Notices

ALL SAINTS:  NOTICES -- SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY - FIRST SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT, 2024

In today’s Holy Gospel (John 1:43-51)  we see how Nathanael who was a learned and serious reader of Scripture was also a doubter; and worse still, had a “personal interpretation” of Holy Scripture, an interpretation which did not square with reality.
Nathanael failed to understand that Christ came from Nazareth but had been born in Bethlehem. Nathanael’s earth-bound literalism, outwardly pious but inwardly egocentric, is almost his undoing. Mercifully, Philip’s insight and Christ’s presence save him.                                                                                                                   
We can learn much from this. For Jesus Christ is not my “personal saviour”. He is not my property - we all share Him.          
                                                                                                                    
Today is the SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY, upon which we commemorate the restoration of holy eikons in AD 843, after a lengthy and satanic period of brutal iconoclasm.  The God-hating iconoclasts, like the blasted fig will produce no fruit because the holy eikon is not something "extraneous" or "optional"; it is, as the holy fathers at the Second Council of Nikaia stated, an essential component, at the very heart of Christian practice and faith, which both testifies to, and is a safeguard of, the veracity of the incarnation of Christ.
+
+
HOLY EIKONS ARE NOT SIMPLY 'ART'
The holy eikon manifests the heavenly, it is a projection of eternity into earthly reality by means of the painted medium. It has the ability of making present that which our fallen nature is unable to see - the saints and the angels, and God Himself. The eikon is a window into eternity, and also a doorway. The eikon silently invites, but never coerces the viewer to engage, to pray, to enter, and to walk in the presence of God. As a holy eikon it preserves the humanity of Christ, but also because it is a holy eikon it is truly an image of God and also the presence of God.
The iconographer is not a painter like Michaelangelo or Van Gogh, or David Hockney, he is an evangeliser like Saint Luke and Saint Matthew, who offers visual depictions of theological truths; but more than mere ‘theology in paint’ the iconographer writes prayer in paint.        
+
+
PUT THE EGO ON THE SHELF 
We would do well to take note that the Church - by which is meant the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, commonly known as the Orthodox Church - does not accept or encourage "personal interpretation" of Holy Scripture. This is in line with the compositional injunction of 2 Peter 1:20-21: 'Know first that any prophecy of Scripture came about not by the interpretation of man, but by man being carried by the Holy Spirit and speaking from God.' Therefore, let us seek guidance from God, through the prayers of the holy fathers, within patristic commentaries, rather than open ourselves up to the tricks and traps of protestant and scholastic methods.
+
+
OPEN HEARTS                                                                                                                
In opening our heart, in making our soul receptive and attuned to God we become a hearer. We must also become a ‘do-er’, a practitioner, a lover of Holy Scripture, a lover of Christ, a lover of the eikons, a lover of our name-saint. For only in love will God enter our purified heart. We must avoid harming ourselves by wrong interpretations or rejection of Truth. Just as Nathanael would have been damned if by his misreading he’d rejected Christ, we too, to safeguard our own salvation, must not remove one jot, not a single iota from holy Christian dogma without risking spoiling the illustrious treasure, the Jakob’s Ladder of our Christ-given salvation.
+
+
HOLY SERVICES THIS WEEK
TOMORROW - MONDAY, 25th MARCH - EVANGELISMOS (ANNUNCIATION) TO THE THEOTOKOS
Holy Temple opens 5:30 pm
ESPERINAL DIVINE LITURGY starts 6:00 pm

FRIDAY, 29th MARCH
Holy Temple opens 4:30 pm 
PRESANCTIFIED DIVINE LITURGY starts 5:00 pm  
[ Note: this day is a UK bank holiday / non-working day ]
+
+
FASTING
A reminder of what  Saint Gildas the Wise (of England) says to us: 'Abstinence from bodily food is useless without charity.'
Far better to stuff our belly full of meat than to attempt to fast if our heart is full of anger and hatred.
+
+
ALL GLORY TO GOD!
All who brought food & drink, and who tidied up afterwards (Dan and Joshua, for vacuuming/tidying).
Isabella - joined the children's magazine production team.
Stephen (Brett) - baking and sharing phanouropita. Thanks-giving.
Joshua, Dan, Stephen - for candles.
Dan (katechumen) - for the eikon medallion. 
Ted (katechumen) - for a beautiful box of veg produce.
Andrada - for the note-pad.
Susannah, Tom, Daniel - bringing others to Divine Liturgy
For our busy, happy parish; and for our many children and young people.
Our servers, choir, helpers, and all who support us at All Saints.
For our struggles, weaknesses, temptations. Glory to God for all things!
+
+
YOUR HOLY PRAYERS
For all who are affected by the conflict in Ukraine; for civilians, that God protects them; for combatants, that they act with honour and compassion. Lord have mercy! May God bring dialogue, peace, healing and repentance.
For a blessed Fast.
For the OFSJB youth event in Oxford this coming weekend (Daniel and Joshua attending).
Our katechumens - Ted and Dan: may God guide them towards His holy Church.
+
+
With love, in Christ,

Father Jakob
sinner and unworthy priest

 

Please feel free to share this online and with your family & friends 

 

***

https://www.antiochian-orthodox.com/post/the-former-priest-matei-vulcanescu-has-been-deposed

***

LOOKING AHEAD -- TWELVE GREAT FEASTS
To help you plan ahead, for those of you who are able to take time off work, etc., here are the dates of GREAT FEASTS for the year ahead.
These are dates upon which we should try to be in Church (sadly, many of us do not always have this choice).
These are days upon which the Divine Liturgy should be served at All Saints. Servers, singers, helpers- please do whatever you're able.

14th SEPTEMBER -- EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
21st NOVEMBER -- ENTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE
25th DECEMBER -- NATIVITY OF CHRIST
6th JANUARY -- HOLY THEOPHANY
2nd FEBRUARY -- PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE
25th MARCH -- HOLY ANNUNCIATION
17th APRIL -- ENTRY OF OUR LORD INTO IERUSALM*
5th May -- HOLY PASCHA*
13th JUNE -- HOLY ASCENSION*
24th JUNE -- HOLY PENTEKOST*
6th AUGUST -- HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
15th AUGUST -- HOLY DORMITION

[ * The dates of these feasts vary from year to year. ]

***

ORTHODOXY 101 : ATTENDING THE DIVINE LITURGY

Christianity is experiential; it is not just 'read about', it must be lived. The Holy Eucharist is at the centre of our worship, at the centre of our Life in Christ.

We come to the Church, we remain in the Church in order that our souls be saved. That is all. It is our soul's salvation - there is nothing else.

The Holy Services are a store-house of spiritual treasures. To be saved, we need to gain knowledge of ourselves. We do this by discovering our sins and weaknesses, and by fighting against their pull. Our faith is war on personal pride. When our pride is wounded in the course of Church life, we should thank God!

We fight best when we are supported. For support we have the Holy Gospels; the Holy Fathers, their Lives and Teachings; we have God and we have each other.

The Church Community (both living and departed) is our Family in Christ. Our God is LOVE. And we are giving of our best, when we give love to God and to each other.

The Holy Eucharist is the body and Blood of Christ. It is life itself, it is Salvation. It is our treasure: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also"​(Matthew 6:21). We spend time with - we are attentive to - the people, the things we love the most.

Canon LXXX (Sixth Oecumenical Council) reads, "A cleric or layman shall not go three consecutive Sundays without attending church, unless some necessary business requires him to leave his town. The usual penalties apply: deposition for a cleric; excommunication for a layman".

It is not always possible to come to every holy service, but our good practice, and simple good manners, is to notify the priest of our absence, or if we have moved away. Notification demonstrates love and humility, and allows the priest and community to pray for us, for example - when we are sick.

We pray for those who are absent from the divine services for legitimate reasons. The others, who come infrequently or have not attended for long periods, have become prodigal sons, wanderers. They have distanced themselves from Christ and from their Christian family. Their love has become luke-warm. A full and proper return to Church requires a full and proper repentance, taking responsibility for our failings.

Church life is about responsibility. It is about stepping up and being adult. This is done by singing, standing throughout the holy services, fasting, making regular confession, reading in Church, serving, cleaning and tidying, cooking, reading the morning and evening prayers every day, preparing properly for confession and communion. Above all it is about praying.

To be blunt, Church (parish) life is about giving time and money to the glory of God. Church life is about commitment. Without commitment, we will never become deeply Orthodox or even remain Orthodox.

Love of God and love of neighbour are entwined. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbours, especially our fellow Christians; and we cannot love our neighbours if we do not love God (1 John 4:20).

We spend time with God, we spend time with each other. We do so not because we feel 'obliged' or even because we 'want to' but simply because our heart draws us, and we follow Christ's new commandment (Luke 10:27): "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself".

***

AΓAΠH = CARITAS = CHARITY = LOVE

John 4:16: Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη (koine Greek) = Deus caritas est (Latin) = God is Love (English)

GIVING TO OTHERS

All glory to God! Our small parish has been able in little ways to help the poor, offer love to the stranger, to help heal the wounded.

GIFTAID

This past year we received £2,000 back from the UK government. Our parish trustees have authorised this and future monies raised through giftaid to be passed on to our poorer neighbours. If more of us donated by giftaid we could do even more to help the poor, the wounded, and the marginalised who are our neighbours.

'HOW CAN I HELP?'

Every penny helps! Donate to our parish via gift aid. If you pay tax in the UK you can use giftaid. It's free, it's easy, and as you can see above, it helps us to help others. The UK government pays us back for what you give to us via gftaid. This is the only official help that UK charities receive.

Our hope and ambition is that every penny given to us by you comes through giftaid.

LAZAROS, OUR NEIGHBOUR

The dying Lazaros is lying outside our door (Luke 16:20). We Christians have a duty of care (John 21:17), this is a constant in our life (Matthew 26:11), we must not ignore him (1 John 3:17). Let us do all that we are able to help to help our neighbour (John 15:12). May I ask you - please make a start, and donate to the parish by giftaid.

CHRIST IS RISEN!

In the Risen Lord,

Father Jakob

Presbyter, All Saints North Benfleet

***