basil tomorrow, Saturday 12th at 10.00 am.
Tomorrow we commemorate the Martyr Tatiana of Rome.
"Your lamb Tatiana, calls out to You, O Jesus, in a loud voice: “I love You, my Bridegroom, and in seeking You, I endure suffering. In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You, and I died so that I might live with You. Accept me as a pure sacrifice, for I have offered myself in love.” Through her prayers save our souls, since You are merciful. "
The prayers will be followed by tea and coffee.
In the afternoon, at 2.30 pm, Fr Mark Mitchell of St Luke's Cathedral will do vespers for St Kentigern at Glasgow Cathedral.
All are welcome!
You are all invited to come to the concert in honour of St Kentigern, on Sunday 13th at 4.00 pm in Glasgow Cathedral. Russkaya Cappella will be performing two beautiful pieces. Please look below for more information!On Sunday 13th January, we celebrate St Kentigern (Mungo), the Patron Saint of Glasgow.
As part of the celebrations taking place in his honour, Russkaya Cappella will sing "the Gorification of St Kentigern" at 4.00 pm in Glasgow Cathedral, situated on Castle Street, Glasgow G4 0QZ
Our repertoire includes pieces from Kovalevskiy and Bortnianskyi.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Dear all! There will be morning prayers with Br Basil, tomorrow, Thursday 10th at 10.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
Tomorrow is the feast day of St Gregory of Nyssa.
"O God of our Fathers, always act with kindness towards us; take not Your mercy from us, but guide our lives in peace through the prayers of the hierarchs Gregory and Dometian."
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! This week we will only celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday at 10.00 am for St George the Chozebite.
The service will be followed by tea and coffee.
Fr Augustine has to attend Deanery meetings and we're therefore unable to celebrate more Liturgies this week, but Br Basil will do Morning prayers on Thursday at 10.00 am and in the weekend. More details will be posted nearer the time.
We look forward to seeing you!
Happy feast everyone! Below is a homily written by Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh, on the feast of Theophany (Epiphany).
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
The day of the Epiphany is the day when the whole world is being renewed and becomes a partaker of the saintliness of God. But at the same time, it is the day when Christ enters on the way to Calvary.
He came to John the Baptist on Jordan, not in order to be cleansed, because he was pure of sin, both as God and in the humanity made pure throughout the history of Israel by those ancestors who had given their lives to God and whose saintliness culminated in the all-purity of the Mother of God, so pure, so stainless that She could be brought into the Holy of Holies, into which even the High Priest dared not come except once a year, and only after a special sanctification.
Christ did not need cleansing. But these waters, into which all the sinners who had come to John the Baptist confessing the evil of their lives had washed themselves, were as it were heavy with the sinfulness and therefore the mortality of mankind. They had become waters of death, and it is in these waters that the Lord Jesus Christ merges Himself on that day, taking upon Himself the mortality resulting from the sin of man.
He comes, immortal in His humanity and His divinity, and at the same time He vests Himself with the mortality of the sinful world. This is the beginning of the way to Calvary. This is a day when we marvel at the infinite love of God. But as on every other occasion, man had to participate completely in the ways of salvation which God had provided. And this is why Christ comes and becomes partaker of our mortality, to save us. The culminating point will come on Calvary when He will say, 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' It will be a moment when God as He was in His humanity will have lost communion with the Father by partaking of the destiny of mankind. This is the ultimate act of divine love.
Let us therefore today wonder and marvel, and worship this love of God, and learn from Him; because He said in the Gospel, 'I have given you an example. Follow it.' We are called, within the limits of our sinfulness and humanity, to carry one another's burdens, unto life and unto death. Let us learn from this. We find it so difficult to carry the burdens even of those whom we love; and practically impossible to shoulder the burdens of those whom we do not love with a natural, direct tenderness. Let us learn, because otherwise we will not have learned the first lesson which Christ gives us when He enters upon His ministry. Amen.
Dear all! Just a reminder that we will not celebrate Liturgy tomorrow, but on Sunday 6th at 8.00 am for Theophany.
See you all then!
Happy New Year! We will not celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow. Our next Liturgy will be on Sunday 6th January for the Great Feast of Theophany. This is the day Christ was baptised in the River Jordan by St John the Baptist. This feast marks the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry and is also the first time the Holy Trinity appeared to mankind so clearly.
Liturgy will start at 8.00 am, followed by the blessing of waters. Please bring a bottle with you if you wish to take Holy water home with you.
We look forward to seeing you!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OR8ayTu6hk (As many as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ, Alleluia!)Елицы во Христа крестистеся, во Христа облекостеся. Аллилуиа. Елицы во Христа крестистеся, во Христа облекостеся. Аллилуиа. Елицы во Христа крестистеся, во Х...
We are pleased that some of our members are singing at Russkaya Cappella! We are very proud of you all! 🙂
On 23 December 2018, Russkaya Cappella were invited to take part in a Pan-Orthodox Christmas concert, at the The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke the Evangelist in the West End of Glasgow, by the initiative of Fr Mark Mitchell, who is priest there.
Glasgow is at the moment home to four Orthodox Churches: The Russian Orthodox Church of St Kentigern, based in Govan and led by Fr Georgy Zavershinsky, under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Church of Russian Tradition named after the Archangel Gabriel based in the West End, and led by Fr Augustine McBeth, currently under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke, led by Fr Mark Mitchell, under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Romanian Orthodox Church in Shettleston, led by fr George Bliortu, under the authority of the Romanian Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe.
This year, the Greek Byzantine and Russian traditions were represented. Hopefully next year there will be representatives from all Orthodox traditions, so we can share with each other the richness and diversity of our faith.
Father Mark, along with three Greek cantors, performed Greek Liturgical chants, associated with the Nativity of Christ in eight tones. Byzantine music may sound foreign to Western ears, but the audience appreciated its mysterious and monophonic style.
The Russian tradition was represented by Russkaya Cappella, who were accompanied by the children from the Russian Children Singing Studio, established in 2012 by the Russian Orthodox School in Glasgow. The aim is to teach young children how to sing and perform. Their curriculum includes sacred music but also folk - and children songs.
On the day, they were all dressed in beautiful national costumes, as were many of the members of the choir, thus presenting the public with beautiful songs but also Russian culture.
The children sang three pieces with Russkaya Cappella, “Holy night”, “Swift winged angel” and “Heaven and earth”. They were warmly received by the audience, making it a lovely experience for all.
The teachers and parents of the members of the Russian school have made a great effort with the children, and although they were understandably a bit shy, we are excited to have the opportunity to watch them grow and improve. We hope that they will one day join Russkaya Cappella.
The repertoire consisted of many beautiful Christmas carols, both Russian and Ukrainian. Pieces included, "Shchedryk (Щедрик)" by Leontovich, "the Bells rang early in Jerusalem", "Dish divination song" but also, “The Legend” by P. Tschaikovsky, “The Shepherds of Bethlehem” and “Many years” by A. Kastalsky.
We hope this year’s concert is the beginning of a new Pan-Orthodox tradition where all our Churches can come together and share their unique traditions. A big thanks from all of us to Fr Mark Mitchell for arranging this, to all who took part and naturally to all who came to listen. 🙂
Glasgow is at the moment home to four Orthodox Churches: The Russian Orthodox Church of St Kentigern, based in Govan and led by Fr Georgy Zavershinsky, under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Church of Russian Tradition named after the Archangel Gabriel based in the West End, and led by Fr Augustine McBeth, currently under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Luke, led by Fr Mark Mitchell, under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Romanian Orthodox Church in Shettleston, led by fr George Bliortu, under the authority of the Romanian Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe.
This year, the Greek Byzantine and Russian traditions were represented. Hopefully next year there will be representatives from all Orthodox traditions, so we can share with each other the richness and diversity of our faith.
Father Mark, along with three Greek cantors, performed Greek Liturgical chants, associated with the Nativity of Christ in eight tones. Byzantine music may sound foreign to Western ears, but the audience appreciated its mysterious and monophonic style.
The Russian tradition was represented by Russkaya Cappella, who were accompanied by the children from the Russian Children Singing Studio, established in 2012 by the Russian Orthodox School in Glasgow. The aim is to teach young children how to sing and perform. Their curriculum includes sacred music but also folk - and children songs.
On the day, they were all dressed in beautiful national costumes, as were many of the members of the choir, thus presenting the public with beautiful songs but also Russian culture.
The children sang three pieces with Russkaya Cappella, “Holy night”, “Swift winged angel” and “Heaven and earth”. They were warmly received by the audience, making it a lovely experience for all.
The teachers and parents of the members of the Russian school have made a great effort with the children, and although they were understandably a bit shy, we are excited to have the opportunity to watch them grow and improve. We hope that they will one day join Russkaya Cappella.
The repertoire consisted of many beautiful Christmas carols, both Russian and Ukrainian. Pieces included, "Shchedryk (Щедрик)" by Leontovich, "the Bells rang early in Jerusalem", "Dish divination song" but also, “The Legend” by P. Tschaikovsky, “The Shepherds of Bethlehem” and “Many years” by A. Kastalsky.
We hope this year’s concert is the beginning of a new Pan-Orthodox tradition where all our Churches can come together and share their unique traditions. A big thanks from all of us to Fr Mark Mitchell for arranging this, to all who took part and naturally to all who came to listen. 🙂
Dear all! Apologies for late notice. As there is no public transport tomorrow, 1st January, we will not have Liturgy. Please follow our page for more updates about upcoming services.
We would like to wish every single one of you wherever you are in the world, a very happy and blessed New Year! Your support and prayers mean a lot to us and they do make a big difference. This has been a great year and we look forward to continuing our work in the New Year.
See you all soon!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIO14oCR42UProvided to YouTube by NAXOS of America Mnogaya lieta (Many Years) · Dostoino Est Choir Open unto us the door of thy loving-kindness ℗ 2011 Russian Compact D...
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 30th December at 8.00 am.
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Christmas Message 2018 from His Eminence Archbishop JOHN of Charioupolis
Here we are in these days of preparation, waiting for the celebration of the Incarnation of God made man. Are we as people aware of the significance of this event? History teaches us the sad reality of fallen man, who has lost by his pride his place in the order of creation; ignorant of all its true purpose, which is to be united with the image from which he was taken, rebelling against Him who had given him out of love the breath of life. The rebellion of man has upset the harmony of the universe, order has become disorder, the light of creation has become darkness and ignorance. Ashamed of himself this man challenges and insults the Creator Spirit for which he was created to live from Him and in Him.
The witnesses of this Spirit would be systematically murdered, the prophets of God driven out and persecuted. So as a last attempt of dialogue with this lost man, God will tempt him by becoming like him: "and He became man" we sing in the Creed.
Here we are at the very heart of the Christian mystery. God does not judge his creation and his creatures. God does not destroy them, no, he comes, humble and stripped of everything, he takes on the condition of man, his weakness, his infirmity, he humbles himself to be closer to him and taking him by the hand, He shows him the way he once refused to see.
Man had moved away from God, and God, in his infinite love, unites Himself with him in the night of Bethlehem.
Let us try to perceive in our hearts the meaning of this gift of God: intellectually we cannot, we are overwhelmed by this humility of the Divine, we who only live by human pride.
God became man so that man could become the son of God, says Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. This saying is both exhilarating and painful. Man did not understand his true nature, he did not grasp the true purpose of his creation, God had to become incarnate, humble himself to him to show his true reality, to help him find the likeness, the imprint of the Creator’s face. All our Christian life is summed up in this quest, which the Nativity reminds us of. God is become man to better serve us, to be the Friend Who comes to meet us and not the Master who judges. Christmas is the feast of mankind, of the human who finds in Christ his true meaning, who once again becomes a creature made in the image and the likeness.
Let us leave aside, brothers and sisters, the pagan festivities of those for whom man has become an idol, let us turn our hearts to the cave that offers shelter to the Godhead, let us look at this newborn Child with all the attention of a heart which is open to the deepest mystery of faith. God rests in this humble manger and He calls each one of us to shelter Him in the depths of each one of us. Men have refused Him a place in the inn, but we can open wide the doors of the manger of our hearts so that He can make His home there. Let us acknowledge Him as the God-man; then he will make us a man, son of God.
All together, in these days when we remember the appearance in the world the Saviour of humanity, let us be guided by the star to the place where the mysterious union of the divine and the human is fulfilled. Let us be penetrated by this mystery, reject the concerns of a world that has chased God out of his life and refocus on what is essential.
Let us prepare ourselves to welcome Him by fasting, and be vigilant in prayer, and when He will knock on the door of our heart, then we will be ready to welcome him, because there will be room for Him ...
To all I wish a most holy feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paris, December 25, 2018 / January 7, 2019
† JOHN of Charioupolis, Archbishop of Orthodox parishes of Russian tradition in Western Europe
Hi guys! Just a reminder that we will have Vesperal Liturgy tonight at 6.00 pm for the Nativity of Christ, followed by a delicious Christmas dinner.
Do come along. 😁
We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 23rd at 8.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
On Monday 24th we will pray the Royal Hours at 10.00 am and then at 6.00 pm we will have Vesperal Liturgy for the Nativity of Christ, followed by a Christmas party.
Please bring with you any dish you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Hi everyone! You are all invited to the Christmas concert taking place at St Luke's Orthodox Church on the 23rd of December at 7.00 pm. The repertoire includes Christmas music from the Greek and Russian Orthodox Traditions, the latter being represented by renowned Russian Choir, Russkaya Cappella!
Entry Free!
We hope to see many of you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Saturday 22nd at 10.00 am to commemorate Greatmartyr Anastasia, the Deliverer from Potions".
"Your lamb Anastasia, calls out to You, O Jesus, in a loud voice: “I love You, my Bridegroom, and in seeking You I endure suffering. In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You, and I died so that I might live with You. Accept me as a pure sacrifice, for I have offered myself in love.” Through her prayers save our souls, since You are merciful."
There will be a light meal afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Dear all, sorry for the late notice but we will be celebrating the Divine Liturgy tomorrow at 10am as usual. We celebrate St Ignatius the God-bearer and Holy Father John of Kronstadt.
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 18th at 10.00 am.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Morning everyone! We will pray the hours with the kathisma of the day, tomorrow, Saturday 15th at 10.00 am. The prayers will be led by Br Basil.
Our Christmas Fair will start at 11.15 in the Library Room of Wellington Church. There will be savoury dishes, lovely sweet treats, mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas carols.
We will sell a variety of handmade products including jewellery, Christmas cards, prayer ropes, wreaths and many other things. Please come and support our community. We are excited to show everyone the lovely skill and talent of everyone in the church while raising money for a good cause.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Dear all! Due to meetings there will not be Liturgy or morning prayer in the church tomorrow, Thursday 13th.
We will see you all at the Christmas Fair on Saturday 15th 😀
Dear all! There will be morning prayer with Br Basil tomorrow, Tuesday 11th at 10.00 am.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! Unfortunately Fr Augustine has to attend some meetings this weekend, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th. He also has to attend meetings next weekend, Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th. This means that the Liturgies scheduled for those days are cancelled.
Instead, on the aforementioned Saturdays, Brother Basil and Joanna will be praying 3rd and 6th Hour with the Kathisma of the day added to it.
The prayer will take place at 10.00 am as usual.
Please come and join us. It is good for us to pray together.
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
Divine Liturgy on Sundays will be celebrated in St Luke's Cathedral at approximately 10.00 am and in the Romanian church at 10.00 am.
Please share this with your friends. It would be really great if people came 🙂
Dear all! On Thursday 6th, we will celebrate Divine Liturgy for the feast of a much loved saint; Nicholas, the Wonderworker and Archbishop of Myra and Lycia.
"In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you. Hierarch Father Nicholas, entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7bdR13RGkc&t=97s (Beautiful Akathist for St Nicholas)
There will be refreshment and nibbles afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 4th at 10.00 am to commemorate the Greatmartyr, St Barbara of Heliopolis.
"Singing the praises of the Trinity, you followed God by enduring suffering; you renounced the multitude of idols, O holy martyr Barbara. In your struggles, you were not frightened by the threats of your torturers, but cried out in a loud voice: “I worship the Trinity in one God-head.”
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Happy St Andrew's Day everyone! Today we celebrate St Andrew, the first called, who is the Patron of Scotland, Russia, Romania and Greece.
We will celebrate his feast in the church with Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Saturday 1st December at 10.00 am followed by a traditional Scottish meal of vegetarian haggis, neeps and tatties.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Hi everyone! On Saturday, the 15th of December we will have our Christmas fair after Liturgy. The fair will take place from 11.15-3.00 pm in Wellington Church. We will sell Christmas cards, Christmas decorations, handmade jewellery, International food and various gift items.
All are welcome! Please feel free to bring your friends and let us all embrace the beautiful atmosphere of advent together!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ceZW54ve4 (Traditional Christmas Carol)
Dear all! Just a reminder that there will be Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Thursday 29th at 10.00 am followed by tea and coffee.
Please come if you are able. It is good to pray together especially in these challenging times.
We look forward to seeing you.
Dear all
Here is the service schedule for this week:
Tuesday 27th: Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am for the feast of Greatmartyr James the Persian.
"You astounded all, long-suffering James, by enduring horrible tortures with great patience. As the evil assembly performed the slaughter, you uttered prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord. Through your sufferings you received your crown, and came to the throne of the heavenly King, Christ God. Entreat Him to save our souls!"
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
Thursday 29th: Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am for to commemorate Martyr Paramon and the 370 martyrs that suffered with him.
"Your holy martyrs Paramon and Philoumenus and those with them, O Lord, through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. Through their intercessions, save our souls!"
There will be refreshments afterwards.
Saturday 1st December: We will celebrate the feast of St Andrew, the First called at 10.00 am.
"Andrew, first-called of the Apostles and brother of the foremost disciple, entreat the Master of all to grant peace to the world and to our souls great mercy."
There will be a celebratory meal afterwards that will include vegetarian haggis.
Sunday: Divine Liturgy at 8.00 am for the feast of the Prophet Habakkuk.
"Divinely eloquent Habakkuk, you announced to the world the coming forth of God from the south, from the Virgin. Standing on the divine watch, you received a report from the radiant angel: “You proclaimed the Resurrection of Christ to the world!” Therefore in gladness we cry out to you: “Rejoice, splendid adornment of the prophets!”
As always, we look forward to seeing you.
Hi everyone! Here is a pastoral message written by his Emminence, our Archbishop Jean of Charioupolis, concerning the current situation between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate. We hope you find it useful.
"The Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe, Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, like all the ecclesial entities of the West, follows with concern the evolution of the tense relations between the Orthodox Churches, but also lives them in a very special way.
Indeed, being rooted in the spiritual and cultural heritage of Russian emigration, the parishes and communities of the Archdiocese face many questions from the faithful, in connection with the tensions that have emerged recently between the Patriarchate of Moscow and the Ecumenical Patriarchate on which we depend. The first of the questions to which our priests and our laity are confronted, that of the Eucharistic communion is certainly the most serious.
The Moscow Patriarchate took the unilateral decision to interrupt the Eucharistic communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, imposing this decision on all the faithful, clergy or laity. For the Archdiocese, accustomed to concelebrate with the Moscow Patriarchate, this interruption of communion is a great suffering. In fact, at almost no point in history, the Archdiocese has been in complete disruption of communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, even in the darkest times of the 20th century, because both the Archbishopric and the whole the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the entire Moscow Patriarchate have always continued to profess the same symbol of faith. It is this profession of faith that is the criterion of their orthodoxy, and to this day none of our churches has changed its symbol of faith.
Because of its unilateral (and in our opinion disproportionate) character, the decision of the Holy Synod of Moscow is obviously not applicable in the churches of the Archdiocese. In the present situation, our priests and deacons are not invited to concelebrate by the churches belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate; this does not prevent them from going there, personally, to discreetly join the prayer of the whole Church. On the other hand, for the laity, that is to say for the baptised Orthodox faithful who are not ordained deacons, priests or bishops, this prohibition, according to orthodox ecclesiology, can not take place. In fact, a layman from Western Europe, at the sacramental level, belongs to the unique Catholic Body of Christ, therefore to all jurisdictions simultaneously and not to a hierarchical structure, whether it be that of Constantinople, Moscow or another .
The baptised are not the property of their bishops, they are members of the body which is the Church which celebrates in the place where they are at a given moment. For example, if a believer living in St. Petersburg moves to the island of Crete, he ceases to be a member of the Church of Russia and becomes a full member of the Crete Church (which depends on the Ecumenical Patriarchate); unlike a member of the clergy, the lay person does not have to ask his bishop for canonical leave to move.
The fact that, in Western countries, several orthodox episcopal jurisdictions coexist on the same territory has the corollary that, sacramentally, our faithful are, potentially, simultaneously members of all ecclesial entities that profess the same symbol of faith. Administratively, of course, the faithful can assume specific responsibilities in one or the other particular parish, but that does not preclude their belonging to the whole ecclesial body. The coexistence of multiple jurisdictions on the same territory, which is also often criticised, appears, in the present circumstances, as a factor of sacramental unity.
We must not insult the grace of God, present and active in all our churches, even when they live in conflict, as long as these do not alter the orthodoxy of the faith. On the contrary, we must let the Holy Spirit act, especially through this Eucharistic sharing to which we are invited.
We assure the members of the clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate of our fraternal love and hope to be able to concelebrate with them as soon as possible; with regard to the laity, we repeat to them our communion of faith and love and respect, around the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, every lay Orthodox person who wishes to respond to this invitation of the Lord: "Take eat, this is my body, broken for you in remission of sins. Drink all of them, this is my blood, that of the new covenant, shed for you and for the multitude in remission of sins. "
† Archbishop JEAN de Charioupolis, Patriarchal Exarch of Orthodox parishes of Russian tradition in Western Europe
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy, Saturday 24th at 10.00 am to commemorate the Great Martyr, Catherine of Alexandria.
"By your virtues as by rays of the sun you enlightened the unbelieving philosophers, and like the most bright moon you drove away the darkness of disbelief from those walking in the night; you convinced the queen, and also chastised the tyrant, God-summoned bride, blessed Catherine. You hastened with desire to the heavenly bridal chamber of the fairest Bride-groom Christ, and you were crowned by Him with a royal crown; standing before Him with the angels, pray for us who keep your most sacred memory."
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
On Sunday 25th, we will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 8.00 am to commemorate Hieromartyr Clement, the Pope of Rome.
"O God of our Fathers, always act with kindness towards us; take not Your mercy from us, but guide our lives in peace through the prayers of the Hierarchs Clement and Peter."
There will be tea, coffee and nibbles afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Hi everyone! It's almost December which means we can once again enjoy some lovely music performed by Russkaya Cappella. Please read below for more information. 😀
Russkaya Cappella,
Scotland's Russian Choir, directed by Svetlana Zvereva
Lunchtime concert
1 - 2pm, Saturday 8 December 2018
Renfield St Stephen's Church, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JP
(Tickets not required, donations gratefully received on retiral)
Scotland’s Russian Choir present a concert of festive music,
including works for use by the Russian Orthodox church,
settings of seasonal poems, and Christmas Carols.
Russkaya Cappella is an amateur chamber choir based in Glasgow under the musical direction of Svetlana Zvereva. In existence since 2009, its repertoire includes Russian church and folk music as well as compositions by classical composers. Russkaya Cappella performs at concerts and at some festival Russian Orthodox services in Scotland and Northern England.
We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Thursday 22 November at 10.00 am, for the feast of Martyr Michael, the Prince of Tver.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 20th at 10.00 am for the forefeast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple.
"Today Anna bequeaths joy to all instead of sorrow by bringing forth her fruit, the only ever-Virgin. In fulfilment of her vow, today with joy she brings to the temple of the Lord the true temple and pure Mother of God the Word."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
On Wednesday 21st, the Church celebrates the Great Feast of the Entry of the of the Mother of God into the Temple. Sadly, due to various activities taking place in Wellington Church that day, we are unable to celebrate Liturgy for the feast. Therefore, we would like to encourage people to go to Liturgy at St Luke's that day. The Liturgy will begin at approximately 10.00 am.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Saturday 17th at 10.00 am and there will be a light meal afterwards.
We will also celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 18th at 8.00 am, followed by refreshments and nibbles.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Good morning everyone! We have now entered into the period of the Nativity Fast.
Why fast before the Nativity?
Question
I was wondering why we fast before Nativity. The Lenten fast seems more obvious. Also, from what foods do we normally fast from during the Nativity fast?
Answer
We fast before the Great Feast of the Nativity in order to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Our Lord’s birth. As in the case of Great Lent, the Nativity Fast is one of preparation, during which we focus on the coming of the Savior by fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
By fasting, we “shift our focus” from ourselves to others, spending less time worrying about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and so on in order to use our time in increased prayer and caring for the poor. We learn through fasting that we can gain control over things which we sometimes allow to control us—and for many people, food is a controlling factor.
[We live in the only society in which an entire TV network is devoted to food!] While fasting from food, however, we are also challenged to fast from sin, from gossip, from jealousy, from anger, and from those other things which, while well within our control, we all too often allow to control us.
Just as we would refrain from eating a lot before going to an expensive restaurant for dinner—if we “ruin our appetite” we will enjoy the restaurant less—so too we fast before the Nativity in order to more fully feast and celebrate on the Nativity itself.
During the Nativity Fast, we are called upon to refrain from meat, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil. At the same time, we are challenged, within this framework, to fast to the best of our ability, and to do so consistently.
If we must modify the extent to which we fast within this framework, it is of course possible, but in every instance our fasting should be consistent and regular, for Christ does not see fasting as an option, but as a “must.”
In Matthew Christ says, “WHEN you fast, do not be like the hypocrites,” not “IF you fast” or “IF YOU CHOOSE to fast.”
Finally, it seems quite odd that in our society—a society in which people gladly and freely spend huge sums of money for diets, most of which recommend that one refrain from red meats and dairy products—fasting is not more widely embraced. How odd that a Jenny Craig consultant or diet guru or physician will tell us to refrain from eating meat or cheese or butter and we will gladly embrace—and pay large sums of money for—his or her advice, while when the Church offers the same advice [at “no cost”] we tend to balk, as if we were being asked to do the impossible.
Dear all! Just a reminder that we will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Thursday 15th November at 10.00 am, for the feast of St Paisius Velichkovsky.
"Having become a stranger on earth, you reached the heavenly homeland, venerable Father Paisius. You taught the faithful to lift up their minds to God, crying out to Him with all their hearts: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!”
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! Unfortunately due to some last minute meetings Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 13th, will have to be cancelled. Very sorry about the late notice. There will be Liturgy on Thursday 15th and Saturday 17th at 10.00 am and on Sunday 18th at 8.00 am.
We look forward to seeing you all then!
Hi everyone! Here's a reflection on today's Gospel written by our parishioner and Theology graduate, Joanna.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most well known stories of the Bible and it is as thought provoking now as it was more than 2000 years ago.
In the Gospel, we encounter a young man, a lawyer. He asked Jesus: What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He knew that the most important commandment God gave us is “to love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself”. Jesus confirmed the young man’s understanding and told him to “ do this and live”.
The lawyer, wanting to justify himself asked: “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus responds by telling a story. In the story, a Jewish man has been brutally robbed, beaten up and left to die on the street.
First, a priest passes by. A priest was close to where God dwelled, said his prayers and was only focused on higher things. Still, his response was to just walk by and ignore the man. Being in the dwelling place of God all the time and offering prayers had not changed his heart.
Then a Levite, a man from a well respected order of priests from the line of Moses and Aaron, well versed in Scriptures stood above the man and just like the priest before him did nothing. He walked by.
At last, a Samaritan sees the man. Now, Samaritans and Jews were enemies. Samaritans were a racially mixed group of people with both Jewish and Pagan ancestry. Their religion was not mainstream Judaism even though they believed in the One God. Samaritans were treated with contempt and as a result they avoided Jews.
Despite all that, the Samaritan stopped and showed compassion. The Samaritan did not see a man, a Jew, an enemy, one with different religious beliefs or political standpoint. He saw a human being in desperate need for help, so he took him to an inn on his own animal, made sure he got food drink and treatment. He paid for everything and made sure that the wounded man had everything he needed.
So let us return to the lawyer’s question. “ Who is my neighbour?”
This question is something all of us have at one point asked, some of us perhaps still do. Who is my neighbor can be paraphrased as follows: Who is he or she for whose sake I must willingly leave my comfort zone and worldly concerns and wholeheartedly aid with all I’ve got?
Jesus answers that question clearly. Everyone! Everyone is our neighbour, but, just like He elevated all the commandments, He does so here as well. Jesus asked the lawyer “ Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to him who fell among thieves?” “The one who showed compassion” answered the lawyer. Then Jesus commanded: “ Go and do likewise!”
So from identifying a person in need as our neighbour He asks us in addition to become neighbours.
For the Good Samaritan, a neighbour was not a person that was a neighbour in spirit or blood but simply a man he encountered on his journey. How many people do we encounter every day in the church, at school, at work or on the street? How often do we really look at them and offer a helping hand to them without counting the cost?
We must be like the Good Samaritan who acted with love just like God is loving and compassionate towards us. In addition, we should identify with the wounded man as well. All of us have suffered and perhaps still suffer. We often make wrong choices and end up in bad and difficult situations, we all fall into sin and act in ways we shouldn’t. So let us never forget that we too are as broken and wounded as the people we are called to help and with that realisation we must not judge or withhold our compassion because we know that pain, suffering and a hunger for love is the one thing we have in common with all humanity.
God loves us with a love that we cannot comprehend. God is love and we are made in his image and likeness, so we must try in all that we do to imitate that love, not as a one off, but constantly.
Amen!
Dear all! Our parishioner and native speaker of Russian, Nina Don, is offering a 6-week Russian course in the church starting tomorrow, Friday 9th November from 11.00 am- 12.30 pm. During these 6 weeks you will learn some easy conversational Russian in a friendly environment so please come along. No previous knowledge is required and the course is suitable for all ages.
We recommend that you bring with you a jotter and pen. Tea and coffee will be provided.
Recommended donation is 3 pounds per lesson but all donations are welcome.
For more information please contact Nina:
ninuha@inbox.ru
(+44) 7950 787376
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! Today, is the feast of the Synaxis of the Archangels and also one of our Parish feasts. Below is some information about today's feast and the role of angels.
The Synaxis of the Chief of the Heavenly Hosts, Archangel Michael and the Other Heavenly Bodiless Powers: Archangels Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, and Jeremiel was established at the beginning of the fourth century at the Council of Laodicea, which met several years before the First Ecumenical Council. The 35th Canon of the Council of Laodicea condemned and denounced as heretical the worship of angels as gods and rulers of the world, but affirmed their proper veneration.
A Feastday was established in November, the ninth month after March (with which the year began in ancient times) since there are Nine Ranks of Angels. The eighth day of the month was chosen for the Synaxis of all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven since the Day of the Dread Last Judgment is called the Eighth Day by the holy Fathers. After the end of this age (characterized by its seven days of Creation) will come the Eighth Day, and then “the Son of Man shall come in His Glory and all the holy Angels with Him” (Mt. 25:31).
The Angelic Ranks are divided into three Hierarchies: highest, middle, and lowest.
The Highest Hierarchy includes: the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.
The six-winged SERAPHIM (Flaming, Fiery) (Is 6:12) stand closest of all to the Most Holy Trinity. They blaze with love for God and kindle such love in others.
The many-eyed CHERUBIM (outpouring of wisdom, enlightenment) (Gen 3:24) stand before the Lord after the Seraphim. They are radiant with the light of knowledge of God, and knowledge of the mysteries of God. Through them wisdom is poured forth, and people’s minds are enlightened so they may know God and behold His glory.
The THRONES (Col 1:16) stand after the Cherubim, mysteriously and incomprehensibly bearing God through the grace given them for their service. They are ministers of God’s justice, giving to tribunals, kings, etc. the capacity for righteous judgment.
The Middle Angelic Hierarchy consists of three Ranks: Dominions, Powers, and Authorities:
DOMINIONS (Col 1:16) hold dominion over the angels subject to them. They instruct the earthly authorities, established by God, to rule wisely, and to govern their lands well. The Dominions teach us to subdue sinful impulses, to subject the flesh to the spirit, to master our will, and to conquer temptation.
POWERS (1 Pet 3:22) fulfill the will of God without hesitation. They work great miracles and give the grace of wonderworking and clairvoyance to saints pleasing to God. The Powers assist people in fulfilling obediences. They also encourage them to be patient, and give them spiritual strength and fortitude.
AUTHORITIES (1 Pet 3:22, Col 1:16) have authority over the devil. They protect people from demonic temptations, and prevent demons from harming people as they would wish. They also uphold ascetics and guard them, helping people in the struggle with evil thoughts.
The Lowest Hierarchy includes the three Ranks: Principalities, Archangels, and Angels:
PRINCIPALITIES (Col 1:16) have command over the lower angels, instructing them in the fulfilling of God’s commands. They watch over the world and protect lands, nations and peoples. Principalities instruct people to render proper honor to those in authority, as befits their station. They teach those in authority to use their position, not for personal glory and gain, but to honor God, and to spread word of Him, for the benefit of those under them.
ARCHANGELS (1 Thess 4:16) are messengers of great and wondrous tidings. They reveal prophecies and the mysteries of the faith. They enlighten people to know and understand the will of God, they spread faith in God among the people, illuminating their minds with the light of the Holy Gospel.
ANGELS (1 Pet 3:22) are in the lowest rank of the heavenly hierarchy, and closest to people. They reveal the lesser mysteries of God and His intentions, guiding people to virtuous and holy life. They support those who remain steadfast, and they raise up the fallen. They never abandon us and they are always prepared to help us, if we desire it.
All the Ranks of the Heavenly Powers are called angels, although each has its own name and position by virtue of their service. The Lord reveals His will to the highest ranks of the angels, and they in turn inform the others.
Over all the Nine Ranks, the Lord appointed the Holy Archangel Michael (his name in Hebrew means “who is like unto God”), the faithful servitor of God, as Chief Commander. He cast down from Heaven the arrogantly proud Lucifer and the other fallen spirits when they rebelled against God. Michael summoned the ranks of angels and cried out, “Let us attend! Let us stand aright before our Creator and do not consider doing what is displeasing unto God!”
According to Church Tradition, and in the church services to the Archangel Michael, he participated in many other Old Testament events.
During the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt he went before them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Through him the power of the Lord was made manifest, annihilating the Egyptians and Pharaoh who were in pursuit of the Israelites. The Archangel Michael defended Israel in all its misfortunes.
He appeared to Joshua Son of Navi and revealed the will of the Lord at the taking of Jericho (Josh 5:13-16). The power of the great Chief Commander of God was manifest in the annihilation of the 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib (4/2 Kings 19:35); also in the smiting of the impious leader Heliodorus (2 Macc. 3: 24-26); and in the protection of the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias and Misail, thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to worship an idol (Dan 3:22-25).
Through the will of God, the Chief Commander Michael transported the Prophet Habbakuk (December 2) from Judea to Babylon, to give food to Daniel in the lions’ den (Dan. 14:33-37).
The Archangel Michael disputed with the devil over the body of the holy Prophet Moses (Jude 1:9).
The holy Archangel Michael showed his power when he miraculously saved a young man, cast into the sea by robbers with a stone about his neck on the shores of Mt Athos. This story is found in the Athonite Paterikon, and in the Life of Saint Neophytus of Docheiariou (November 9).
From ancient times the Archangel Michael was famed for his miracles in Rus. In the Volokolamsk Paterikon is a narrative of Saint Paphnutius of Borov with an account of Tatar tax-gatherers concerning the miraculous saving of Novgorod the Great: “Therefore Great Novgorod was never taken by the Hagarenes... when... for our sins the godless Hagarene emperor Batu devoured and set the Russian land aflame and came to Novgorod, and God and the Most Holy Theotokos shielded it with an appearance of Michael the Archangel, who forbade him to enter into it. He [Batu] was come to the Lithuanian city and came toward Kiev and saw the stone church, over the doors of which the great Archangel Michael had written and spoken to the prince his allotted fate, ‘By this we have forbidden you entry into Great Novgorod’.”
Intercession for Russian cities by the Most Holy Queen of Heaven always involved Her appearances with the Heavenly Hosts, under the leadership of the Archangel Michael. Grateful Rus acclaimed the Most Pure Mother of God and the Archangel Michael in church hymns. Many monasteries, cathedrals, court and merchant churches are dedicated to the Chief Commander Michael.
In old Kiev at the time of the accepting of Christianity, a cathedral of the Archangel was built, and a monastery also was named for him. Archangel cathedrals are found at Smolensk, Nizhni Novgorod, Staritsa, at Great Ustiug (beginning of the thirteenth century), and a cathedral at Sviyazhsk. In Rus there was not a city where there was not a church or chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
One of the chief temples of the city of Moscow, the burial church in the Kremlin, is dedicated to him. Numerous and beautiful icons of the Chief Commander of the Heavenly Hosts are also in his Cathedral. One of these, the Icon “Blessed Soldiery,” was painted in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The saintly soldiers, Russian princes, are depicted under the leadership of the Archangel Michael.
We invoke Saint Michael for protection from invasion by enemies and from civil war, and for the defeat of adversaries on the field of battle. He conquers all spiritual enemies.
Holy Scripture and Tradition give us the names of the Archangels:
Gabriel: strength (power) of God, herald and servitor of Divine omnipotence (Dan 8:16, Luke 1:26). He announces the mysteries of God.
Raphael: the healing of God, the curer of human infirmities (Tobit 3:16, 12:15)
Uriel: the fire or light of God, enlightener (3 Ezdras 5:20). We pray for him to enlighten those with darkened minds.
Selaphiel: the prayer of God, impelling to prayer (3 Ezdras 5:16). He prays to God for mankind.
Jehudiel: the glorifying of God, encouraging exertion for the glory of the Lord and interceding for the reward of efforts.
Barachiel: distributor of the blessings of God for good deeds, entreats the mercy of God for people.
Jeremiel: the raising up to God (3 Ezdras 4:36)
On icons the Archangels are depicted in according to the character of their service:
Michael tramples the devil underfoot, and in his left hand holds a green date-tree branch, and in his right hand a spear with a white banner on which is outlined a scarlet cross, or sometimes a fiery sword.
Gabriel with a branch from Paradise, presented by him to the Most Holy Virgin, or with a shining lantern in his right hand and with a mirror made of jasper in his left.
Raphael holds a vessel with healing medications in his left hand, and with his right hand leads Tobias, carrying a fish for healing (Tobit 5-8).
Uriel in his raised right hand holds a naked sword at the level of his chest, and in his lowered left hand “a fiery flame.”
Selaphiel in a prayerful posture, gazing downwards, hands folded on the chest.
Jehudiel holds a golden crown in his right hand, in his left, a whip of three red (or black) thongs.
Barachiel is shown with a white rose on his breast.
Jeremiel holds balance-scales in his hand.
Each person has a guardian angel, and every nation also receives its own guardian angel from God (Dan. 10:13). When a church is consecrated, it also receives a guardian angel (Palladius, Dial. Ch. 10).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyFkPd6fEuI (Beautiful Cherubic Hymn)
Dear all! Fr Augustine and Br Basil have to attend clergy meetings this week. This means that we will only be able to celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 6th at 10.00 am and Sunday 11th at 8.00 am.
The Liturgies that would normally take place on a Thursday and Saturday are cancelled.
We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Dear all! Just a reminder that there will be Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Saturday at 10.00 am followed by a light meal.
On Sunday 4th November we will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 8.00 am followed by tea and coffee and afterwards we will go to the Parish of St Kentigern in Govan. The Parish is celebrating 15 years and we look forward to celebrating with them. This is a special day so we would like to encourage as many of you as possible to come. The service in Govan will start at approximately 10.45 and will be followed by a celebratory meal.
We look forward to seeing you!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZNi7tdIA4Mnogaya Leta (D. Bortnyanskiy) in Tebe Poem performed by Dr. Emiliyan Stankov.
Prayers aren’t just for Church. The tradition of saying an Akathist in thanksgiving as well as intercession is not restricted to the season of Great Lent.Feeling overwhelmed? Despairing? Anxious? Terrified about what will happen to the world whether that is due to political strife, hatred of others or the pollution of our air and oceans? I’m proposing a wave of prayer; join me daily in saying this Akathist to our most holy Theotokos: She was there for the soldiers of Greece & countless others - she will pray for us too. web.archive.org/web/20070214010841/http:/oholy.net/VeilAkathist.html
Dear all! Here is the service schedule for this week.
Tuesday 30th: We will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am for St Mark of the Seventy.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
Thursday 1st November: We will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am for the Holy Unmercenaries, Cosmas and Damian and their mother Theodota.
"Having received the grace of healing, you grant healing to those in need. Glorious wonder workers and healers, Cosmas and Damian, visit us and put down the insolence of our enemies, and bring healing to the world through your miracles."
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
Saturday 3rd November: We will celebrate Divine Liturgy at 10.00 am.
As always, we will have a light meal afterwards so feel free to bring any dish or snack you would like to share.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Happy feast of St Demetrius everyone! We are pleased that so many of you attended the service today.
It looks like we have started a new lovely tradition in our community. Thank you all for your effort. Those red vegan horse shaped biscuits look great!
Hi everyone! On this day, 5 years ago, our Bishop Gabriel of Comana (in the world Guido de Vylder) passed away. He was a very inspiring figure who helped make Orthodoxy known in Western Europe. He was and still remains a very loved figure in our Archdiocese.
Below are some of his final words:
"The moment has come for me to leave you. … Through tribulations of all kinds, always have confidence and hope in the Word of God, which is the measure of our salvation and the affirmation of our Church. The liberty of the Church and the universality of the Orthodox faith are the two treasures that I have sought to preserve, following the example of my predecessors at the head of this Archdiocese, in order that we should be able to concentrate on what, in the eyes of Christ’s disciples, must be the ‘one thing necessary”: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His justice”, as the Lord himself commands us (Mt. 6:33). My last word will be to ask you to maintain your love and your unity. That is the most precious treasure of our Church. May the Lord “give you a spirit of wisdom” and “enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you are able to see the hope to which he has called you” (Eph. 1:17-18) [pastoral letter from Archbishop Gabriel, dated 8 January 2013]."
www.exarchate.org.uk/node/202 (this link contains his biography and his inspiring work for the Church).
Memory Eternal!😇
Dear all! Below is a list with our services this week:
Tuesday 23rd at 10.00 am: Divine Liturgy for the feast of the brother of Jesus, James.
"As the Lord’s disciple you received the Gospel, O righteous James; as a martyr you have unfailing courage; as God’s brother, you have boldness; as a hierarch, you have the power to intercede. Pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
Thursday 25th at 10.00 am: Divine liturgy for st Tabitha who was raised from the dead by st Peter.
"With the flow of the many-streamed river of almsgiving You watered the dry earth of the needy. Showering alms on the widows and the poor, you shone with the light of your works and were radiant with grace, O Tabitha. Glory to Christ who loves you! Glory to Christ who has blessed you! Glory to Christ whom you followed as a true disciple and a spotless lamb!"
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
Friday 26th at 11.00 am. Paraklisis for St Demetrius of Thessalonika, the Myrrh-Streamer.
"The world has found you to be a great defense against tribulation / and a vanquisher of heathens, O Passion-bearer. As you bolstered the courage of Nestor, who then humbled the arrogance of Lyaios in battle, Holy Demetrius, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy."
Saturday 27th at 10.00 am: We will celebrate Divine Liturgy for the Martyr Nestor, who suffered with St Demetrius.
"Your holy martyr Nestor, O Lord, through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, And shattered the powerless boldness of demons. Through his intercessions, save our souls!"
There will be a light meal afterwards. Please feel free to bring any dish you would like to share.
Sunday 28th at 8.00 am: We will celebrate Divine Liturgy for St Adomnan, a very important saint in the Celtic lands.
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
More information about St Adomnan will be posted nearer the time.
As always, we look forward to seeing you all! 😊
Dear all! We are all very sad about the current situation in the Orthodox Church. We pray for the healing of the whole Church and that our love for God and all our brothers and sisters will always take priority in all decisions.
Below is a statement by his Emminence, our Archbishop Jean of Charioupolis. We hope that it will give everyone hope and encouragement.
Here is an article about this Saturday, known as Demetrius Saturday.
In the spiritual experience of the Russian Church, veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica is closely linked with the memory of the defense of the nation and Church by the Great Prince of Moscow, Demetrius of the Don (May 19).
Saint Demetrius of the Don smashed the military might of the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380 (the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), set between the Rivers Don and Nepryadva. The Battle of Kulikovo, for which the nation calls him Demetrius of the Don, became the first Russian national deed, rallying the spiritual power of the Russian nation around Moscow. The “Zadonschina,” an inspiring historic poem written by the priest Sophronius of Ryazem (1381), is devoted to this event.
Prince Demetrius of the Don was greatly devoted to the holy Great Martyr Demetrius. In 1380, on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, he solemnly transferred from Vladimir to Moscow the most holy object in the Dimitriev cathedral of Vladimir: the icon of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, painted on a piece of wood from the saint’s grave. A chapel in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius was built at Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral.
The Saint Demetrius Memorial Saturday was established for the churchwide remembrance of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo. This memorial service was held for the first time at the Trinity-Saint Sergius monastery on October 20, 1380 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in the presence of Great Prince Demetrius of the Don. It is an annual remembrance of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, among whom are the schemamonks Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrew (Oslyab).
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Saturday 20th at 10.00 am to commemorate St Demetrius. This Saturday is known as Demetrius Saturday.
There will be refreshments and a light meal afterwards.
We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday at 8.00 am for the Venerable Hilarion the Great.
"By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! Our Father Hilarion pray to Christ God to save our souls!"
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards.
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Thursday 18th October at 10.00 am for the feast of St Luke the Evangelist.
"Let us praise with sacred songs the holy Apostle Luke, the recorder of the joyous Gospel of Christ and the scribe of the Acts of the Apostles, for his writings are a testimony of the Church of Christ: He is the physician of human weaknesses and infirmities. He heals the wounds of our souls, and constantly intercedes for our salvation!"
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards!
We look forward to seeing you all!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 16th October at 10.00 am.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards!
We look forward to seeing you!
Hi everyone! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 14th at 8.00 am, to commemorate the fathers of the seventh Ecumenical Council.
"The Son who shone forth from the Father, was ineffably born, two-fold in nature, of a woman. Having beheld Him, we do not deny the image of His form, but depict it piously and revere it faithfully. Thus, keeping the True Faith, the Church venerates the icon of Christ Incarnate."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
On the Old Calendar, it is the feast of the Protection the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, so there will be Liturgy in the church of St Kentigern in Govan at 10.30 am if people would like to go.
We look forward to seeing you all!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy on Saturday 13th October at 10.00 am for Martyr Carpus of Pergamum.
"Your holy martyr Carpus and his companions, O Lord, through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God. For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries, and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. Through their intercessions, save our souls"
There will be refreshments and nibbles afterwards!
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Thursday 11th October at 10.00 am.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 9th October at 10.00 am for the feast of st James, the Son of Alpheus.
"Holy Apostle James, entreat the merciful God to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions."
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Saturday 6th October at 10.00 am for the feast of Thomas the Apostle.
"You were a disciple of Christ, and a member of the divine college of Apostles. Having been weak in faith you doubted the Resurrection of Christ, but by feeling the wounds you believed in His all-pure Passion: pray now to Him, O all-praised Thomas, to grant us peace and great mercy."
There will be refreshments and Japanese food afterwards in the Crypt cafe from 12 o'clock. Please join us!
We will also celebrate Divine Liturgy on Sunday 7th at 8.00 am. There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Thursday 4th October at 10.00 am.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 2nd October at 10.00 am.
There will be tea and coffee afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Hi everyone! Sadly, we have to cancel tomorrow's Liturgy. This is due to a big event taking place in Wellington church.
Unfortunately, we have to cancel the Liturgy on Sunday 30th as well due to a road race taking place in the city centre. Access to the church will be restricted as many roads will be closed for the event.
Our next Liturgy will take place on Tuesday 2nd October and we really look forward to seeing you all then.
As always, Liturgy will be celebrated at St Luke's on Sunday so please attend if you're able. The service will start at approximately 10.30 am.
Have a lovely weekend!
Dear all! We will not celebrate Liturgy tomorrow. Our next Liturgy will be on Thursday 27th at 10.00 am, followed by tea and coffee.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dear all! We will celebrate Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Tuesday 18th September at 10.00 am.
The Liturgy will be followed by refreshments and nibbles.
Unfortunately, this will be the only Liturgy celebrated in our chapel this week as Fr Augustine has to attend meetings for the last time this year.
On Friday 21st September, there will be Liturgy in the church of St Kentigern in Govan, for the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God (Old Calendar). The Liturgy will start at 7.00 am.
On Sunday 23rd September, there will be Divine Liturgy in the Romanian Orthodox church in Shettleston at 10.00 am and 10.30 am at St Luke's Cathedral in the West End.
We look forward to seeing you!
Tuesday 26 th June 2018
Due to events taking place in Wellington this Tuesday 26th June, we will not be able to celebrate Divine Liturgy. We apologise for this.
Our Thursday Liturgy will go ahead as usual!
See you all then!
November 2017: No Liturgy 9th November – 1 December
As a monastic and sole clergyman in our community, it is important that Fr Augustine maintains his spiritual connection with his ‘home’ on Mt Athos. To that end, he will be on retreat there until late November. Further updates will be added upon his return. Please keep him in your prayers as he travels.
No Liturgy Tuesday 18th July
Dear all! Due to works being carried out at Wellington church, there will be no access to the building on Monday 17th- Tuesday 18th July. We will therefore not be able to celebrate Liturgy on Tuesday, but we look forward to seeing you on Thursday!
June/July 2017: extensive works at Wellington Church
While there are ongoing works at Wellington Church, we will take the opportunity to reliant the floor and put up more icons. Please follow our Facebook page or email through the website to receive notice when they recommence.
Father Augustine will be around to do the work and for confession or prayers, on many days. Please contact him if you wish to see him on a particular day or time.
EASTER 2017: all services will be in Dunblane. After this we will not be having Liturgies in St Gabriel’s for at least two weeks – we will be updating the calendar and notify through Newsletter, Facebook and this site, once further times are confirmed. Please check the calendar page before making a journey to attend.
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