The Shepherd, July 2009
SiR UK NEWS
TWO PENTECOST GIFTS
THE WEEKEND of Pentecost-Trinity Sunday brought us two beautiful gifts. When she last visited this country, the iconographer, Tatiana Kolibaba, from Saint Petersburg, Russia, said that she would paint another icon for us, and asked which saints we would like. Partly because it was on their feast that we were received, in 2006, under the omophorion of Metropolitan Cyprian, and partly light-heartedly to set her a challenge, we said: “The Twenty Thousand Martyrs of Nicomedia”! On the day before Pentecost-Trinity Sunday, Mike Stonelake brought Tatiana to visit us again with her daughter and his daughters. And sure enough, nothing daunted, she brought us a beautifully executed icon of the 20,000 Martyrs. The icon is in Russian style showing the church burning with the two martyrs, Theophila and Agapia, who were in it at the time and whose names we have on record, standing in the doorway; the other martyrs who were not actually burned during that dreadful persecution are grouped to one side of the burning church. We now have this icon as a token of the gratitude that we feel for being received by confessing and faithful hierarchs.
On the day of the feast itself, at the Convent, Predrag Popovic, a Serbian Orthodox parishioner, gave our church a large icon of St Sava the first Archbishop of Serbia, which was painted in Serbia. The half-stature depiction is also beautifully executed, being a copy of an ancient original, and is remarkable for the sadly compunctionate expression on the saint’s face.
Our thanks to Tatiana and Predrag for the love which their gifts to us express. May the Twenty Thousand and St Sava ever intercede for them and their loved ones.
TWO FUNERALS
FATHER STEPHEN PLATT of the Saint Nicholas Parish, Oxford (MP) came to Brookwood on Wednesday 3rd June n.s, for the interment in our cemetery of Liudmila Mazanova and, after having tea with the bereaved family, stayed with us afterwards to discuss church matters. The funeral service itself was held in Oxford.
THE FIRST FUNERAL to be held in the St Boniface Mission Chapel in Ryde, I.o.W., was chanted on Tuesday 9th June, n.s. The deceased, Anna Kudryk, was a member of the Cathedral Parish of the Moscow Patriarchate at Ennismore Gardens in London, and died while staying at a family holiday home on the island. As she naturally wanted a priest of her own jurisdiction to serve her funeral, Fr Nicholay Savchenko of their parish on Harvard Road was appointed to do so. There being no other Orthodox Church on the island, with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Ambrose, Fr Nicholay used our chapel there.
May the newly departed Liudmila and Anna be granted Memory Eternal.
TWO BABIES NAMED
TWO BABIES, born to worshippers at Saint Edward’s Church have had the eighth day naming prayers read for them in their homes within the last month. The infant son of Robert and Nellie Melling of Ash, Aldershot, was named after the Great Martyr George the Trophy-bearer, and the son of Daniel and Daniela Constantin of Welwyn Garden City was named after the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark. His first day prayers had been read at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital at Welwyn. Nellie and her sister, Rima Lewis, brought baby Georghe to Saint Edward’s for the Churching before Vespers for the feast of St Boniface of Crediton. May the Lord God ever bless these children and the families into which they have been born.
FOUR JOHN CLARKE WALKS
WITH OUR CHURCH being a building site at the moment and out of bounds, we have had to suggest that groups postpone their visits until the work has been completed. However, local historian, John Clarke, has recently led four cemetery walks, on 4th, 9th, 14th and 16th June, and brought them to at least have a glimpse of our work and witness here, by visiting the Exhibition in the Old Mortuary Chapel. On 12th June, a walking group from Guildford also came to see the Exhibition.
ROOFING FUND
THE ROOFING FUND topped its half-way mark on the Feast of All Saints, Sunday 1st/14th June. This was made possible by a single generous donation given on that day. The Fund now (8/7/09) stands at £27,973.49, and the shortfall which we must collect by the end of August is £19,526.51. Please continue your generous giving to preclude our having to take out a loan.
VISIT TO THE NORTH
TOWARDS the end of May, Fr Alexis took the Holy Mysteries to an isolated parishioner in the North, Peter B. Stacey. He was generously given hospitality overnight by Fr Gabriel Lawani and his Presbytera, Helena (Synod of Archbishop Chrysostomos II [Kiouses]), at their new home in the magnificent Metropolis of Droylsden, and so was able to see their new and permanent chapel, which has been beautifully furnished with the help of their parishioner, Dimitri Brown. On his way to the North, he visited the Church at Repton with is Saxon crypt in which the relics of St Wistan were once enshrined, and the churches at Hanbury, associated with St Werburgh, at Trentham which has the remains of a Saxon cross, and at Stone where Sts Wulfhad and Ruffin were martyred. On his return he visited Holywell and Gwytherin which are associated with St Winifrid, and the Cathedral at St Asaph, which is associated with that saint and St Kentigern Mungo. The whole trip took 40 hours.
“THEOLOGICAL DEBATE” ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT
THE DIVINE LITURGY, celebrated at the St Boniface Mission, Ryde, on Saturday 17th / 30th May, was attended by a group of Roman Catholics from the south of the island, who probably out-numbered the Orthodox present. Afterwards we invited them to join us for the meal that we have together, and they asked many questions about our Faith and practice, sometimes even disputing with us. One even admitted that the Pope would consider him a heretic! It was a very pleasant meeting and refreshing to be able to talk with people about matters of the Faith - something which rarely seems to interest the people in the deadlands of Surrey. Before leaving us, they promised also to try and visit Brookwood.
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