No. 101 April 2015
The Orthodox Parish of the Holy and LifeGiving Cross,
Lancaster, U.K.
The Stavroniana monthly magazine & newsletter published by the 'Holy Cross Synodia'
The Parish of the Holy and LifeGiving Cross,belongs to the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland.
The Patriarchate of Antioch is third senior of the Orthodox Churches.The Patriarch is His Beatitude John X.
The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch(Acts 11:26)
THE GATES OF PARADISE
In the Paschal canon we sing: Ode 6;Thou didst arise, O Christ, and yet thetomb remained sealed, as at Thy birth theVirgin’s womb remained unharmed; andThou hast opened for us the gates ofparadise.
Doors play an important part in ourlives –we open them we lock them– weaccess our private and social space andsafeguard our property and familythrough them. Through them we meetour friends and strangers; we experienceall kinds of interiors and atmospheres.But doors are held to the frame by hinges.The spiritual door into Life is held to theframe of our Christian faith through thehinges of Pascha and the Resurrection;Christ said: John 10:7; I am the gate forthe sheep.
No less in our sacred space in Churchreferences to doors are manifested by thebuilding and in the Liturgy. The deaconor priest before the proclamation of theCreed The Symbol of Faith says outloud: The doors the doors, in wisdom Letus attend. This point in the Holy Liturgymarks the transition from the Liturgy ofthe Word to the Liturgy of the HolyMysteries. Christians in Roman timescould forfeit their lives if they werecaught celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Thedoor keeper would then close the doors tothe Church separating and protecting thefaithful from those who would do themharm.
The Iconostasis physically and symbolically separates the Nave (literally theShip of Faithful) containing the assemblyof the Holy Laity journeying to Salvation,from the Holy of Holies, the altar. TheIconostasis has three doors: The RoyalDoors through which Christ comes fromHeaven and returns and through whichonly the Bishop or Priest may pass orappear, blessing the faithful, carrying the
Gospel book at the Little Entrance andthe Chalice and Discos at the Great Entrance. These doors usually have an Icon ofthe Annunciation and/or a depiction ofthe Four Evangelists.
On the North side of the Iconostasisis a door with the Icon of Holy ArchangelMichael often depicted with a sword or alance guarding the door. This liturgicallyspeaking is the exit from the altar thusArchangel Michael guards the door toParadise.
On the South side of the Iconostasisis a door which is the liturgical entranceto the altar area. This door has the Iconof the Archangel Gabriel, whose announcement to the Theotokos marks thebeginning of the Incarnation which alsomarks our entrance to the heavenlyrealm.
At Paschal matins in the Syrianpractice, following the Gospel reading,the priest beats on the door three timesand takes part in a dialogue with a doorkeeper inside the church doors, cryingout with the words of Psalm 23 (24): Liftup your gates, O you princes; and be yelifted up, ye everlasting gates and the Kingof Glory shall enter in. The doorkeepersays: Who is the King of glory? The Priestanswers: The Lord strong and mighty; theLord mighty in war.
A second time this is asked with thesame response.
On the third exchange of dialoguethe Priest answers: The Lord of hosts He isthe King of Glory. The doors are openedand the faithful reenter. The church is
brightly lit with candles and adorned withflowers. It is the heavenly bride and thesymbol of the empty tomb.
Easter is the hinge upon which hangsour Life in Christ. So, may we guard theentrance to our heart, so that at theResurrection we may open the gates andlet Christ, the Risen King of Glory enterin.
Fr Jonathan
What wings on those angels, my child!!!Elder Iakovos Tsalikis
Elder Iakovos said: People are blind anddon’t see what takes place in church duringthe Divine Liturgy. Once I was serving andI couldn’t make the Great Entrance becauseof what I saw. I suddenly felt someonepushing me by my shoulder and guidingme toward the holy prothesis. I thought itwas the chanter, and said to myself: “Theblessed one, such irreverence? He enteredthrough the Beautiful Gate and is pushingme?” I turned around and saw a huge wingthat the archangel had laid on myshoulder, and that he was guiding me tomake the Great Entrance. What amazingthings take place in the altar during theDivine Liturgy!
RESURRECTION
'The light shines in the darkness and thedarkness has not overcome it'; St. John1:5. The apostle John had known thegreatest darkness of the apostles' liveswhen they knew only of the Crucifixionand not yet of the Resurrection. Thebelievers in the centuries after the firstPascha know the truth of the Resurrection. It is impossible to appreciate thepower of the darkness for those firstdisciples, during those days when theyknew only Christ was in the tomb and notthat He would rise from it.
Metropolitan Anthony in his 'Meditations on a theme' wrote powerfully aboutthat time when all hope seemed lost.' If itwere possible for Christ, with all that herepresented, to die upon the cross, thismeant that human hatred was strongerthan divine love; human hatred had managed to banish him from the habitationsof man, had rejected him and killed himon Calvary.' The darkness was so greatthat when the women came and told thedisciples the good news 'their wordsseemed to them an idle tale and they didnot believe them'; St. Luke 24:11.
The Orthodox icon tradition, faithfulto the Holy Scriptures and Church Tradition, has no icon to show how Christ rosefrom the dead. The two icons of themyrrh bearing women and the descentinto Hades instead depict the meaning ofthe Resurrection as they show what happened before and after it. In 2011 therewas an unexpected experience for mewhen the power of the Resurrectionshone out from an icon of the descentinto Hades. I was travelling with a secular tour entitled a visit to Istanbul. Wevisited the former Chora church, now theKariye Camii mosque.. The fourteenthcentury frescoes adorning the church arenow set aside in a museum attached tothe church. We went into part of the
museum that was formerly the funerarychapel but now an overcrowded touristdestination. However, I was able to returnin some free time at the end of the visitand amazingly found myself alone,without other people, for a few minutesbefore the Resurrection icon of the descent into Hell. The church had been lostas a place for services to worship Christ.But the power of the Resurrection leaptforth from the icon of Christ, filled withradiant light, overcoming the darkness ofHell as He tramples down Hell's doors.The experience before the icon has remained the most significant and memorable of that year.
Today, much darkness threatens ourbrothers and sisters in the Middle East. Itis not possible for us to enter into thereality of the dark threats symbolised bythe black flags replacing the light of thecrosses on the top of the churches. Wecannot enter the difficulty of echoing theprayer of Christ on the Cross 'Fatherforgive them, for they know not whatthey do'. We may ask to take on more ofChrist as we pray for our fellow Christiansknowing that 'The light shines in darknessand the darkness has not overcome it.'
Gladys BlandLondon
FRAGMENTS OF GLORY
Isaiah 60:13; “The glory of Lebanon shallcome unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree,and the cypress together to beautify theplace of my sanctuary, and I will make theplace of my feet glorious.”
Fragments of glory are dispersed but whole For "Grace remains entire with every part" The Cross an imprint for a wounded soul, Three types of wood for a pierced heart:
These substances were grown for Thee The Fir, the Pine, the Cypress tree
The splendour of Lebanon came to Him, And by invitation comes to set free Unworthy ones, to beautify their lives With the dust of His earthly sanctuary:
These substances were shaped by Thee The Fir, the Pine, the Cypress Tree
Take and venerate these earthly remains Righteous remnants that Lot* watered in the Law.Three trees grew together for His holy pains To construct the frame of the New Temple’s door:
These substances were met in Thee The Fir, the Pine, the Cypress Tree.
“Why? For what purpose did these trees meet?” Truth to tell… To make glorious His holy feet!
“For any other reason?” do I hear you ask, “This meeting of the Threefold Tree?” With tears I dare to whisper… yes… for me!
* There is a tradition that the three treesfrom which the True Cross was constructed grew together in one place. Atraditional Orthodox icon depicts Lot, thenephew of Abraham, watering thesetrees.
Fr Jonathan
COMMUNITY LIFE IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS
Observing the Holy Liturgy this week Ifound myself admiring the beauty of ourlittle community in Christ and all of asudden my heart was filled with gratitudefor what we have. I could not help butfeel very privileged I am able to attendthe Holy Liturgy and call myself and myfamily members of our fellowship. I believe we are all rather lucky to be blessedwith a place of worship, a priest wholooks after us all so lovingly and ratherselflessly, a number of people who giveup their time to prepare the church (andput things back afterwards), sing, serve,donate and keep our community running.All this is done with a deep sense of commitment, dedication, love and charity.One cannot help themselves but bemoved by just how simply, yet withresults that are so precious, the combinedefforts of a few people are translated tospiritual nourishment, continuing encouragement, a helping hand, a friendly hugand perhaps a million more things foreach and every one of us. Separately butalso communally.
It is a strong motivation for the restof us to do as much as we can do to helpkeep this beautiful thing going. Some ofus are new to such an experience, othershave been here a while, all of us thoughperhaps realize just how unique our littlecommunity is, not only amongst churchlife, but in life in general too. People fromall over the world, united under God withthe sole purpose of attending the HolyLiturgy as often as we can, helping asmuch as our individual circumstancesallow. Like the first church was, it is thepeople who make it what it is, throughthe grace, love and blessing of our Lord.There is no permanent building, there isno guaranteed income stream, no professional singers, and even the size of the
congregation is an unknown each week.Nevertheless, with hard work from FatherJonathan and a few of the faithful we allare afforded a place of worship that hasbecome well established, and has gainedinternational reputation as a fountain ofspiritual nourishment (I use this expression again as I feel quite strongly aboutit), ecclesiastical warmth and theologicalknowledge.
I urge you to give it a try. Come earlyon a Saturday morning, and give a handto Fr Jonathan and whoever happens tobe there that day to set up the church.Ask the blessing to bake the prosphora.Give it a go at serving or singing. Sittingat the congregation watching thesepeople do what they do every weekmakes me want to step forward and joinin. Alas, my young daughter and babyson beg to differ, and make it clear to meI need to stay with them and hold herhand, or feed him his milk. Soon though,they will be old enough to join me inresuming my small role in doing as muchas I can to support this beautiful workcarried out by others at the moment.
With Easter fast approaching, thoseof us who have experienced it here beforeknow what is expecting us and can barelycontain our excitement and emotions inanticipation. For those of you readingand have not had the chance to be herebefore, I have only one thing to say:nothing has prepared you for what youare about to see, feel, smell, taste andexperience. If there was such a thing as a‘bucket list’ (for those of you who knowthe movie) Easter in Holy Cross Lancastershould definitely feature. It is one ofthese things in life that once you becomepart of, never leaves you. I am lookingforward to seeing you all soon. If you arecoming back from Greece, Cyprus,Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, oranywhere else you can get hold ofanything useful for our little church(candles, charcoal, candle cups etch)
please throw some in your suitcase. Theywill be greatly appreciated. For those whoare here, we usually get our supplies fromSt George Orthodox Information Service.They have a website (please click here)which we use to order whatever we need.Speak to Father Jonathan if you wouldlike to help.
Konstantinos ArfanisLancaster
WHAT IS A CULTURE?
An American sociologist once definedculture as ‘what human beings make outof the world’. This stands as a very broaddefinition, but I think it’s worth ‘unpacking’ it.
For Orthodox Christians, of course,defining ‘culture’ can only make sensefrom the perspective of the Biblical narrative. The process of cultivation must be,in a very essential way, the cultivation ofsomething, namely of Nature; of a humannature in the first instance, but also acultivation of the Environment (nonhuman nature).
Since human nature was affected anddamaged (but not completely extinguished beyond repair) with the event of
ancestral sin (Genesis 1), we are in aposition to establish the link between thedeeper purpose of ‘world cultivation’ andthe human predicament. For the firsthuman beings, Adam and Eve, place oftheir exile is quite unnatural; in a sensethat it betrays their ‘Eden –based’ habitsand expectation – in other words, it isincredibly hostile.
What they in their fallen state cannotsee: is that their (and their offsprings)actions has a direct effect on the hostilityof the surrounding environment (Godtalks to Cain after murdering Abel ‘Whyhave you done this terrible thing? Youkilled your brother, and his blood flowedon to the ground. Now his blood iscalling out for me to punish you’ –Genesis 4, verse 10). It is interesting tonotice that this event took place beforethe Ten Commandments explicitly forbade killing – it is almost as if the environment itself, and not any ethical/moralregression, is calling out for Divine intervention.
If the world has degenerated to itslowest possible point by the time ofNoah, what we see after the Great Delugeis the world that is already ‘halfredeemed’. God’s promise to Noah is a first,smaller (Annunciation being the greaterone) moment of God’s salvific commitment to the Mankind.
With this in mind, we can concludethat cultivation or ‘culturemaking’ is anactualisation of the deep human need toexperience ‘of beingin Eden’, only hereand now. If we think of easy accessibilityof food, heat and shelter, together withthe instant communications, as relativelyrecent improvements in our, civilizationallifestyle – we are probably suffering fromthe (pre)historical amnesia.
Some will point out that these aremere survival tools – and in some respectthey are right; but what is more difficultto explain is the human intense andirrepressible desire to go far beyond this
basic existence – and towards the higherculture. By insisting and endlessly fighting for the establishment of ‘civilisation ofplenitude’, we open ourselves (with themuch higher degree of determination) tothe invigorated pursuit of ‘recreation ofEden’ through Arts and Religion. This isthe culture of the Transcendent; our wayof reaching to and of incarnating theInvisible, and then, through manmadesymbols awakening our senses to itsTruth, Goodness and Beauty.
The arrival of Christ on the worldscene is a moment when this manmadeCulture is abruptly summoned and thenjudged by God. When Jesus invites us tobe ‘salt of the Earth’, He calls us to bringHis Spirit into contemporary culture. Thiswill sometimes require the destruction ofobsolete, sininfested structures andcustoms, but we knew that ‘sword’ at thegates of Paradise was always part of thedeal. It is now essential to discern what isright from what is wrong, and then hurryinto realisation and the restoration of Hisvision. What once was a recollection ofour ‘golden past’, through Christ becamea Transfiguration of ‘an eternal present’ –the culture of the Kingdom.
Aleksandar MiljkovicLondon
PILGRIMAGE TO WALSINGHAM
The Orthodox Fellowship of St John theBaptist is organising a conference and aPilgrimage to the Shrine of the Mother ofGod of Walsingham (England's Nazareth)in July 35. Please let us know if youwould like to attend as perhaps we couldarrange a car or mini bus for the trip. HisEminence Metropolitan Kallistos will bespeaking, which would be a double
blessing! Our Parish may be able to helpa little with funding for students whowish to go! Please contact Fr Jonathan!For further information click here.
PARISH NEWS
Following our little tradition, God willingwe will once again hold an Easter Feastafter Holy Saturday’s midnight Liturgy. Itis customary that people indicate whetherthey can attend, as well as letting eachother know of what they can contribute(if anything, it is not compulsory). Konstantinos will once again be preparingsome lamb. To let us know whether youwill be attending, and to indicate whatyou might be able to help with (either bypreparing something on your own, or bycontributing at the Easter Feast Fundplease email [email protected] earlier we know the better, as thereis quite a logistic exercise. So you get anidea as to what you might be able to helpwith, here is a small (but not exhaustive)list:
• Plastic cutlery and crockery • Drinks • Salads • Side dishes • Red eggs • Soup
You are always welcome to contribute viaa small donation for the purchase of theabove plus the main course (leg of lamb).
Parish members during Parish lunch on Sunday of St Mary of Egypt, March 29. Wewelcome Stella Kyriakidou from Limassol, Cyprus.
OLD STAVRONIAN CORNER
We are so happy to let you know that wehave been given an Icon of St. Panteleimon from an anonymous donor in London!We thank God for this gift and ask Hisblessing upon our kind benefactor.
We also thank Tatiani Rapatzikoufrom Thessaloniki, Greece, for the
candles, wicks, incense and charcoal shesent to the Parish.
MAJOR CELEBRATIONS THISMONTH
1 st Apr: St. Mary of Egypt4 th Apr: Lazarus Saturday5 th Apr: Palm Sunday10 th Apr: Holy Friday11 th Apr: Holy Saturday12 th Apr: Great and Holy Pascha17 th Apr: Theotokos of the LifeGiving Font19 th Apr: Thomas Sunday23 rd Apr: St. George the Great Martyr & Triumphant25 th Apr: Mark the Apostle & Evangelist30 th Apr: James the Apostle & brother of St. John the Theologian
For the lives of Saints please visit theCalendar of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: www.calendar.goarch.org
Services during April*Sun. 5th 10:00 am Palm Sunday: Holy Liturgy in Q.R.Wed. 8th 6:30 pm Holy Wednesday: Holy Anointing in R.C.Thurs. 9th 6:30 pm Holy Thursday: 12 Gospels in R.C.Fri. 10th 10:00 am Holy Friday: Royal Hours in R.C.
11:00 am Preparation of the Epitaphion & Confessions in R.C. 1:00 pm Vespers and Deposition in R.C. 6:30 pm Matins & Burial Procession in R.C.
Sat. 11th 10:00 am Holy Saturday Liturgy of St Basil in R.C.10:00 pm Midnight Office (Holy Light) in R.C.10:30 pm Holy Liturgy of the Resurrection in R.C. followed by
Paschal meal.Sun. 12th 3:00 pm Vespers of Love in R.C.*Help setting up the church is greatly appreciated and starts from 9.15 a.m.
“God cares for everyone. Despair is in effect a lack of faith”
St. George Karslides
For further information please contact:
Father Jonathan Hemmings67 Sibsey Str., Fairfield, Lancaster, LA1 5DQTel: +44 1524 840759, +44 1524 580600
Email: [email protected]lancaster.org.ukwww.antiochianorthodox.co.uk
Top and bottom sketches are created at the Holy Monastery of “The Annunciation of the Theotokos” Chios, Greece, courtesy of Fr Theodosios Dendrinos, Ithaca, Greece. The sketch of Christ by Photis Kontoglou was scanned from the Orthodox calendar of the Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece.