AMONG the visitors to St Edward’s in the past month, we had a Metropolitan Kyrikos from Greece with a small group of his followers who unexpectedly arrived late on Thursday 31st August, and who, after venerating the shrine of St Edward, were invited in for refreshments. The Metropolitan, who spoke no English, appeared to be an independent hierarch.
On the next day, Protopresbyter Kyrillos Leret-Aldir (ŒP) from Bristol came and spent the afternoon with us, discussing various church situations among the convert Orthodox in this country. Before leaving he donated several rasons to the community, and served a memorial at the grave of one of his parishioners laid to rest here.
Archpriest Vadim Zakrevsky and his Matushka Natalia, who were formerly at the ROCA church on Harvard Road, West London, but now serve at the Russian Cathedral at Ennismore Gardens visited us on Thursday 7th August, bringing with then a donation for the church.
After visiting us briefly earlier in the month, Fr Gabriel Lawani and his Presbytera Helena (Synod of Abp Chrysostomos II) visited us on 22nd August, bringing with them a home made apple pie, and they stayed with us for the evening meal. He then called in briefly on the following Wednesday to return a borrowed book, and to bid us farewell, before they left to return to the North, where they are working to establish a new mission.
Dr Nick Needham, an old friend of our community, a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church in Inverness, who has visited us many times before, came and stayed with us for a few days at the end of the month.
IT IS a beautiful and Orthodox custom to ask prayers of the Church for oneself and those whom one cares for when they are in need, however, you should remember two things in doing this: a) always remember those people also in your own prayers and give alms for them (so that you are not just farming out your concern); and: b) always keep the people you ask to pray for them updated. Very often here we are asked to pray for people and when, after several weeks, we sometimes ask how they are, the person who asked has either forgotten them or the situation that we had been asked to pray about has long passed.
