FATHER DAVID’S LETTER:

Now is the time of Pentecost, Life in the Holy Spirit.

In His Ascension, Our Lord, The Son of God, returned to His Father in Heaven.  In His High Priestly prayer in John, chapter 17, He cried out:
‘Father the hour has come... I have finished the work which You have given me to do; and now, O Father, glorify me together with Yourself, (in Your own presence)  with the glory which I had with You before the world was (made)... Now I am no longer in the world and I come to You.’ ( John 17: 1-11).

He had indeed finished the work, even the establishment of the New Creation. In the beginning, God created the first Creation in six days and rested on the seventh. Now the second phase of creation is completed on the eighth day, the Day of the Lord, and having established it, Our Lord can indeed return to His place in Heaven.

This is what has been accomplished in the New Creation. The Father who is silent and unknowable has been revealed by the Son. More than that, when Our Lord returned to the Heavens, He took with Him our humanity. The hymns of the feast express it in these words:

‘The Lord ascended into Heaven... The heavens prepared His throne, and the Angels marveled at the sight of a human being more glorious than themselves.’  
(Great Vespers at ‘Lord I have cried...’)

‘Sweet Jesus... through Your great love, You lifted up our fallen nature and placed it on God the Father's throne.’
(ibid.).

‘God who existed before all eternity took on a human nature and deified it in a mystical way. Today, He carries it up with Him.’ (Matins, Sessional Hymn after second reading from the Psalter).

All this had been achieved by Our Lord’s life on earth, His revelation of the plan of God, completed in His Resurrection after suffering an unimaginably painful rejection and death. Alexander Schmemann asks what resurrection is, and his answer is that it is eternal life. The new creation has eternal life for all who believe. The Tree of Life, which stood in the centre of the Garden of Eden, was kept out of bounds for Adam and Eve; now its fruits are freely available to all who turn to Christ.

The Ascension was a momentous event for the apostles and disciples. They cried out, ‘Don’t leave us— how can we manage without you?’ Nevertheless, Our Lord had promised that He would be with them even unto the end of time and that He would also send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, to be with them and strengthen them and safeguard them in all things. What happened to them, and the way that they were transformed, is evident from the account of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured upon them. This is also evident in their subsequent lives.

Now, in our turn, we are called to be in Christ, Who is always with us. We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are to acknowledge that by God lifting us to His throne in heaven and allowing us to enter into everlasting life with Him, we are for our part to be His Body on earth, His eyes, His ears, His mouth, His hands, His feet, because He has no other eyes, ears, mouth, hands, or feet but ours with which to do His work on earth. As we have experienced passionate life directing love for particular persons close to us, we are to realise that this is love from God. It is with the same all-embracing desire to be the mark of our relationship with Him. As we love children and those close to us, so we are to love all throughout the world who are in need and distress of any kind, whether they know God or do not yet know Him. This life of love will be accompanied with joy and peace: when we have these three gifts, love, joy, peace, we are indeed filled with the Holy Spirit. It is how we are made; it is not out of the ordinary or unusual. Rather, these are the marks of Life in the New Creation for all the sons and daughters of God. When we realise truly that in God ‘we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28), then we can step out  into the world of our daily lives with a new spring in our step and be converted to Christ whilst in turn we convert the  world to Him.

‘Blessed are you, O Christ our God, Who  make your servants who are truly dedicated to you most wise by the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. By this means you enable your servants to reach out to the whole world and to share your life with all. O Our God, glory to you’  
(cf. the Pentecost Troparion).

(Father David)

Pascha: Passion week was a time of blessing and we shared a most joyful Pascha with so many who came to the Church both for the midnight Matins and for the morning Liturgy. It was good to see so many Russians and others of various nationalities. We could truly sing out ‘Christ is Risen’ in several languages.

Vicariate Conference: many of the Parish were able to attend this year’s conference and gathering of the Vicariate. The new venue, in All Saints, London Colney, near St Alban’s, is an excellent one. The Vicariate is going from strength to strength and there was a liveliness in the fellowship that we shared together. Our Archbishop Gabriel is a delightful person who is very affirming and encouraging. (See further the report below).

Ascension: Paschal tide, this year, was completed with a visit to Stow Minster where we served the Divine Liturgy in this wonderful ancient Saxon church, possibly the predecessor of Lincoln Cathedral. People gathered from Scunthorpe, Chesterfield, Sheffield, York, and Lincoln; after the Liturgy we gathered for lunch in the village pub where the landlord was clearly glad to welcome us and enthusiastic to show us various prints of the church over the years. It was a very enjoyable way to celebrate this great Feast.

Wedding: We are looking forward to the wedding of Katherine Greer and Barry Dryden on Saturday, July 5th, at 4 p.m., in the church of the Holy Transfiguration, Carlton. Barry will in due course choose a new name before being received into the Orthodox Church by chrismation.

There may just still be time to apply to this conference! For more details, please write to:

Gladys Bland
30 Priory Road
Cambridge CB5 8HT

On the Sunday after Pentecost we give thanks for all saints of the Holy Orthodox Church and on the succeeding two Sundays, we continue to focus on all saints in various parts of the world and then, especially for us, saints in  Great Britain.

These thoughts of Constantine Cavarnos, expressed in his book, Anchored in God, Life, Art, and Thought on the Holy Mountain of Athos, are most interesting. Cavarnos comments on the frescoes in the Protaton, the main church of Mt Athos, which over the years have been beautifully maintained.

Professor Cavarnos describes what impressed him most as he gazed on these frescos during his visit in 1954, in the following passage:

The quality of the figures (is) perhaps best described by the term ‘spiritual grandeur’. Their postures, gestures and above all, their faces, express this quality in a striking manner: they express great seriousness of character, freedom from all pretence and servility, and great spiritual depth. Surrounded by these figures, one feels that one is in the presence not merely of paintings, but of beings far more real than persons that one meets in everyday life. These sacred figures bear the clear impress of complete self-mastery, inner unity, and freedom from everything petty, from all impatience and weakness. Everything about them bespeaks great calm and tremendous inner power. The contemplation of these icons introduces one into a new dimension of being. It makes one experience these  sublime qualities, arouses one’s admiration for them, and awakens and strengthens the desire to acquire them.

The skilful icon writer is able to make us aware, in a vivid way, of the saints whom he is portraying and we become aware of their presence and their readiness to help us and guide us through life. They can indeed seem far more real than the persons whom we meet in everyday life. We should  truly honour the saints as we gaze at their holy icons, but also seek  to experience their sublime qualities and follow their example as we too seek to become Christ-like.

O all you Saints, pray to God for us!

(Father David)

Many thanks – and congratulations – to the indefatigable organisers of our annual conference who brought together almost two hundred people for the Bank Holiday weekend. Two of our own members of the parish of St Aidan and St Chad, Nottingham, Candy Charters and Barbara Bates, made reports both of the formal presentations and of the conference itself, which have been published on the Vicariate website at:
www.exarchate-uk.org. They are reprinted here, in abridged form, by kind permission of the Editor of the Vicariate web-site and of the authors.

(See Candy’s  and Barbara’s full reports here

All parishioners are encouraged to read other reports on this valuable web-site, including those on the June meeting of the Clergy-Laity assembly and on the latest meeting of the Presbytery of the Vicariate. It is also important to consider donating to the funds for covering the legal expenses of the Vicariate. These are expected to be very substantial. For more information, please contact the Treasurer:
Seraphim Alton Honeywell
Birchenhoe
Crowfield
Brackley NN13 5TW
treasurer@exarchate-uk.org

We plan to celebrate the feast of the Dormition in Southwell Minster this year. Please see Father David for further details.

OTRF is an organization established for the benefit of Orthodox scholars, clergy, and students so that they can discuss, at a higher academic level, topics of Orthodox theology, tradition, and worship. Five conferences have been held so far on an annual basis, in Oxford, Durham, and Lampeter, Wales. The OTRF will hold its meeting this year at St John’s College, Durham, from 12th – 15th August. The title is ‘Liturgy and Theology’ and speakers will include Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, Archimandrite Ephrem Lash, Elizabeth and George Theokritoff, and Fr Andrew Louth.

The full cost of £155 covers accommodation and all meals at St John’s College.

For more information and an application form, please contact:
Revd Prof Andrew Louth
Dept. of Theology
The University of Durham
Abbey House, Palace Green
Durham DH1 3RS.
The closing date for applications is 21st July, 2008.

‘We have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith, as we worship the undivided Trinity, for the Trinity has saved us.’

Idiomelon, Tone 2, Great Vespers for Holy Pentecost
(trans. Archimandrite Ephrem, www.anastasis.org.uk)