Weekly Bulletin | 14 March to 20 March

Preparation for Great Lent

On the Friday before we start the time of the Triodion and the preparation for Great Lent the Fathers have set us to read the beginning of the second letter of St Peter:

His divine power has granted us all that we need to live in godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue.  Through these things, he has granted to us his precious and tremendous promises, so that having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust, you may become Partakers of the Divine Nature.

For this very reason, do your utmost to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge.  To knowledge, add self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness add brotherly affection; and to brotherly affection, love.  Truly, if these things are yours and overflow, they will prevent you from being idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who lack of these things are blind; they only see what is near and they have forgotten the cleansing from their old sins.  Therefore, brethren, do all you can to make your calling and election assured.  Indeed, if you do these things, you will never stumble.  Thus you will be richly granted the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 1:3-11)

So the goal is to become “Partakers of Divine Nature”. And to do this we need to acquire goodness.  But this is not enough: we need knowledge, particularly of our Faith, self-control, perseverance, brotherly affection and love.

There are things however that undermine our resolve and perhaps the greatest of these is fear, particularly fear of death. Elsewhere in the New Testament we are told that fear of death is the cause of sin and have we not seen this in our own day with the fear, panic, even terror that has affected so many people through Corona virus?

Now as we set out on the great journey of Great Lent and approach the wonderful and joyous feast of Pascha let us put away these thoughts and practice what St Peter asks of us.  For, as the martyrs knew, Christ has overcome death, trampling upon it and giving ETERNAL LIFE to the World.

Fr Stephen

Schedule of Services

The schedule of services for this week is available on our calendar. The New Testament readings and sermon for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son are available on the archdiocese website. We will continue to broadcast our services live on mixlr.com when possible.

The church is open for public worship under the guidance issued by our archdiocese

Latest News, Homilies and Announcements

  • John the Merciful, Patriarchate of Alexandria
    John was born in Amathus of Cyprus c. 550 to the patrician Epiphanios, a governor of the island. He married and had children, but was a widower when he was called to become Patriarch of Alexandria on the recommendation of his friend, the city’s imperial prefect Niketas. The Chalcedonian see of Alexandria had been vacant
  • The Feast of Nektarios the Wonderworker of Pentapolis
    St. Nektarios was born in Selybria of Eastern Thrace to the family of Demos and Maria Kephalas on 1st October 1846. He was named Anastasios at his baptism, a name which suited perfectly his early behavior. As a child he was distinguished for his piety and devotion to ecclesiastical literature. He received his first education
  • Winefrid, virgin martyr and abbess of Gwytherin
    Read about the life of Saint Winefrid and her importance for the town of Shrewsbury Continue reading
  • Eata, bishop of Hexham
    Saint Eata, a native of Northumbria, was one of twelve original pupils at Lindisfarne under St Aidan. In 651, he became the first Abbot of Melrose, where he mentored Cuthbert. Continue reading
  • Feast of Great Martyr Demetrios
    On 26 October we celebrate the feast of the Holy Glorious and Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh Streamer. Life of the Saint Saint Demetrios suffered in Thessalonica during the reign of Galerius Maximian (c. 306). He belonged to one of the most distinguished families of the province of Macedonia and was widely admired not only
  • Pseudo-Dionysius – our new book for Thursday morning reading
    Join us as we delve into Pseudo-Dionysius’s mystical theology, exploring the ineffable nature of God through contemplative reading and lively theological discussion every Thursday morning. Continue reading
  • Orthodox Crossing: Me and My A.I.
    Artificial Intelligence is a bit of a topic these days. Questions like, what is that? How does that work? Am I out of a job now? Is this from Satan? I can’t answer any of the above, but I have recently been paying and playing with AI for my own purposes, so if you don’t
Our Local Saints
Copyright © 2024