On the evening of January 6th a festal Liturgy in honour of the Feast of Theophany was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim, supported by Father Simon Smyth and Father Peter Farrington, the priest responsible for the Orthodox Mission of St Andrew at Clewer, Windsor, together with Subdeacon Daniel Malyon and Reader Trevor Maskery. The service took place in the beautiful and ancient Church of St Andrew, parts of which date back to the Norman Conquest and which is always filled with an atmosphere of prayer accumulated over the last one thousand years.

The Orthodox Mission of St Andrew has been growing for the last 12 months, and the congregation at this Liturgy was the most numerous so far. It was an especial pleasure to welcome the Bishop of Reading, Andrew Proud, in whose jurisdiction the Church of St Andrew is found, as well as both the Revd. Louise Brown, former priest in charge of St Andrew’s and whose hospitality allowed the mission community to begin worshipping at St Andrew’s, and the Revd. Rosie Webb, recently taking up her ministry at St Andrew’s as priest in charge. Other visitors also joined us, together with the regular members of the mission community of St Andrew.

The congregation gathers in the choir of medieval St Andrew’s, surrounded by graceful architecture in wood and stone, and the presence of many icons of the highest quality, created by Annie Shaw, a member of the mission community and a professional iconographer, only add to the creation of an atmosphere proper for our Orthodox liturgical worship. Indeed many of the prayers which were offered by the celebrant and congregation must have echoed within these walls for a millenia. On this occasion the congregation had so increased that it was necessary to spill out into the body of the church itself through the gates of the rood screen.

During the Liturgy His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim blessed water for the Theophany and anointed the congregation. That which remained was eagerly collected in bottles and received by the congregation. Father Peter Farrington addressed the gathered worshippers in a homily which called on those present to commit themselves to prayer, study of the Scriptures and fasting in 2014.

After the completion of the Liturgy the congregation gathered in the Lodge at the edge of the churchyard and shared in a light buffet which included biscuits made according to the Ukrainian tradition by one of the worshippers.

The Orthodox Mission of St Andrew is presently celebrating the Liturgy one Saturday each month, and Evening Prayer one Monday evening each month.  The mission website is at http://www.orthodoxwindsor.co.uk

Festal Liturgy – January 6th – Orthodox Mission Of St Andrew

We warmly invite all who are able to join us on the evening of January 6th to share the blessing of a Liturgy celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim at the Orthodox Mission of St Andrew, Windsor.

Our evening of prayer will begin at 7pm and conclude at 9pm. The Liturgy will be conducted in English and a welcome is extended to all who wish to pray with us. We will be celebrating the end of the Nativity season and the Feast of Theophany.

The Orthodox Mission of St Andrew worships at:

St Andrew’s Church of England
Mill Lane,
Windsor,
Berkshire
SL4 5JH

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Abouna Peter Farrington, the priest responsible for the care of this growing Orthodox community in Windsor.

http://www.orthodoxwindsor.co.uk/

On Tuesday, 17 December the Church of St Mark & St Hubert held their Advent Carol Service. The form of the service has been used each year since the Church opened 25 years ago. Fr David Seeds preached on the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Phillipians Chapter 3 verses 5-10, its importance as the central message to humanity, and its relevance to our Christmas worship.

Members of the congregation took turns to read the lessons, including Christopher Gray who expects to be received into the Church shortly.

On 17 December HRH The Prince of Wales demonstrated his concern for the Christian communities of the Middle East through a series of engagements and impressive, heart-felt speeches. Having just returned from the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Prince began his day with a morning visit to the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre at Stevenage, where he was greeted by HG Bishop Angaelos and civic dignitaries. He was accompanied by HRH Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed of Jordan, who is religious affairs adviser to HM King Abdullah II of Jordan and a notable advocate of interfaith harmony. This visit began with a short service of prayer, presided over by Bishop Angaelos and Metropolitan Seraphim, after which the Princes were conducted around a display showing the many activities of the Church Centre and met with members of the local congregation and other ecumenical visitors, who had attended the service. Prince Charles was presented with a fine ikon of St. George, with another identical pone for TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the infant Prince George of Cambridge. Prince Ghazi was also presented with an ikon of St. Mary the Virgin. The Princes then adjourned for a brief round table meeting to discuss some of the general concerns about the current situation in the Middle East. Following this the Princes took tea at the Manor House before flying by helicopter to West London.

Here they were received by HE Archbishop Athanasios and HG Bishop Vahan, both natives of Iraq, at the Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Acton, where a short service was held and hymns sung in Aramaic. They were able to talk to many of the congregation and hear informed accounts of their suffering.  

In the late afternoon Prince Charles held an Advent Reception at Clarence House, with particular emphasis on the plight of Christians in the Middle East. Among those attending were Archbishop Gregorios and Metropolitan Kallistos of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the Bishops of London, Southwark, St. Albans, Liverpool Reading and Bishop Geoffrey Rowell; the Apostolic Delegate and the Archbishop of Westminster; Bishop Vahan Hovhannesian (Armenian Orthodox), Archbishop Athanasius (Syriac Orthodox), Bishop Angaelos (Coptic Orthodox), Abba Seraphim (British Orthodox), the Archdeacon of the Church of the East, as well as many clergy of other churches.

At the conclusion of the reception HRH Prince Ghali made and eloquent and eirenic speech followed by HRH Prince Charles, who remarked, that he had, “for some time now been deeply troubled by the growing difficulties faced by Christian communities in various parts of the Middle East. It seems to me that we cannot ignore the fact that Christians in the Middle East are, increasingly, being deliberately targeted by fundamentalist Islamist militants. Christianity was, literally, born in the Middle East and we must not forget our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters in Christ. Their church communities link us straight back to the early Church, as I was reminded by hearing Aramaic, Our Lord’s own language, spoken and sung a few hours ago.”

He highlighted his work over the past two decades for better understanding between Muslims and Christians and spoke of his fear that the dwindling Christian population might be lost altogether, and the serious  grounds for us all to be concerned, “My prayer this afternoon is for all beleaguered communities and I believe that Western Christians ought to pray earnestly for fellow-believers in the Middle East. I am reminded that to-day in the Eastern Christian calendar it is the festival of Daniel and the three boys in the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They symbolize all those who are persecuted for their faith. But the important point is: they survived!” 

Abba Seraphim was among the civic, ecclesiastical and inter-faith leaders invited to the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre at Stevenage on  13 November to meet with HRH Prince Hassan of Jordan. The Prince is noted for his humanitarian and inter-faith initiatives and has worked tirelessly for peace and justice for many decades. Welcomed by Bishop Angaelos, who hosted the meeting of a relatively small group of those sharing the same aspirations, the Prince spoke frankly and engagingly on a number of issues related to the unrest in the Middle East following the so-called “Arab Spring”.  Having spoken from his wide and rich experience of engagement with statesmen, politicians and all key figures in the Middle East over half a century, as well as his family’s central role in affairs of state, he demonstrated profound understanding of the current situation, a deep commitment to justice and peace, underpinned by integrity and vision. Abba Seraphim commented, “Too often such discussions leave one with a sense of hopelessness in the face of so many intractable problems, but I returned home feeling encouraged that a resolution is not entirely beyond our reach, even though it may take many years go achieve.”