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The Orthodox Parish of
St Aidan
& St Chad,
Nottingham
Extracts from Parish Newsletter, September 2010

 FR DAVID’S LETTER
The Church's New Year
We have been worshiping in St Leodegarius, Basford, for one year. We have felt settled, content and able to continue our liturgical celebration in a prayerful and magnificent church built on a very ancient foundation. Indeed a foundation of Saxon origin which has provided us with a direct and tangible link with the ancient and undivided church of these lands. A link which is at the very heart of our endeavor to re-establish Orthodoxy in the British Isles. To help us, our hosts, the Anglican parish of St Leo, have been friendly, helpful and generous, providing us with the home we were searching for as we were guided here. And we have found a new patron in St Leodegarius.
Yet, the move has also been tinged with sadness, not simply by the loss of our former Church building, though that was a wrench, but by separation from those with whom we used to have joyful and intimate fellowship and brotherly and sisterly concord. They separated from us - they will say that we separated from them! We have two points of view. Differences there are, sadness we experience, but there is also a sense of loss and a real disability. St Paul. in his letter to the Corinthians ( 1 Cor. 12 ) reminds us that we have all been baptized into one body and the body is not one member but many.
 If the foot should say, "because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
And if the ear should say," Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing/ If he whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

There are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, " I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet," I have no need of you." No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary And those members of the body which we think of as less honourable, on these we bestow greater honour ..... There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it: or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
As the commentary in the Orthodox Study Bible points out: ' There is no such thing as an individual Christian. Being "knit together in love" ( Col. 2:2 ), we are called in Christ to suffer together, be honoured together and rejoice together.'
We, worshipping together in Leodegarius, however contented we may feel, are incomplete, without those who were formerly with us. We may have to live with this, there may be no way of it being different, but we must always be aware of it and pray that it be otherwise in due time.
Elsewhere in this issue we read of two brother who were constantly arguing. To resolve this, they decided that each would take the others point of view. This they did and their arguments ceased. It may be that our separation from our former friends is our similar way of coping but how much better if we could still be together, whilst each understanding the other's point of view.
 A thought for the Church's New Year.
 Fr David

A word from the desert
Abba Paul the Barber and his brother Timothy lived in Scetis. They often used to argue. So Abba Paul said, "How long shall we go on like this?" Abba Timothy said to him, "I suggest you take my side of the argument and, in my turn, I will take your side." And they spent the rest of their days in this practice.
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OUR LIFE
New Calendar
At the recently held Parish Meeting, it was decided that the Parish move to the New ( Gregorian) Calendar from 2011. The meeting was well attended and this decision was made by a unanimous vote with one abstention. This means that we shall keep the Feast of the Nativity on 25th December, in line with other Orthodox Churches on the New Calendar and non-Orthodox Christians living in the Western World. AND, for pastoral reasons, we shall also keep the Feast of the Nativity on the 7th January, the date on the Old Calendar, in line with other Orthodox Churches of that persuasion. This is the practice in many part of the Western World in which we live and it seems to be the right practice to follow.

Report on the Fellowship of St John Baptist Conference, Swanwick, July, 2010.
Mothers and Fathers in God: Spiritual guidance in the Orthodox Church.
Metropolitan Kallistos opened the discussion with this question: What do we mean by spiritual guidance?
The next two speakers gave sketches of two monastic elders. Fr. John Hookway introduced us to Elder Efraim of Katounakia, Mount Athos. Fr Kyril Jenner spoke of the life of Archimandrite Barnabas Burton.
Sister Magdalene of Tolleshunt Knights spoke about spiritual guidance for children and young people.
Archimandrite Jack Khalil was the final speaker. His theme was ' St Paul's pattern of Spiritual Guidance.
Then there were workshops and the usual lively and life enhancing fellowship between old friends, of different locations, different traditions. Always a worthwhile annual event. Next year it will be in High Leigh, Hertfordshire and the theme, 'Spiritual Wisdom'

Eternal Memory
Zenaida ( Zena ) Schweizer died on 1st July, 2010 and was buried at Wilford Hill on 12 July.
Anton Schweizer  died on 14th July. His funeral was on 22nd July.
Both were great supporters of our Church community. Zena with Maria Kopacz ( d. 8.6.2002 ) and Marysha McBaine (d. 20.01.2004)  was one of these three stalwarts of the  church who always came together regularly, for every feast of the Church's year. Often they would be the reliable and sure part of the congregation at midweek services.
Anton, for his part, was always available to give support. He was a great help when we were establishing the Carlton Church, for example clearing round the whole building in order to restore the integrity of the damp course and later helping to  sort out the drains. His  kindness, his gentleness and his faithful support was always an encouragement. Zena's faithfulness, kindness, generosity and her ability to radiate calmness and gentleness was always a blessing.
Zena had experienced great hardship in her early years. At the age of nine she, with her mother, brother and two younger  siblings, were transported to Siberia from heir native village in  Belarus. Her  father, by this time, had been  drafted into the Polish army. On this long and unpleasant train journey, without adequate food or sanitation, an epidemic of measles broke out and the two younger children became ill and died.  Zena, with her mother and brother, then spent two very hard and unpleasant years in a Siberian  detention camp, ill nourished, living in bitterly cold conditions and made to work hard.
Through Churchill's negotiations and subsequent agreement with Stalin, they were then sent on another long journey, this time, southwards, through Istanbul to North Africa and Kenya. Here Zena lived with her family, made many friends  (including Maria Kopacz) and worked in a factory. Living conditions were satisfactory and she came to Great  Britain in 1947 after the second world war. Here she and her Mother and brother  were able to rejoin her father now settled here after being wounded in military service. Anton at this time  lived in Germany  but after meeting Zena, he moved to UK and they were married in 1951. They would be celebrating their 60 years of marriage next year. They settled in Nottingham as members of the Belorussian Community, joining our Church at its inauguration in 1995. They have three children, Irene,  Helen and Peter.
In recent times, both have suffered serious and  disabling illness. They prepared well for their deaths and hoped to be able to fall asleep together. At the very moving funeral service for Zena in the Wilford Hill West Chapel, in the presence of a full gathering of friends and relatives, Anton bade farewell to his beloved wife with a moving gesture  which none observing it will ever forget. Here was the focus of his love and devotion and he  followed her two days later. May they rest in peace.
Eternal Remembrance  
May their souls dwell with the blessed and their memory from generation to generation.


The Expansion of Orthodoxy

Someone fairly new to joining the Exarchate once said, ‘I do like going to liturgies in different places as I keep meeting more of the family.’  
 This can also be said about Pan-Orthodox occasions and one very enjoyable liturgy was held in Grimsby in July. The Grimsby congregation meet in a disused cemetery chapel and far from being a gloomy venue it was a very fine example of Victorian Gothic elegance. The churchyard is well kept and adorned with many mature trees. It is a place of repose and is highly prized by the locals as a green space worthy of great respect.
One of the joys on these occasions is catching up on news of old friends and meeting new people. There is the added bonus of an exchange of good ideas and solutions to problems – (Why ever didn’t we think of that?)
These occasions bring to my mind rain drops surrounded by concentric circles in a lake – each raindrop and the rings being entire in themselves but affecting the neighbouring rain drop in the great sea of life.
 Until the year 1994 there was only one Orthodox location in all Lincolnshire. Today there are Parishes and Missions where the Divine Liturgy is served in Lincoln, Louth, Boston, Grantham Scunthorpe and Grimsby
 Twenty-five years ago in the Midlands and north of England Orthodox communities were very thin on the ground but that situation has changed. People like Zena, Maria  and Marysha have helped to keep the flame alight and to them we are and should remain eternally grateful.
 Frances
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Letter to a New Convert

MOTHER THEKLA
Dear “John”,
I understand that you are on the way to becoming Orthodox. I know nothing about you, beyond the fact that you are English.
Before we go any further, there is one point I should make clear. I have not been told why you are about to convert, but I assure you there is no point whatsoever if it is for negative reasons. You will find as much “wrong” (if not more) in Orthodoxy as in the Anglican or Roman Churches.
So – the first point is, are you prepared to face lies, hypocrisy, evil and all the rest, just as much in Orthodoxy as in any other religion or denomination?
Are you expecting a kind of earthly paradise with plenty of incense and the right kind of music?
Do you expect to go straight to heaven if you cross yourself slowly, pompously and in the correct form from the right side?
Have you a cookery book with all the authentic Russian recipes for Easter festivities?
Are you an expert in kissing three times on every possible or improper occasion?
Can you prostrate elegantly without dropping a variety of stationery out of your pockets?
OR.....
Have you read the Gospels?
Have you faced Christ crucified? In the spirit have you attended the Last Supper – the meaning of Holy Communion?
AND....
Are you prepared, in all humility, to understand that you will never, in this life, know beyond Faith; that Faith means accepting the Truth without proof. Faith and knowledge are the ultimate contradiction –and the ultimate absorption into each other.
Living Orthodoxy is based on paradox, which is carried on into worship – private or public.
We know because we believe and we believe because we know.
Above all, are you prepared to accept all things as from God?
If we are meant, always, to be “happy”, why the Crucifixion? Are you prepared, whatever happens, to believe that somewhere, somehow, it must make sense? That does not mean passive endurance, but it means constant vigilance, listening, for what is demanded; and above all, Love.
Poor, old, sick, to our last breath, we can love. Not sentimental nonsense so often confused with love, but the love of sacrifice – inner crucifixion of greed, envy, pride.
And never confuse love with sentimentality
And never confuse worship with affectation.
Be humble – love, even when it is difficult. Not sentimental so called love – And do not treat church worship as a theatrical performance!
I hope that some of this makes sense,
With my best wishes,
Mother Thekla
(sometime Abbess of the Monastery of the Assumption, Normanby)
Mother Thekla wrote the above in 2009 when she was 91 years old.

…….it is not growing old that stops you doing things; it is stopping doing things that makes you grow old.

THE SECRET OF PROGRESS
by Vladimir Solovyov
Do you know this fairy tale?
A huntsman lost his way in a dense forest; tired out, he sat down on a stone beside a wide, raging stream. He sat there looking into the dark depths and listening to the woodpecker tapping and tapping against the bark of a tree. His heart grew heavy within him. ‘I am as lonely in life as I am in the forest’ he thought. ‘I have long lost my way, wandering by different paths, and there is no way out for me. Solitude, misery and perdition! Why was I born, why did I come into this forest? What good to me are all those birds and beasts that I have killed?’
At that moment someone touched him on the shoulder. He saw a bent old woman, such as generally appear on such occasions - thin as thin can be, and her skin the colour of a locust pod or of an unpolished boot. Her eyes were sullen, two tufts of grey hair stuck out on her chin, and she was clothed in precious robes that had turned into tatters, through age.
‘Listen, my good man, there is a place on the other side that is a regular paradise! Once you get there you’ll forget all your troubles. You’ll never find your way to it yourself, but I’ll take you straight to it – I come from those parts myself. Only, carry me across the stream, for I could not struggle against the current. As it is, I can hardly stand on my feet and am almost at my last gasp – and yet I don’t at all want to die, not at all.’
The huntsman was a good-natured young man. He did not in the least believe the old woman’s words about the place like paradise. It was not in the least tempting to wade across the stream, and not at all alluring to carry the old creature on his shoulders but as he looked at her, she had a bout of coughing and shook all over. ‘I can’t let an ancient creature like her perish! he thought. ‘She must be over a hundred years old and have borne a lot in her day, so it’s only fair to do something for her.’
‘Very well, granny, climb on to my back, and mind you pull your bones together, for if you fall to pieces there will be no picking them up in the water.’
The old woman climbed on to his shoulders and he felt a weight as heavy as if he had lifted a coffin with a corpse in it - he could scarcely move. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘it would be a shame to turn back now.’ He stepped into the water, and suddenly the weight seemed less, and then it grew lighter and lighter with every step. And he felt that something miraculous was taking place. But he went straight on, looking in front of him. When he stepped ashore, he looked back: instead of the old woman an enchanting maiden, a real queen of beauty, was clinging to him! She brought him to her motherland, and never again has he complained of loneliness, or killed birds and beasts or lost his way in the forest.
Everyone knows some version of this fairy tale, and I too knew it as a child, but only today I felt its real meaning. The modern man hunting after the fleeting momentary goods and elusive fancies has lost his right path in life. The dark and turbulent stream of life is before him. Time like a woodpecker mercilessly registers the moments that have been lost. Misery and solitude, and afterwards - darkness and perdition. But behind him stands the sacred antiquity of tradition - oh, in what an unattractive form! Well, what of it? Let him only think of what he owes to her ; let him with an inner heartfelt impulse revere her greyness, pity her infirmities, feel ashamed of rejecting her because of her appearance. Instead of idly looking out for phantom-like fairies beyond the clouds, let him undertake the labour of carrying this sacred burden across the real stream of history. This is the only way out of his wanderings - the only, because any other would be insufficient, unkind and impious. He could not let the ancient creature perish!
The modern man does not believe in the fairy tale, he does not believe that the decrepit old woman will be transformed into a queen of beauty. But if he does not believe it, so much the better! Why believe in the future reward when what is required is to deserve it by the present effort and self-denying heroism? Those who do not believe in the future of the old and the sacred, must at any rate remember its past. Why should he not carry her across out of reverence for her antiquity, out of pity for her decay, out of shame for being ungrateful? Blessed are the believers while still standing on this shore they already see through the wrinkles of old age the brilliance of incorruptible beauty. But unbelievers in the future transformation have the advantage of unexpected joy.1 Both the believers and the unbelievers have the same task to go forward, taking upon their shoulders the whole weight of antiquity.
If you, the modern man, want to be a man of the future, forget not in the smoking ruins your father Anchises and the native gods. They needed a pious hero to transfer them to Italy, but they alone could give him and his descendants both Italy and power over the world. And that which we hold as holy is mightier than the Trojan gods, and we have to carry it further than Italy or the whole of the earthly world. He who saves shall be saved. That is the secret of progress — there is not and there can be no other!
1 ‘Unexpected joy’ is the name of one of the miraculous ikons of Our Lady.    Probably this is the reason for the italics. - Ed.
¶ Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900) was the most distinguished Russian theologian of his day and, to quote the judgement of his fellow countryman Sergius Bulgakov, ‘his value is more and more recognised as the years go by’. ‘The Secret of Progress’ was written in 1897. This translation is by Natalie Duddington  ( A Solovyov Anthology, SCM Press, 1950).