On 20 May, during the Divine Liturgy at Christ the Saviour British Orthodox Church at Bournemouth, Abba Seraphim incardinated Hieromonk John, having restored him to the ministry by absolution. Father John previously served in the Anglican Church, but was received into Orthodoxy and ordained by Abba Seraphim in 1994 to serve in Glastonbury. Sadly, in 1997 he left the British Orthodox Church and served in a number of other jurisdictions, but recently requested to return to the Church in which he first became Orthodox. Father John is known for his great love of our indigenous Orthodox saints and wrote a valuable pilgrim’s guide to the holy sites of Glastonbury. Regular weekly celebrations of the Divine Liturgy will now resume at the Bournemouth Church.

On 28 April Abba Seraphim, accompanied by Abba David & Father James, visited Mrs. Hazel Rockcliffe in her new Care Home at Woodlands, Doncaster and were delighted to find her very happy and well cared for there. Hazel is a long-standing member of the Cusworth Church. Returning to Cusworth, they were joined for the Raising of Evening Incense by Father Alexis Raphael of Lincoln and afterwards the clergy dined with Abba Seraphim at The Boat Inn, Sprotbrough.

The next morning, Sunday, 29 April, Abba Seraphim and Abba David concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at Cusworth, assisted by Father James and Reader Vladimir Roze and Abba Seraphim preached on “The Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well”. Afterwards the congregation and clergy shared fellowship over a buffet lunch. As the weather was fine, Cusworth Hall opened the old Hall walled gardens and the Bowling Pavilion at the back of the church to the public. These had been sold to the Council some years ago by the church trustees, who had continued their restoration so that croquet was once again played on the well-manicured green.

On 30 April, it being the fortieth day since the repose of the late Paul Gevriye, Abba Seraphim visited the home of his friend at Horstead Keynes in Sussex, where he had been cared for in his final illness and died, to pray the Memorial Prayers for his repose.

On 10 April at the Downs Crematorium at Brighton, Abba Seraphim officiated at the funeral of Paul Gevriye (1956-2018), a Syrian Orthodox man from Sweden who died whilst staying with friends in England. Paul, whose baptismal name was Abdul Massih (Servant of the Lord) was originally from Aleppo. Having been approached to assist with the funeral, Abba Seraphim spoke of his happy memories of Aleppo before the civil war and his close friendship with Archbishop Mor Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim of Aleppo, who had been kindnapped by Daesh (Isis) in 2013, but heard nothing of since. He also said that as the British Orthodox Church owed its origins to the goodness and generosity of Metropolitan Julius of Emesa (later Patriarch Mor Ignatius Boutros IV) there was a deep sense of gratitude to the Syrian Orthodox Church and any opportunity to be of service to its faithful was a privilege.

Abba Seraphim and Father James celebrated Holy Week and the Paschal Vigil Liturgy at St. Alban & St. Athanasius Church at Chatham, where Abba Seraphim preached on the Christian Hope of the Resurrection. It was also a great blessing to have Mrs. Jean Scuotto present at all the services, as she was taken ill while cruising in the Mediterranean on a New Year’s holiday and had to be flown to hospital in Portugal. Having made good progress, and through the mercy of God, she was flown back to her home in Chatham at the end of January, where prayers had been offered for her recovery at every service.

Abba David, assisted by Father Alexis Raphael, officiated at the Holy Week services at St. Mark & St. Hubert’s Church at Cusworth Village. During the Paschal Liturgy, Abba David tonsured Vladimir Sandis Roze to the Order of Reader for service at the Cusworth Church.