PLEASE PRAY WITH ME. 

As we continue this period of lockdown I would like all of you to join with me each evening in your own homes, at 10pm, to say the short prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov for our troubled world. 

If you are unable to say the rule at this time because of work or other commitments, then simply say it when you can. The saying is the most important thing. 

The Short Rule. 

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

(To be said three times in honour of the Trinity) 

"Hail Mary! Full of grace, the Lord is with Thee, O Virgin Mother of God: blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, for Thou hast borne the Saviour of our souls."

(To be said three times) 

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. 

"And in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, begotten of the Father before all worlds; Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation , came down from heaven; and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate and suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. 

"And I believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord and Giver of life who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. 

"And I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen."

Much Love, 

Fr. George.

Welcome

Welcome to our website which we hope will be of interest or a source of information to you. Ours is a parish of the Antiochian Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, which is in communion with all the canonical Orthodox Churches and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In line with Orthodox practice, our services are in the language of the people; in our case, English, Orthodox visitors of other backgrounds saying the Lord's Prayer in their native tongue. 

The Orthodox Church lies in a tradition that goes back in an unbroken line to the Church of the Apostles and the earthly life of Christ Himself. We are often portayed as a very conservative church but this is a matter of faith and history; one cannot change the truth to fit into a very fleeting, passing, timescale when viewed with the eternity of God and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In our church you will see many icons of Christ, the Mother of God and many saints and sacred events; a feature of Orthodoxy that proclaims the Incarnation of our Lord and God Jesus Christ and are often referred to as "windows into heaven". The priestly vestments are very beautiful; not for the glorification of the clergy but for the glory of sinful humanity transformed by the Grace of God. The Divine Liturgy is the principal service, when the faithful may receive the Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Incense is used in all our services and permeates the fabric of the church itself. Thus we have a church that is internally very beautiful visually, has the aroma of sanctity and our ears are filled with beautiful music (Just human voices: instruments are not allowed). In some way the church building reflects the glory of Heaven and a place fitting for God.

Anyone may come to our church to "have a look" and you are assured of a warm welcome. Do not worry about how to act or what to do; just let the experience take care of itself. If you need any information about any aspect of our church or the Orthodox Church in general, do not hesitate to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Fr. George (Evans), Parish Priest.

Fr George's Letter for April

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

“The virtues build a new person radiating love to the world.”

(Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo who consecrated our temple.)

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16.)

Sunday 11^th April. FOURTH SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT. St John Climacus of Sinai, author of The Ladder (7^th). Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum, disciple of St John the Theologian (92). St Guthlac, Hermit of Crowland (714). St Calinic of Cernica, Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania (1868). The Appearance of the Most Holy Mother of God at Pochaev, The Footprint.

“To glorify Jesus Christ through a life of service and witness is to love people, and experience within our congregations a genuine Koinonia (A Greek word, meaning Christian fellowship or communion with God, or, more commonly, with fellow Christians).”(“Feed My Sheep”. Metropolitan Philip Saliba 1931-2014. S.V.S PRESS).

Today’s Gospel Reading Mark 9:17-31. “Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.................”

“Do not be surprised if you fall every day, do not give up, but stand your ground and be courageous................”

“Obedience is the burial of the will and the resurrection of humility.........” (St. John Climacus.)

CROWLAND.

Today we celebrate one of the saints of Crowland , St Guthlac, Hermit (714). On 9^th April the feast day of Hieromartyr Theodore, Abbot of Crowland (870) was celebrated. We have gone on pilgrimage for many years to Crowland to celebrate the life of St Guthlac and to remember the martyrdom of St Theodore by the Vikings and venerate his skull which survived the ravages of the Reformation.

St Guthlac was for nine years a Saxon warrior involved in the many inter tribal and feuds of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. He had a conversion and sought out a place of solitude like the Desert Fathers, not in a sandy desert but in the wilds of the damp and dreary fens in an area we now call Lincolnshire. Here in an ancient burial mound, excavated by tomb robbers he made his home, living on one meal of barley bread and swamp water in the evening. His holiness became known and after his death he became an object of devotion and prayer, an abbey being established in his honour. This lasted until the Reformation when all the monastic buildings were destroyed, the town retaining the medieval church for Anglican parish use.

St Theodore was murdered at the Altar during the Divine Liturgy along with  the monks of the abbey during the Viking raids. His skull bears the wound of the sword that killed him. We must remember that during the lives of these saintly men the Church was one, and not divided as it is today and they both lived at the same time as many of those saints of the East that we regard as Orthodox. Indeed they were Orthodox in this land of ours, before lands that are today regarded as pillars of Orthodoxy. It is our privilege and duty to bear witness to our faith in this land, whether born here or from abroad, there is no difference in the eyes of the Church but more importantly in the eyes of our Loving Father.

Today we celebrate St. John Climacus (Of the Ladder) and his writing about how the struggles in this world can enable us to climb to heaven, like scaling the rungs of a ladder. As you will see from the icon for today the devils are always trying to drag us down. In the saints of Crowland we see the examples of St. Guthlac and St. Theodore, who in different ways ascended the ladder that leads to heaven and points the way for us.

In the Gospel for today a man brings his epileptic son to Christ and points out that the disciples couldn’t cure his son. Christ exhibits exasperation with “this generation” and heals the boy. He tells His disciples that He will be killed and on the third day will rise again. They did not understand and tellingly they dare not ask. We who read these words who are of “this generation”, do we understand? Do we like the disciples dare not ask? Is our faith so sure? Do we have our foot on the first rung of the ladder or  do we turn away from the effort to climb it? The choice is ours, our Heavenly Father gave us a brain which we use for good or ill. May God bless you all and surround you with His infinite love at this time.

Much Love,

Fr. George.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,

“MEMORY ETERNAL!”

PS: Thank you for all the gifts of communion wine and olive oil. Services for Pascha will be announced in due course, bearing in mind that restrictions will still apply.