October2016

No.119

TheOrthodoxParish
oftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
Lancaster,U.K.

TheStavronian

amonthlymagazine&newsletterpublishedbythe'HolyCrossSynodia'

TheParishoftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
belongstotheAntiochianOrthodoxChristianArchdioceseoftheBritishIslesandIreland.
ThePatriarchateofAntiochisthirdsenioroftheOrthodoxChurches.
ThePatriarchisHisBeatitudeJohnX.

ThediscipleswerefirstcalledChristiansinAntioch
(Acts11:26)

THEMODELOFPRAYER
Chapter7;Andleadusnotinto
temptationbutdeliverusfromtheevil
one.
Goddoesnotleadusintotemptation:we
let ourselves be led by Satan, but the
wordfortemptationinHebrewisMasah.
Itcomesfromarootthatmeanstomelt,
dissolveorconsumeasifbyfirethattests
the quality of something. It is for this
reason that some versions of the Lords
Prayertranslatethepetitionasdeliverus
from a time of testing or trial. Masah
was the place in the desert where the
childrenofIsraeltestedGod,Ex.17:7;So
hecalledthenameoftheplaceMassahand
Meribah,becauseofthecontentionofthe
children of Israel, and because they
tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD
amongusornot?
Weareessentiallyaskingnottofall
intodespair,tobeconsumedbydifficult
times and testing moments when our
faithinGodisquestioned.Letusnotfall
intothehandsofMassahwhereweyield
tothatpsychologicalandspiritualsterility
andparalysisthatatrophywhichdeadens
our spirit and makes us unable to do
anything.
StSilouantheAthonitessaying:Keep
yourmindinhellanddonotdespair,given
to him through a revelation from above
illustratesthehumanconditionweoften
find ourselves in. The Psalmist however
knows the power of God to refresh the
soul: God does not lead us into
temptationbutasaGoodShepherdinto
greenpasturesandbystillwaters, Psalm
23:23;
Hemakesmetoliedowningreenpastures;
Heleadsmebesidethestillwaters.
Herestoresmysoul;
Heleadsmeinthepathsofrighteousness
ForHisnamessake

Thusourmindshouldbefilledwith
quiet confidence and free from any
imagining; putting all our trust in God
willcertainlykeepusfromdespair.
Such despair is a form of idolatry
because we replace Almighty Gods
promise of forgiveness and mercy, his
boundlessclarityoflovewiththefogof
our selfish lack of faith, our own
blinkered and immediate circumstances.
Such meanness of spirit and self
absorptionwillmakeusvulnerabletothe
evil ones tricks. At such times we put
ourselves at the centre of the Universe
ratherthanGodandsowemustletgoof
ourselves and fall into the hands of
AlmightyGod,Romans8:3739;Yetinall
thesethingswearemorethanconquerors
through Him who loved us. For I am
persuadedthatneitherdeathnorlife,nor
angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor
height nor depth, nor any other created
thing,shallbeabletoseparateusfromthe
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
The origin of despair is what the
Jewishtraditioncallsyetzerharawhichis
theimpulsetowardsidolatryandselfish
gratification; yetzer istheimaginationor
thoughts of the heart what the New
Testamentcallsthenaturalmanorcarnal
mind.Thatwhichisinthemindwilllead
us to rebel and shape our actions and
character.OurappealtoGodisagainour
hope and our release from such evil
imagination. The evil one wants to
separateusfromGodhehasdonethis
from the beginning of time by making
things that are less than God seem
attractivethisofcourseisidolatry.Butas
StAugustinesays:oursoulsarerestless
untiltheyfindtheirrestinGod.
Nothing less than God can really
satisfyoursoulsanduntilwecometoour
rightmindsandrealisethiswearelostin
our sins and the idolatry of money,

status,celebrityandalltheothercharms
theevilonehasathisdisposaltoenthral
andconsumeus.
InMatthewsGospeltheGreekword
(poneros) is translated as the
evil one not simply evil. The Aramaic
indicates an adversary the one who
contendsagainstusinacourtoflaw.We
may say that just as goodness proceeds
from God who is all good; so evil
proceedsfromSatan(theevilone)whois
theadversary againstusandasafallen
angelagainstGod.
Godisafirethatwarmsandkindles
theheartandinwardparts.Hence,ifwe
feel in our hearts the cold which comes
fromthedevilforthedeviliscoldletus
callontheLord.Hewillcometowarmour
heartswithperfectlove,notonlyforHim
butalsoforourneighbour,andthecoldof
himwhohatesthegoodwillfleebeforethe
heatofHiscountenance.St.Seraphimof
Sarov.
The evil one will bombard us with
gifts; poisons and harmful substances
concealed in delightful, beguiling
wrappingpapersoattractivesoenticing
appealing to our sense of independence
and curiosity. Go on try it! The
temptation is familiar to the sons and
daughtersofAdambutstillwefallforit.
Butwemuststrivefordiscernment,that
iswhytheChurchFathersencourageus
toputourwholeeffortintobeingableto
distinguish between spirits: We must be
able to grow spiritually and be mature
enoughtobeabletosayThisisfromthe
devilandIwillrejectit.ThisisfromGod
andIwillacceptit.God'sHolySpiritwill
equipapersontodeterminethesourceof
a spiritual manifestation, whether it
emanatesfromGod,theDevil,theworld,
orman.
St John of Damascus in the
Philokalia,Vol.2,ontheVirtuesandthe
Vices writes that the virtue of
discernment (discrimination) is greater

than any other virtue; and is the queen

andcrownofallthevirtues.
WeaskGodourFathertoprotectus
fromallthatconfusesourspiritandfrom
temptationsthatarebeyondourstrength
toreject.Inthispetition,weaskGodthe
Father to assist us to prevent us
(literally go before us). We need the
Holiness of God and His Strength. The
closer we are to God the greater the
strength we draw from Him like a
matchstickagainstanailthatcannotbe
broken.Wewillexperiencetrialsforour
purificationbutweinviteGodtosendus
assistancefromabove.LiketheRighteous
Job God may allow Satan his freedom
(yesGodsfreewillisbestowedtoallHis
creatures)butHewillnotallowustobe
tempted beyond our endurance (I
Corinthians10:13).Christhassufferedin
the flesh so he knows about human
suffering(Heb.2:18).
TheeviloneseeksourdestructionAs
St.Petersays,theDevilprowlsaroundlike
aroaringlion,seekingsomeonetodevour
(1Peter5:8).Soweneedtobevigilant
andcourageousagainsttheenemyofour
salvation. We strive for the state of
watchfulnessandsobriety.
When we are pressed by passions,
trialsandtemptationsoneverysidethere
areonlytwowaystogo;downorup
choose up, choose Christ, choose the
KingdomofHeaven.
Maywebedeliveredtodayfromsuch
deception and realise our service in
Christ and our honoured status as
childrenofGodourheavenlyFather.
Tobecontinued
FrJonathan

NOTHINGACTUALLYISFOR
EVER!
Ecclesiastes3:1415;Iknowthatwhatever
Goddoes,itshallbeforever. Nothingcan
beaddedtoit,andnothingtakenfromit.
God does it, that men should fear before
Him.Thatwhichishasalreadybeen,and
whatistobehasalreadybeen;andGod
requiresanaccountofwhatispast.
SomeonecommentedabouttheOrthodox
Liturgy It is so old fashioned; it (the
Church)belongsofthepast.Towhichan
Orthodox priest replied We dont do
fashion! The Church belongs to Christ
whoistheAlphaandtheOmegaandso
belongstothepast,thepresentandthe
future.
EverythingisasGodmadeitthe
Church is the work of His hands; the
ChurchisthegiftofGodtotheworld
the Church is not made by the world,
neither should she (the Bride of Christ,
Ephesians5:2233)beconformedtothe
imageoftheworld.Wehavetheworldso
muchinourheartstodaythatithastaken
up residence there. Weare so taken up
withthoughtsandcaresofworldlythings
thatwedonothavetheinclination,the
time or the spiritual sight, to see God's
Work. The world has not only gained
possession of the heart, but has formed
thoughts against the beauty of God's
Work. We are mistaken if we think the
Churchshouldbemadetofittheworlds
shifting values, to be relevant and
relative; no, in our short time on this
earth,theChurchredeemstimeandthe
world through the Holy Liturgy. Divine
actionsanctifiestheworld,asithasbeen,
is,andwillbe;hencetheproclamationof
thedeaconorpriestatthebeginningof
theHolyLiturgy,ItistimefortheLord
toact.
Blessed Seraphim Rose wrote: a
transplantationfromthesoilofworldliness

to the soil of Christianity and a Church

orientatedlifeitistheLifeofrepentance
and grace in the Church attested by
miracles that softens and converts the
heartofman.
In our Orthodox Christian faith we
will find nothing reformed, nothing
novel,nothingrecent,nothingtemporal,
nothing alternative, nothing extra,
nothing removed, nothing adapted,
nothing fashionable; just authentic
Apostolic faith, teaching and tradition
goingrightbacktoChrist.
FrJonathan

THOUGHTSFROMTHE
CELTICFATHERS
From the life of Saint Winifred of
Wales: Once when Saint Winifred was
givingalmstothepoor,thepeopletold
toherthatifshecontinuedtogivealms
in that way she would end up a poor
woman. Saint Winifred replied to them
saying that God never abandons a man
whogivesalmswithhisheart.
ChristosVasilopoulos
Kozani,Greece

NAMESOFDEPARTED
LOVEDONESTOBE
REMEMBEREDTHISMONTH
Oct.17:Garyfalos
Oct.20:FrStephenHatherly
MEMORY ETERNAL!
Pleasesendusthenamesofyourdepar
ted loved ones and date of their depar
tureinorderforthemtoberemembered.

PARISHNEWS
On 21st Octoberat7pm atStMartin's
church,theParishwillwelcomeReaders
andothermembersoftheAnglicanParish
oftheAscensionTorrisholmeforHours,a
talk on "What is Orthodox Christianity?"
byFrJonathan,andrefreshments.Please
comealongtosupportthiseventofour
Parish!
OnOct.8th,FrJonathanispresenting
his book Fountains in the desert in
Athens,Greece. Itistranslated inGreek
by Kleio Kechagia and published by
.
Wearesoverygratefultothosewho
remember us in their prayers and show
theirloveasgenerousbenefactorsofour
Parish.WewouldliketothankAnastasios
Apostolidisforprovidinguswithcharcoal
forthecensor, PatriciaChiracusmother
andfatherforthewineand EleniFitsiou
forthecandlesshebroughttobeusedin
thechurch.

FrJonathanandAidanvisitedBarnabasat
hishouseinChorley,wherehereceived
HolyCommunion.Aidanonthisphoto
holdingBarnabas'LegionofHonour,
Chevaliermedal!

STAVRONIANCORNER
IrynaMinakovaandfamily spentpartof
their August holidays in Belgium. They
visitedtheMonasteryofStJohnMaximo
vich, Archbishop of Shanghai and San
Francisco,whichisaffiliatedtothePatri
archate of Moscow. The Liturgy iscele
bratedinDutchandFrench!Irynasentus
afewphotosalongwithgreetingstothe
Parish.

ThecatacombsinMilos,Greece.

MAJORCELEBRATIONSTHIS
MONTH
th
6Oct:HolyApostleThomas
th
7Oct:StsSergius&BacchustheGreat
MartyrsofSyria
th
10Oct:The14HolyEldersofOptina
MonasteryinRussia
th
12Oct:St.Wilfrid,BishopofYork
(709)
th
18Oct:HolyApostleandEvangelist
Luke
th
19Oct:St.JohnofKronstadt
th
26Oct:TheGloriousGreatMartyr
DemetriusofThessalonica
th
28Oct:TheHolyProtectionofthe
Theotokos

Last August, Theodoros and Theophania

Papadopoulos visited the catacombs in
the island of Milos, Greece, which are
consideredtobeamongtheoldestinthe
Christianworld.Theysentthefollowing
photoofoneofthecatacombpassages.

For the lives of Saints please visit the

CalendaroftheGreekOrthodoxArchdi
oceseofAmerica:www.calendar.goarch.org

ServicesatStMartin'sduringOctober*
Sat.1st

13:00 ConfessionsandSynaxarion
14:00 GreatVespers
Sun.2nd
10:00 Hours
10:30 HolyLiturgy
Sun.9th
10:00 Hours
10:30 HolyLiturgyfollowedbyParishlunch
Sat.15th
13:00 ConfessionsandSynaxarion
14:00 GreatVespers
Sun.16th 10:00 Hours
10:30 HolyLiturgy
Sat.22nd
13:00 ConfessionsandSynaxarion
14:00 GreatVespers
Sun.23rd
10:00 Hours
10:30 HolyLiturgy
Sat.29th
13:00 ConfessionsandSynaxarion
14:00 GreatVespers
Sun.30th
10:00 Hours
10:30 HolyLiturgyfollowedbyParishlunch
*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.