April2016

No.113

TheOrthodoxParish
oftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
Lancaster,U.K.

TheStavronian

amonthlymagazine&newsletterpublishedbythe'HolyCrossSynodia'

TheParishoftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
belongstotheAntiochianOrthodoxChristianArchdioceseoftheBritishIslesandIreland.
ThePatriarchateofAntiochisthirdsenioroftheOrthodoxChurches.
ThePatriarchisHisBeatitudeJohnX.

ThediscipleswerefirstcalledChristiansinAntioch
(Acts11:26)

WHENYOUAREPRAYING
ALONE...
When you are praying alone, and your
spirit is dejected, and you are wearied
andoppressedbyyourloneliness,remem
berthen,asalways,thatGodtheTrinity
looks upon you with eyes brighter than
the sun; also all the angels, your own
Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of
God.Trulytheydo;fortheyareallonein
God, and where God is, there are they
also. Where the sun is, thither also are
directed all its rays. Try to understand
whatthismeans.
Theenemyofoursalvationespecially
strivestodrawourheartandmindaway
from God when we are about to serve
Him, and endeavours to adulterously
attachourhearttosomethingirrelevant.
Be always, every moment, with God,
especiallywhenyoupraytoHim.Ifyou
are inconstant, you will fall away from
life,andwillcastyourselfintosorrowand
straitness.
Donotbedespondentwhenfighting
againsttheincorporealenemy,buteven
in the midst of your afflictions and
oppression praise the Lord, Who has
found youworthy to suffer for Him, by
struggling against the subtlety of the
serpent, and to be wounded for Him at
everyhour;forhadyounotlivedpiously,
and endeavoured to become united to
God,theenemywouldnothaveattacked
andtormentedyou.
Donotfeartheconflict,anddonot
fleefromit;wherethere isnostruggle,
there is no virtue. Our faith, trust, and
love are proved and revealed in
adversities, that is, in difficult and
grievous outward and inward
circumstances, during sickness, sorrow,
andprivations.
Prayerforothersisverybeneficialto
themanhimselfwhoprays;itpurifiesthe
heart,strengthensfaithandhopeinGod,

and arouses love for God and our

neighbour.
St.JohnofKronstadt

THEMODELOFPRAYER
TheLiteraryandCulturalframe
The Lords Prayer as all of the New
Testament was written in koine Greek
sinceGreekwasthelinguafrancaofthe
Eastern Roman Empire. In order to
disseminate the good news it was very
usefultohaveacommonlanguage.Butit
is doubtful that Our Lord Jesus taught
thistoHisdisciplesinGreek.Itisalmost
certainthat,hewouldhavetaughtinthe
Galilean Aramaic dialect of Hebrew
amongst the people and taught in
Hebrewinthesynagogues.Weknowthat
our Lord gave readings from the Torah
andPropheticreadingsinthesynagogues

as at the beginning of His ministry in

LukeChapter4:16.WereadintheActsof
the Apostles Chapter 26 that the risen
and ascended Lord Jesus also revealed
himselftoSaulontheRoadtoDamascus
intheHebrewlanguage:Iheardavoice
speakingtomeandsayingintheHebrew
language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you
persecutingme.'
Even though the New Testament is
written in Greek and Greek culture
shaped the ancient world, it is a basic
truththattheHebrewLawofMoses,the
ProphetsandWritingsinformedtheNew
Testamentwritersandthatisthebasisfor
their translations. We must not forget
thatbeforewehad thewritten text,we
had the spoken message, the kerygma
thepreachingoftheApostles,andthatall
theapostlesofOurLordwereJewswhose
mainlanguagewasHebreworitsdialect
Aramaic.TheNewTestamentrequiresa
detailedknowledgeoftheOldTestament;
indeed it presumes an understanding of
theunfoldingpurposesofGod.Thereare
so many geographical locations
mentionedandOldTestamentcharacters
referredto,somanypropheciesthatcome
to fruition in the Life and Teaching of
Christ that one could not fully
comprehendtheNewTestamentwithout
the Old Testament background and its
historical, spiritual and cultural
environment. Indeed, from within the
text itself, even the overt Jewish
geographical and topological names
indicate a Jewish readership. Papias of
Hierapolis living in the second century
saysasmuchinHisEcclesiasticalHistory
(III, XXXIX, 16) Matthew collected the
oraclesintheHebrewlanguage.
This is corroborated in the
BabylonianTalmudaswellastheTosefta
andlaterbyJerome,thetranslatorofthe
LatinVulgate.
Itisthereforenecessarytoconstruct
theLordsPrayerasfaraspossiblefrom
itsoriginalcontextinordertounderstand

thefullmeaningthatOurLordinvestsin
it.
The Law came and the people
transgressedthelaws,theProphetscame
and the people did not listen, the
Writingsinstructedyettheydidnotlearn.
TheMessiahcamewithgraceandtruth
and seeing His authority his disciples
listenedtoHimandaskedHimtoteach
them.
Intherealmoffaith:thefearofthe
Lordisthebeginningofwisdom.(Psalm
111:10,Proverbs1:7).WithfearofGod,
like the first disciples we ask in faith...
teach us how to pray! Christ is our
Teacher;weareHisdisciplesTeachus
Lord!
Chapter1;OurFather
TheLordsPrayerbeginswithOurFather:
inHebrew Avinu. Itis forthisreason
that the Lords Prayer has often been
called the family prayer because it is a
corporateexpressionofthewholefamily
ofGodsadoptedchildren.ChristtheSon
of the Father grants us the privilege of
callingGod,Father.StPaulinhisletter
to the Galatians expresses this
relationship. Galatians 4:47; But when
thefullnessofthetimehadcome,Godsent
forth His Son, born of a woman, born
underthelaw,toredeemthosewhowere
underthelaw,thatwemightreceivethe
adoption as sons. And because you are
sons,GodhassentforththeSpiritofHis
Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba,
Father! Therefore you are no longer a
slavebutason,andifason,thenanheir
ofGodthroughChrist.
We are sons and daughters of the
Most High by adoption. A young boy
found himself being bullied at school
becausehewasadopted.Onfindingthis
out, his adoptive parents went to the
school and spoke to the children in his
class.Youseetheysaidwewantedto

giveahometoalittlebaby,sowechose
himtobeour son.Wearechosen,this
meansthatbythefavourofGodweare
brothersandsistersofhisonlybegotten
Son.
The personal pronoun our is so
important:itisnotmerelyanexpression
of universality but of the saving
relationshipweasChristianshaveinand
throughtheHolyTrinity.Ananonymous
poetoncewrote:
YoucannotpraytheLordsPrayer
AndevenoncesayI
YoucannotpraytheLordsPrayer
Andevenoncesaymy.
YoucannotpraytheLordsPrayer
Andnotincludeanother.
Youcannotaskfordailybread
Andnotincludeabrother.
Forothersareincludedineachandeveryplea
Andfromthebeginningtotheend
ItneveroncesaysMe!

The gap between the Triune Holy

Godandsinfulmanhasbeenbridgedby
the coming of Christ into the World.
WithintheHolyLiturgyitiswithhumility
but also with boldness and without
condemnation thatwearecalleduponto
address God as Father. God in His
humilitystoopsdowntoraiseupmankind
with His hand to become brothers and
sisters of Christ by adoption and grace.
This is nowhere more fully and
beautifullyexpressedthaninthefirsttwo
wordsoftheLordsPrayerOurFather.
Ifwe had nothingmore thanthese two
words, then we would still have more
than we deserve and more than is
necessaryforoursalvation.
1 Corinthians 12:3; no one can
say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy
Spirit. And no one can call God Father
except through the Lord Jesus. We are
bound to one another no longer by the
chainsofAdamssinbutbythepromise
of Sonship, and the inheritance of the
Kingdom of God through a personal

relationshipwithGodasFather.Ouris
astatementofourcallingandintention.
It isnotexclusive butinclusive; it is at
the same time an expression of family
and prophetic in terms of its all
encompassingvision.OurLordsaysthat
Ihaveothersheepwhicharenotofthis
fold;Imustbringthemalso,sothereshall
beoneflock,oneShepherd.;John10:16.
OurFather,ourLord,ourShepherd
expressesourbelongingandunity.
We are not alone, there will be
othersyettocomewho,throughChrists
savingworkontheCross,willclaimthe
right to be called children of the same
Heavenly Father.TheisolationofAdam
has been replaced by a welcome in
Christ.
TheCrossisanimportantsymbol,it
istheIcrossedoutandsoeverytimewe
say Our Father in the Holy Liturgy we
makethesignoftheCross,foritisno
longerIthatlivesbutChristwholivesin
me.

ThePsalmistinPsalm22could say
MyGod,MyGodwhyhaveyouforsaken
me repeated by Our Lord Jesus Christ
himself on the Cross at His Crucifixion.

Thomas,afterwitnessingforhimselfthe
RisenLordfelldownbeforehimwiththe
words,MyLordandmyGod.Weshould
owntheprayerinthefirstpersonsingular
butwemustsharetheprayerinthefirst
personplural.IntheNiceneCreedwesay
I believe in God as a testimony of our
personalfaithconfessedatBaptismbutin
theoriginaldeclarationoffaiththisisthe
beliefoftheChurchFatherscollectively.
Weneedtotakecare,forwemayfallinto
errorbysayingMyGod.Itcansoeasily
becomeaswearwordoravainoath,an
aberration of direct contact with the
Divine or even worse, a justification for
division and persecution of others, the
MyGodYourGod!syndrome.
OftenwewanttocallGodFatherbut
wewouldratherdosowithoutanypeers
wewantGodwithoutanycompetition;
nobrothersandsisters,norivalstoshare
our selfish exclusive claims on Him. 1
John4:20; Ifsomeonesays,IloveGod,
andhateshisbrother,heisaliar;forhe
whodoesnotlovehisbrotherwhomhehas
seen,howcanheloveGodwhomhehas
notseen?
We cant have Fatherhood without
brotherhood. What we have in the
openingwords of the Lords Prayer isa
confession that we are creatures of the
samelovingGodandweareallmadein
Hisimage.
Justaswearebornphysicallyweare
born from above (John 3:1 ff.) and the
HolySpiritjoinswithourownbreathto
callGodFather.WhilsttheLordsPrayer
ispersonalinitssenseofrelationshipto
God, it belongs to the Christian
communitybecauseeachofusisachild
ofGod.WecallGodAbbawhichmaybe
translatedasDaddy.OurLordaddresses
HisfatheronthecrossasAbbawhenhe
says Father forgive them for they know
notwhattheydo.Itiscommoninmany
languagesandculturesforbabiestoutter
this sound, to call mummy amma and
daddyabba.Indeed,priestsinourown

Antiochian Church are called Abouna

the Arabic equivalent. This affectionate
title is also expressed by the Greek
Pappas which is less formal than Pater
and the word Papoulakis which is even
more tender and said by spiritual
children when they greatly love their
spiritualfather.
We find the Fatherhood of God
implicitly presented in the Old
Testament.Godsloveforhischildrencan
be seen plainly in the revelation of the
prophet Hosea who compares God to a
lovingfatherwhocaresforhischildren:
Hosea11;God'sLoveforIsrael
1"WhenIsraelwasachild,Ilovedhim,
andoutofEgyptIcalledmyson.
3ItwasIwhotaughtEphraimtowalk,
takingthembythearms;
buttheydidnotrealize
itwasIwhohealedthem.
4Iledthemwithcordsofhumankindness,
withtiesoflove;
Iliftedtheyokefromtheirneck
andbentdowntofeedthem.
This illustration is so beautiful and
tender with God teaching his people
Israeltowalk byholdingthemupwith
childrensreins(cordsofcompassion).To
the prophet Hosea is revealed the
Personhood of God. How lovely it is to
see a toddler taking its first faltering
steps,upheldbytheparenttoavoidthe
child falling. In the Old testament,we
haveGodspokenofastheMostHigh,the
Almighty, the Everlasting God, the
Creator,theShield ofAbrahametc.but
theProphetandKingDavidwritesinthe
Psalms103:1314; As afather pities his
children,sotheLordpitiesthosewhofear
Him. For He knows our frame; He
remembersthatwearedust.
Ofcoursehumanfatherstooarefrail
andmayfailtheirchildren,theymaybe

unjustorcruelandfallfarshortofthat
perfection which is the characteristic of
our Heavenly Father, Matthew 5:48;
Thereforeyoushallbeperfect,justasyour
Fatherinheavenisperfect.
Nevertheless, Our Lord constantly
makesreferencetoHisFatherbeforeHis
disciples and prays to His Father
throughout his ministry, bringing to the
wordanewcontent,depthandbreadth.
Our Lord wanted to show that
relationshipisanongoinggiftthatisfor
eternity.Itisnotanentitlementofbirth
butapromiseandgift,arebirththrough
BaptismandChrismation.Itisnotthena
matterofourageorwhenwereceivethe
gift,whatmattersishowwemakeuseof
thatgiftandthegrowthandmaturitythe
dynamic bond yields within this loving
relationship.2Peter3:8;But,beloved,do
not forget this one thing, that with the
Lordonedayisasathousandyears,anda
thousandyearsasoneday.
NotmakinguseofthegiftoftheHoly
Spiritislikethemanwho,onreceivinga
chequefor100,000keepsthechequein
histoppocket.Hefailstoputitintothe
bank and invest it, so hecan not make
useofthemoney.Oritisliketheperson
whohadabeautifulbookcasefullofthe
most expensive books but never opened
them.Thedisplaywassimplyforshowit
was for the semblance of intelligence
without substance. Often it is like that
withtheBiblewhichisGodsLoveletter
totheworldifonlywereadmorethat
whichwouldbringusjoy.Itiseasytobe
a nominal Christian without any
commitment,withoutanycontentbutthe
deposit of faith must bear fruit and
increase through the dynamic of prayer
thatcannothelpbutflowintoaction.C.
S.LewiswroteinTheFourLovesTolove
istobevulnerable.Itisto stepoutside
our little comforts to others in their
discomfort. God can make use of our
vulnerability, he cannot and will not
makeuseofourindependence.

Aswegrowwebegintounderstand
and acknowledge the temptations that
beset us and ask: From my youth have
manypassionswarredagainstme,butdo
Thou Thyself defend and save me, O
Saviour. Hymns of Ascents, Fourth
Tone.
Thelivesofthesaintsrecognisesthe
needforrepentanceandsoateverypoint
in our lives our Heavenly Father pays
attentiontothemostintimatedetailsthat
concern his children. The Father in the
ParableoftheProdigalSonrunstomeet
his son! The same Heavenly Father
knowsthenumberofhairsonourhead
(Matt.10.30) and what things we need
before we ask Him (Matt 6:8). Our
Fathers greatness is transcendent in its
almightypowerandHisloveimminentin
itsrelevancetoourownparticularneed.
HowwonderfulitisthenthatChrist
allows, indeed instructs us to call God
Father,theCreatoroftheUniverse, the
author of time and place. God is not
some philosophical theory, or
psychological compensation for an
emotionalvoid.HeisPerson, Hypostasis
(Greek).

WehaveaPersonattheheartofthe
Universe and He is our Father. Indeed,
ChristmakesitknowntoHisdisciplesin
JohnsGospelthatHehascomefromthe

Father and is going back to the Father.

John14:811; PhilipsaidtoHim,Lord,
showustheFather,anditissufficientfor
us.Jesussaidtohim,HaveIbeenwith
yousolong,andyetyouhavenotknown
Me,Philip?HewhohasseenMehasseen
theFather;sohowcanyousay,Showus
theFather?DoyounotbelievethatIam
intheFather,andtheFatherinMe?The
wordsthatIspeaktoyouIdonotspeakon
My own authority; but the Father who
dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me
thatIamintheFatherandtheFatherin
Me,orelsebelieveMeforthesakeofthe
worksthemselves.
TheFatherofOurlordJesusChristis
ourfathertoo.
Tobecontinued
FrJonathan

THEORIGINOF@
Ecclesiastes 1:9; That which has been is
whatwillbe,thatwhich isdoneiswhat
will be done, and there is nothing new
underthesun.
It is an interesting fact that the earliest
yetdiscoveredreferencetothe@symbol
is a religious one. It features in a
BulgariantranslationofaGreekchronicle
published by Constantinos Manasses in
1345.HeldtodayintheVaticanApostolic
Library,itfeaturesthe@symbolinplace
ofthecapitalletteralphaAintheword
Amen.Whyitwasusedinthiscontextis
stillamystery.

NAMESOFDEPARTED
LOVEDONESTOBE
REMEMBEREDTHISMONTH
Apr.8:Evangelos
MEMORY ETERNAL!
Pleasesendusthenamesofyourdepar
tedloved onesanddateoftheirdepar
tureinorderforthemtoberemembered.

PARISHNEWS
DearRev.FatherGodBless.
Thankyouforemailingusaphotoof
the icon of St Joachim of Ithaca hand
painted by Dimitrios Hakim in the
AntiochiantraditionwithArabicwriting!
Whatwonderfulthingsyoucreate!How
wonderfulthatSt.Joachimsholynameis
spreading
MaythegoodLordprovideyouand
your good company (people) with
strength and perseverance, with spirit
andlovetocontinuewithHISwork.
Wethankyouonceagain.
Louiza&Fr.Theodosios

Lord,helpthoseIlovetobealwayswell...
andiftheyhavetobefaraway,Youkeep
theminYourhuginsteadofme.

~+~
WeareblessedtowelcometheByzantine
St Anysia Choir from Thessaloniki for
Pascha.TheChoircameagainlastyearto
embellish our worship with their
beautifulsinging.
Wearedoubly blessed toreceive at
Great and Holy Week an icon of the
Saviour, a comb and a prayer rope, all
handcrafted by St Paisios as well as a
reliquary containing these holy relics.
Thishasbeenamostblesseddonationby
aspiritualchildoftheSaint,whowishes
toremain anonymous.Wewillalsohave
on loan for Holy Week a piece of his
clothing from Mikrokastro Monastery,
Kastoria, Greece. In addition, Ramy
Boutros whohasvisitedMavrovouniMo
nasteryofAgiosGeorgiosinCyprus,has
requested from the Elder Archimandrite
SymeonrelicsoftheSaintsforourParish
withhisblessing.OurParishwillbegiven
threePrimaryrelics:

few Orthodox Parish Churches, even

Cathedrals,intheUKhavesuchblessings
of relics. God is truly glorified in His
Saints!
ThosefromotherOrthodoxParishes
who wish to come and venerate these
holyrelicsshouldcontactFr.Jonathanso
thatwemayofferappropriatehospitality.
Weoncemorethank FrIgor foran
additional Sticharion, that he sent us
from Moscow via Dmitry Ismagilov. Fr
EustathiosSavvidisfromCyprusaskedan
iconographer to handpaint the icon of
theMysticalSupperforabovetheRoyal
DoorsforourChurch.MayourLordand
Saviourgivethereward!

1.ArelicofAgiosAvvakoumofCyprus,a
laymanandmartyrfromthe10thcentury.
2. A relic of Agios Georgios the New
MartyrofEphesus,whofellasleepinthe
Lordin1801;Feastday,Apr.5th.
3. A relic of Agios Arsenios the
Cappadocian(18401924).HeistheGod
father and spiritual father of St Paisios.
His feast day is Nov. 10th. It is truly
wonderful that since his Godson and
spiritualsonStPaisios'relicsarecoming
to our Parish at Pascha, that his God
father and spiritual Father wants to be
present with him here too in Lancaster.
ApartfromthesePrimaryrelics,wewill
also be given two secondary relics; a
stone from the tomb of St Lazarus in
Cyprus and a piece of the coffin from
BlessedSeraphimRose.
Icannotbegintosayhowhumbled,
honoured and privileged we are to be
receiving these treasures of Grace. Very

SundayofOrthodoxy,March20th,atSt
Martin'schurch.

SundayofOrthodoxy,March20th,atSt
Martin'schurch.

STAVRONIANCORNER
We would like to extend out thanks to
Thomas,DimitraandlittleIreneMichaela
Tziortziotis,forthegiftofcandleswhich
weresenttousfromLondontobeused
inoutnewChurch.

st
1Apr:St.MaryofEgypt
rd
3Apr:SundayoftheHolyCross
rd
23Apr:LazarusSaturdayandStGeorge
theGreatMartyr&Triumphant
th
24Apr:PalmSunday
th
29Apr:HolyFriday
th
30Apr:HolySaturday
st
1May:GreatandHolyPascha

MAJORCELEBRATIONSTHIS
MONTH

For the lives of Saints please visit the

CalendaroftheGreekOrthodoxArchdi
oceseofAmerica:www.calendar.goarch.org

ServicesatStMartin'sduringApril*
Fri.1st
Sat.2nd

18:30 3rdAkathisttotheTheotokosChairetismoi
12:00 HoursfollowedbyMemorialService
14:00 Vespers
Sun.3rd
10:00 HoursfollowedbytheHolyLiturgyofStBasil
Fri.8th
18:30 4thAkathisttotheTheotokosChairetismoi
th
Sat.9
12:00 Hours
14:00 Vespers
Sun.10th 10:00 HoursfollowedbytheHolyLiturgyofStBasil
Fri.15th
18:30 5thAkathisttotheTheotokosChairetismoi
Sat.16th
12:00 Hours
14:00 Vespers
Sun.17th 10:00 HoursfollowedbytheHolyLiturgyofStBasil
Sat.23rd
12:00 Hours
14:00 Vespers
Sun.24th 10:00 HoursfollowedbytheHolyLiturgyandProcession
Wed.27th 18:30 HolyandGreatWednesday;HolyAnointingEuchelaion
Thu.28th 10:30 HolyandGreatThursday;HolyLiturgyofStBasil
18:30 MatinsandTwelveGospels
Fri.29th
10:00 HolyandGreatFriday;RoyalHours
11:00 PreparationoftheEpitaphandConfessions
13:00 VespersandDepositionApokathelosis
18:30 Matins,LamentationsandBurialProcession
Sat.30th
10:30 HolyandGreatSaturday;HolyLiturgyofStBasil
22:00 MidnightOffice
22:30 HolyLiturgyoftheResurrectionfollowedbyPaschalmeal
Sun.1st
15:00 HolyPascha;VespersofLove
*Helpsettingupthechurchisgreatlyappreciatedandstartsfrom9:30a.m.


Godcaresforeveryone.Despairisineffectalackoffaith
St.GeorgeKarslides

Forfurtherinformationpleasecontact:
FatherJonathanHemmings
67SibseyStr.,Fairfield,Lancaster,LA15DQ
Tel:+441524840759,+441524580600
Email:frjah@yahoo.co.uk
www.orthodoxlancaster.org.uk
www.antiochianorthodox.co.uk
ThefollowingblogsofOldStavroniansareavailableinRomanian,ConstiintaOrtodoxa,in
English,Orthodoxcityhermit,andinGreek,Orthodoxyrainbow.

TopandbottomsketchesarecreatedattheHolyMonasteryofTheAnnunciationoftheTheotokosChios,Greece,courtesyofFrTheodosiosDendrinos,Ithaca,Greece.
ThesketchofChristbyPhotisKontoglouwasscannedfromtheOrthodoxcalendaroftheApostolikiDiakoniaoftheChurchofGreece.