This is a warm invitation to two opportunities to worship with us in Windsor at our Orthodox Mission of St Andrew this week.

On Monday 11th March we are meeting to pray a service of Orthodox Evening Prayer in the English language. We begin our prayers at 6:30 pm at St Andrew’s Church of England, Mill Lane, Clewer, Windsor. Father Peter Farrington will lead the prayers from the Orthodox Daily Office of the Coptic Orthodox tradition in the English language. After the service of prayer there will be time for conversation and refreshments.

On Saturday 16th March, this coming Saturday, we are meeting to celebrate the Orthodox Liturgy in the English language for the first time at St Andrew’s, Mill Lane, Clewer, Windsor. Our morning of worship will begin at 9:30 am with the Raising of Incense, and the Liturgy itself will begin at 10:00 am. His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim will celebrate the Liturgy assisted by Father Peter Farrington. There will be an opportunity for conversation and refreshments after the Liturgy.

You are most warmly welcome to attend either or both of these services. If you know of others who may be interested in participating in our Orthodox worship then do please pass this message on to them.

On Saturday, 22nd December, Father Peter Farrington attended the Evening Prayers and Carol Service of the Indian Orthodox Church of St Gregorios, Brockley, London. He had been invited to give a homily to the congregation by Father Thomas John, and was very pleased indeed to be able to spend an evening in the company of fellow Orthodox Christians.

The evening began with the regular prayers of the Indian Orthodox tradition, offered in English, at which Father Peter assisted Father Thomas John. Then a programme of English carols, and songs in Malayalam had been organised, with a Nativity Play performed by the younger members of the congregation.

The range of talent in the congregation was most impressive and it seemed that there were three or four different choirs of great ability, which together with the enthusiastic performances of the children of the congregation made for a most delightful evening. At one point a choir of deacons sang some of the traditional Malayalam hymns of the Church and were joined by Father Thomas John and Father Mathew Abraham.

Father Peter spoke on the theme of Christ becoming man as the Prince of Peace, and particularly reflected on the prophecy of Isaiah and the angelic proclamation to the shepherds.

At the end of the evening Father Christmas distributed gifts to the excited children, and Father Peter was then fortunate to be able to share in some of the excellent and authentic Indian food which the hospitable community provided. This was a most enjoyable evening, and the opportunity to share in fellowship with the Indian Orthodox clergy and faithful was a most blessed beginning to the Nativity season.

At its meeting on 17 July at the Armenian Church Hall in Iverna Gardens, the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK & Ireland held its trienniel elections. Having served two terms as President, His Grace Bishop Angaelos (Coptic Orthodox Church) retired from the Presidency and His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian (Armenian Orthodox Church) was unanimously elected his successor.  Abba Seraphim paid tribute to Bishop Angaelos’ commitment to the Council and the spirit of fraternal co-operation which he had encouraged between the sister churches. Bishop Angaelos was then elected as Chairman of the Council in succession to His Grace Mathews Mar Thimothios, who was not standing for a second term because of his frequent absences abroad. Father Peter Farrington was re-elected for a second term as Secretary and Father George Joy (Indian Orthodox Church) was elected successor to Father Snork Bagdassarion as Treasurer.  

On 23 January, as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum launched its first publication, Joint Statements between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The event was marked by a press conference and reception at the headquarters of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales at Eccleston Square, Westminster. It was introduced by the two co-chairs, His Grace Bishop Angaelos, President of the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK and His Excellency Mgr. Kevin McDonald, Archbishop Emeritus of Southwark. Other members of the Forum attending were Abba Seraphim; His Grace Bishop Vahan Hovhannesian; Mgr. Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham; Mgr. Paul Hendriks, Auxilary Bishop of Southwark, and Father Peter Farrington (co-Secretary).

Archbishop Kevin described the various statements as “rather a well-kept secret” especially as some of the most remarkable achievements of the ecumenical movement have been precisely with the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Joint Declarations made by both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II with the heads of the Coptic and Syriac Orthodox Churches were “real milestones.” Bishop Angaelos spoke of the real bonds of friendship which had been established within the Forum since its establishment in 2007 and of the very clear aims and objectives which continue to animate it.

A meeting of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum took place at Lambeth Palace on 15 June 2010.

This forum exists to promote contacts between the Anglican and Oriental Orthodox communities in the UK, and to provide a context in which discussions about the practical and spiritual challenges facing both communions can take place.

At this last meeting His Grace Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church was nominated as the Oriental Orthodox co-chairman, and Father Peter Farrington of the British Orthodox Church within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate was nominated the Oriental Orthodox co-secretary.

Other Orthodox bishops present were His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of the British Orthodox Church, and His Grace Archbishop Athanasios of the Syrian Orthodox Church, together with Bishop Geoffrey Rowell  of Gibraltar in Europe, the Anglican co-chairman. Other Oriental Orthodox clergy represented their churches while the Anglican participation included a number of priests, including Canon Jonathan Goodall, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s chaplain and ecumenical officer.

A fruitful conversation took place among the representative Anglican and Oriental Orthodox bishops and priests, and plans were discussed for the future direction and membership of the Forum. The forum usually meets trwice a year.