The Shepherd, February 2009
THEOPHANY CELEBRATION
THEOPHANY fell on a Monday this year, and so the services for the eve were held at both the Convent and the Brotherhood, although at the former we served according to the Slavic typicon and at the latter according to the Greek usage. After the Divine Liturgy at Brookwood on the day of the feast, as has become traditional with us, we set off for Chertsey to bless the waters on the site of the monastery founded there in the seventh century by St Erkenwald. Again we were offered hospitality by Robin and Mary Haigh of Abbey Bridge Farm and not only allowed to use their “jetty” for the ceremony, but afterwards they invited us all into the medieval barn which they own for tea, coffee, cakes and refreshments, which they had so kindly provided for everyone. After the waters had been blessed, Frederica-Alexis, the pony colt, and her mother were brought forward to be sprinkled with the blessed water. Numbers of local people joined us for this occasion, from the local churches, from the museum, from local history groups, and this year three ladies who confessed they were practising pagans, but showed an intelligent and lively interest in our beliefs. Ingrid Clapham, the distinguished artist and iconographer, who has for many years been a parishioner in the Romanian Parish of St George in St Dunstan’s in the West, London, and has recently settled in Chertsey, attended the ceremony this year. At the reception, she presented the Brotherhood with four icons, one of the Saviour by her own hand, one of the Mother of God the Burning Bush and one of St Nicolas the Wonderworker, both antique Russian icons, and a reproduction icon of the Three-handed Mother of God. Not only did she make this generous donation, but she edified us by telling us that she had never painted an icon and asked money for it, because she had believed that it was wrong for her to do so. Our special thanks to Ingrid, and to Robin and Mary, for their kindness and generosity.
FUND RAISING PROGRESS
THE BUILDING FUND now stands at £708,287.38. The re-roofing of Saint Edward’s Church may, unfortunately, be delayed. The Surrey Wildlife Trust has required us to have a survey to ascertain whether the work will disturb bats. A preliminary survey is to be made on Monday, 2nd February. If any evidence of bat activity is found, a second survey will have to be made in the Summer; this, of course, would delay our plans by a year.
VISITORS
FATHER Samir Gholam of the Antiochian Patriarchate visited us on Saturday, 24th January, n.s, it being the nearest Saturday to the Year’s Mind of his Preoteasa’s aunt, Elena Popescu. He and Preosteasa Petronilla arrived as we celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Afterwards he served a pannikhida for Elena, and blessed koliva in her memory. Preoteasa then laid on an abundant and extremely tasty Mercy Meal which we shared together. Fr Samir is an Arab, but his wife Romanian, and so we enjoyed foods from two excellent culinary cultures. Afterwards the couple returned to the grave to tidy things up there and pray.
On the same day, the iconographer Tatiana Kolibaba from Saint Petersburg, Russia, was brought to Brookwood by Mike Stonelake and his children. Mike designed and set up the Exhibition Room in the Old Mortuary for us, and is a parishioner at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Ennismore Gardens, London, where at that time an exhibition of Tatiana’s work was being shown. She has known us for several years, and has painted several icons for our church, which she has kindly given us free. The day after her visit to us was her nameday, but unfortunately on that day she had to return to Russia.
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