The Shepherd, February 2007
BROOKWOOD NEWS
WITH THE TRIP to Australia and our “jurisdictional” change, most of this issue has already been taken up with “Brookwood News.” We apologise to readers that we have not been able to include our usual sections, but thought it was important to cover these things. There are three / four more snippets.
GIFT OF RELICS
FATHER MICHAEL PROTOPOPOV, who has already given so many relics to our church in the past, gave fragments of the sacred relics of three more saints, when Fr Alexis visited his church in Dandenong: the Holy New Confessor the Patriarch Saint Tikhon of Moscow, the holy Hierarch Philaret of Moscow, and St John of Novgorod. Also Irina Stepanova recently gave us a fragment of stone from the grotto of St Michael in Bari, Italy. May these saints bless our donors and especially protect our community and mission.
A NEW BABY IN THE PARISH
On Wednesday, 4th / 17th January, the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles, Elena Matthews gave birth to a second baby daughter. We went to read the first-day prayers at Stuart and Elena’s home at Newbury on that day, and returned on the eighth day to name the new addition to their family. She is called Nina, in honour of the holy Peer of the Apostles, Nina, the Enlightener of Georgia. May the Saint’s prayers ever guard, protect, strengthen and guide her.
OFFERINGS
WITH the returned “Shepherd” subscriptions last autumn, readers gave a further £608 to the KEOTCoLtd general fund, and a further £615 to our Orthodox Aid Fund, from which we give donations to other churches and charities. May The Merciful Benefactor bless you all for your kindness.
VISITORS
ON ST NINA’S DAY, Saturday 14th/27th January, Fr Samir Gholam of the Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral of St George in Regent’s Park, and his Preotasa Petronilla attended the Divine Liturgy at Brookwood, and later chanted a memorial service in Arabic for Preotasa’s mother, Elena, at her grave in the cemetery. Later they shared a mercy meal with us in the Brotherhood house.
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PRACTICAL TIP
WE ARE APPROACHING GREAT LENT, and in the monasteries at this season, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent,” of St John Climacus is often read. One of the teachings in this work is: “Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men.” This teaching is of fundamental importance for all Orthodox Christians, whatever their calling in the Church. To many nominal Orthodox Christians such a teaching is simply unknown, but even among many who are “semi-traditonal” one will hear a clean contrary doctrine taught. People often say: “That is only for the monks,” or “You don’t need to fast, only the monastics and clergy do that,” or “You can’t be expected to follow that - it is intended only for the monks.” It is true that there are a few disciplines that pertain only to the monastics, and that the obedience to their superiors is stricter than anything that is required of lay-people, but this kind of advice leads one to distance oneself from the monastic life rather than following it, as St John teaches, as an example. We are all called to holiness. The ways in which we attain that might differ in pace, but true Orthodox Christians would never distance themselves from the monastic life, or see it as something completely irrelevent to them. For the true Orthodox Christian the monastic way will always be a light and an example. But a word of warning: notice st John says that it is the monastic life which is an example, not the monastics themselves. You will find some pretty poor monastics (at Brookwood), but then St John continues and urges them: “Therefore let monks strive to become a good example in everything.”
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