CONTACTS:
To message Archimandrite Kyril or to arrange a baptism or wedding please email the Parish Priest@bristol-orthodox-church.co.uk (Tel. 01179706302 or 07944 860 955).
For more see: CONTACTS
SERVICES, PARISH NEWS AND RECENT SERMON ARE ON THIS PAGE
|
Regular services and events: Every Saturday: 5.30 p.m. Vespers Every Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy NOTE re CONFESSIONS: Fr Gerald hears confessions before the Sunday Divine Liturgy, but please come early, otherwise the Liturgy begins late. NOTE: The Sunday Divine Liturgy is always followed by refreshments and fellowship. On the first Sunday of the month this will be a Parish bring-and-share lunch. Guests are welcome! CLASSES: On many Sundays we hold an instruction class after The Divine Liturgy. The classes run from September to June/July and are planned as an Introduction to Orthodox Christianity and then a deepening of that understanding. Some will come to choose to enter the Church formally, usually at Pascha/Easter, though there is no expectation of this placed upon anyone. Others will continue coming to continue finding out more, while a number of our congregation attend also to deepen their own understanding. If you wish to find out more talk to Reader Antony or Cuthbert McGrath in church, or email info@bristol-orthodox-church.co.uk SINGERS: We are blessed with a good group of singers at our services. But we can always do with more! To sing with us requires (ideally) a knowledge of part singing, but also a commitment to learn about liturgical singing and to attending the services and practices. For more information, talk to Reader Antony or Cuthbert McGrath in church, or email info@bristol-orthodox-church.co.uk WEEKLY SERVICES & INFORMATION (Note: our Parish follows the “New” (Revised Julian) Calendar for the fixed feasts. For dates according to the “Old” Julian Calendar, refer to an online calendar. IMPORTANT NEWS FR KYRIL: Fr Kyril has a medical problem and has been in hospital. His physicians are discussing ways forward. For the time being he will not be celebrating many of the services: please pray for him. In the meanwhile Sunday services will be served by Fr Gerald Theodore, whom we warmly thank for stepping in to help us out. Please pray for him also. Saturday Vespers and any weekday services will also be continuing as timetabled and will be either Priest or Reader led.
Sunday, 8th June. THE FEAST OF HOLY PENTECOST Today we deck the church with greenery and flowers. 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (Readings: Acts 2:1-11; John 7:37-52, 8:12) Lunch. 1.30 p.m. Vespers of Monday: The Day of the Holy Spirit, with the “Kneeling Prayers”. (Today is the first day since Great Saturday that we kneel in church.) We hold flowers throughout the Vespers. NOTE: There are no fasting days this week.
Sunday, 15th June. THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS. First Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 8. 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
Thursday, 19th June 7.00p.m. VESPERS IN CLIFTON CATHEDRAL for the 1700th Anniversary of the Oecumenical Council of Nicaea.
Saturday, 21st June 5.30 p.m. Vespers
Sunday, 22nd June. Second Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 1. Commemoration of All Saints of the British Isles, Russia, Romania, Athos, Palestine, Patmos and America. 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
FROM SISTER VASSA: THE FEAST OF PENTECOST: From Sister Vassa (find Coffee with Sister Vassa on Facebook and YouTube) PENTECOST INCLUDES ALL OF US
(Sunday, June 8 )
“The Holy Spirit provides all things: He pours forth prophecies, He leads priests to perfection, He teaches unschooled people wisdom, He reveals fishermen as theologians, He confirms the Church…” (Vespers-hymn, Pentecost)
One of the main themes of Pentecost, celebrated today in East and West, is the inclusiveness of the Holy Spirit, by which He “confirms the Church.” While some might think that the Church (with a big “C”) is confirmed through her ex-clusiveness, through her rules and walls, He calls “all” of us to unity, first and foremost with Himself, with God, – and through Him, with others who open up to His grace. St. Peter stressed this point in his sermon on this day, when he quoted the Prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams…” This prophecy of Joel is one of the Old Testament readings on the eve of Pentecost, along with the other reading that stresses inclusiveness – from Numbers 2, where Moses accepts the “prophesying” of Eldad and Medad, who did so not at the Tabernacle (the place of worship) but among the people in the camp. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are being poured out both on sons and daughters, on young and old, on those at the places of worship or outside, the educated and the unschooled: “He teaches unschooled people wisdom, He reveals fishermen as theologians…”
Please note that the main point here is not political or even church-political. It’s personal. Each of us, including me, might at times *exclude ourselves* from this picture, of grace being poured out “on all flesh.” We might think, Yes, but… *I* fall short of this or that requirement or prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit. *I* am distracted, dragged down, saying or doing the wrong things, not going to church enough, or whatever. I think it’s our self-alienation and self-isolation from the all-inclusive and all-embracing (kath’olos or “catholic”) Spirit that leads us to procrastinate when it comes to accepting His invitation. He’s inviting us to receive Him, and to be received by Him, at His ongoing feast, as we are: young or old, female or male, educated or unschooled, pious or not-so-pious, and so on.
Wherever or however we are, dear friends, let us forgive ourselves and one another today, as we kneel before our loving, Triune God, and let Him in. “O Heavenly King…, come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One!” Happy Pentecost, everyone!
Below you will find: NEWS, SAINTS’ DAYS, and THE CURRENT SERMON |
|
NEWS On Thursday, 19th June, our singers together with those of the parish of St John of Kronstadt in Bath will sing Vespers in Clifton (RC) Cathedral, Pembroke Road, Clifton at 7.00 p.m. We have been invited by the Bishop of Clifton on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Oecumenical Council of Nicaea at which was defined the Nicaean Creed, which is the common inheritance of both Churches..
PARISH NEWS CHURCH CLEANING:
FOOD BANK: DON’T FORGET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS who do not have enough! Bring contributions please for the box in church.
**BUILDING NEWS ** AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Maintaining a large and aging building like our church is costly. But we have been given it as stewards and we need to hand it on to future generations. Currently, we await a final assessment and quotes for the roof work, but Initial estimates suggest this is going to be expensive! PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY! THANK YOU for your generous donations. Without this, we would not have a space to worship in. We are extremely blessed to have our own space that does not need to be shared with other users. If we look after it, the building will be sure to last a few more hundred years and serve our community for many generations to come. GIFT AID |
|
Some saints (AND FEASTS) of the coming days Saints of the British Isles and nearby places are in red
|
******************************************************************************************
For those who wish to donate to our Parish online, our Facebook fundraiser can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/453504039824339/?fundraiser_source=external_url
Sermon for Pentecost
Archimandrite Kyril Jenner
John 7:37-52; 8:12
Today’s Gospel reading begins with these words: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, ‘If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.’ ” (John 7:37)
In the time of our Lord there were three so-called “Pilgrim” feasts each year, when those who were able were expected to go to Jerusalem for the celebrations in the Temple. These feasts were all associated with the foundation of the nation. The narrative in the Gospel according to Saint John tells of our Lord’s visits to Jerusalem at different times for these feasts.
Pasha, or Passover, in the Spring, celebrated the release of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Our Lord’s death on the Cross coincided with this feast. His Resurrection immediately after, was on the first day of the week. The first day should also be understood in this context as the eighth day. The Scriptures tell us of the creation of the world in six days, with God resting on the seventh day. The eighth day should be seen as the first day of the new creation. Living after the Resurrection of Christ we should be living as if we are present in that first day of the new creation. The old Pascha established the nation of the Israelites. The new Pascha established the new nation of the kingdom of God, of which we are members.
The second Pilgrim Feast was Pentecost, fifty days after Pascha. This was seven weeks (or a ‘week of weeks’) plus one day later. The old Pentecost celebrated the revelation of God to Moses on Mount Sinai after the Israelites had left Egypt. In the new Pentecost, the first day of the eighth week after Pascha, we celebrate the completion of God’s revelation of himself, when the Holy Spirit appeared to the Apostles.
The third Pilgrim Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, occurs in the Autumn, in the seventh month of the year according to the Jewish calendar. This celebrated the wandering of the Israelites in the desert after they had left Egypt and before they had entered the ‘Promised Land.’ As the people had lived in tents during their time in the desert, so during the Feast of Tabernacles they would move out of their houses and again live in tents for the week of the Feast.
In the Gospel passage that we read on the day of Pascha, Saint John tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) The word translated there as “dwelt” ot “lived” actually means “lived in a tent”. The earth was only a temporary dwelling place for Christ, just as a tent is only a temporary dwelling place.
The Feast of Tabernacles was also seen as a feast for all nations. The Prophet Zacharias tells us: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall be left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall come up every year to worship the king, the Lord Almighty, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” (Zacharias 14:16) We should keep this in mind when looking at today’s Gospel reading, which refers to events connected with the Feast of Tabernacles. The coming of the Holy Spirit marked the beginning of the return of all nations to God.
The sayings of our Lord in today’s reading both refer to the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, but also link us to some of the commemorations of the past few weeks. The first saying, associated with the eighth day of the Feast, the great celebration before people returned to their own homes, links to the Pool of Siloam, where the man born blind was told to wash to receive his sight. During the Feast the priests would fill a bowl with water from the Pool of Siloam, and place it beside the altar in the Temple. This was accompanied by a prayer for rain to replenish the supply of water.
Christ is the source of the true living water that gives us eternal life. This saying also links us to the story of his encounter with the woman of Samaria. If we drink of the spiritual water that Christ pours out for us then we are released from the temporary needs of life in this world and enabled to live with Christ in eternity. Our living here is only temporary, just as Christ’s life on earth was only temporary. We must follow Christ to the fullness of life with God that is open to all through repentance of sins and God’s merciful forgiveness.
The second saying of our Lord in today’s reading also refers to the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. At the end of the reading we hear: “Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ” On the last night of the Feast there was a torchlight procession around the Temple. Christ builds on that. The true light, the eternal light, is Christ himself. This light was shown by the Holy Spirit appearing to the Apostles in “tongues like fire.”
The idea of the Feast of Tabernacles as the feast for all nations has now been transferred to the Feast of Pentecost. At Vespers today we shall sing: “All the nations saw marvellous things to-day in the city of David, when the Holy Spirit came down in tongues of fire.” People from many nations saw the effect of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The Holy Spirit, sent by Christ, should have a similar noticeable effect on us.
The coming of the Holy Spirit completed the revelation of the Holy Trinity, and so we, from whatever nation we come, can confess that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Being baptized in this name, let us bless God to all the ages.
*****************************************
Like all small communities we rely on the generosity of friends and well-wishers. If you would like to contribute to the continuation of our parish and the upkeep of our historic church building, you can make a donation here:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/679204386685133/?fundraiser_source=external_url
3
