May2015

No.102

TheOrthodoxParish
oftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
Lancaster,U.K.

TheStavronian

amonthlymagazine&newsletterpublishedbythe'HolyCrossSynodia'

TheParishoftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
belongstotheAntiochianOrthodoxArchdioceseoftheBritishIslesandIreland.
ThePatriarchateofAntiochisthirdsenioroftheOrthodoxChurches.
ThePatriarchisHisBeatitudeJohnX.

ThediscipleswerefirstcalledChristiansinAntioch
(Acts11:26)

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

! !
! !
Hristos a nviat! Adevrat a nviat!
Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist
wahrhaftig auferstanden!
Cristo risorto! veramente risorto!
Le Christ est ressuscit! Vraiment Il est
ressuscit!
Cristo ressuscitou! Verdadeiramente
ressuscitou!
Cristo ha resucitado!
Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!

THEWILDGOOSEOFTHE
HOLYSPIRIT
OntheWednesdayofBrightweekasmall
group of pilgrims set out from Holy
Cross,LancasteronPilgrimagetovisitSt
HerbertsIsland.Wewereblessedwitha
visit to Fr. John Musters lovely house
chapel and Church in Braithwaite; after
this we rowed across Derwentwater to
the Island of the hermit Saint Herbert.
We were met by a honking Goose who
then after making his presence known
disappeared.Indeed,whenIhavemade
thisPilgrimagetothisHolyIslandbefore,
almost every time the Gooses presence
hasbeentherebythecellofStHerbert,
audibleandconfrontational.IntheCeltic
tradition, the Holy Spirit is represented
notasadovebutasaWildGoose(An
GeadhGlas).

Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam!

! !

Geese are noisy and difficult to

control. You cant easily make a wild
goosebendtoyourwill.Theyareraucous
andloudchallengingthosewhoapproach
them and defending that which is their
territory. Unlike the sweet and calming
cooing of a dove which is the common
symbol of the Holy Spirit the goose is
stridentandalittleunsettling.Ithinkthis
isanimportantsymbolbecausetheHoly
Spirit should confront us in our easy
comfortzones!
InmuchthesamewaytheSpiritof
God can be demanding and unsettling.
We only have to consider the story of
Pentecost, and what an impression the
disciplesmadeonthecrowds.

CelticChristianssawthewholeoflife
asapilgrimage,theyemployedsimpleyet
poeticprayers,theyhadavividsenseof
thepresenceofthesaints,oftheangelic
and unseen world. TheWild Goose will
certainly awakenusoutof complacency
andstirusintomovement.
FrJonathan
PhotosofFrJonathan,Jessica,Kleio,
ApostolosandNausicaatStHerbert's
islandtakenbyAidan.

STATUSIRRESISTIBLE
APPEAL
Whatdowereallydesireandwhy?Our
contemporarysocietyadvertises(through
themedia)manifoldanswers,butitcan
allprettymuchbeboileddowntounholy
triadofMoney,FameandPower.Whydo
we desire these things? An evolutionist
answer would connect or even identify
themasthebasicsurvivaltools:possess
ingoneormoreofthesethreeisincreas
ingourhumanchancesofbothflourish
ingandpropagating;butallthreecom
bined guarantees easy, successful and
pleasurablelifesailing.
WhetherpossessionofMFPexhausts
our deepest desires is the question that
we need to focus on with much more
attention.InGenesis2,GodasksAdamto
givenamestotheanimals.Suchabesto
walofauthorityonthefirsthumanshas
been resonating in our hearts since the
very beginning of time. Divine power
communicates Trust, Respect as well as
Admiration;byinvitingustoparticipate
inHiscreativework.Cantherebeamore
excitingvocationeverimagined?
IfTrustandRespectandAdmiration
arepartofourprimordialexperience,do
wecontinuetohavethemasanexpecta
tioninoureverydaylives?Ibelievethat

answerisyesnotonlyexpect,butlong,
craveandconstantlystrivetohavethem
permanently.But,canmoney,fameand
powerreplaceorperhapssomehowmeet
theseexpectationsinrelationtoothers?
Lets imagine a rich person whose
sourceofwealthwasalotterywin.Isshe
admired because of her wealth? Not at
all;flattered,enviedorsimplyhatedyes,
but never respected. She could maybe
gain some admiration by giving her
moneyawaytogoodcausesoracharity
butthatsadifferentstory.
Whataboutfame?Supermodelsmay
be famous for their looks, but are they
respected? Again fame is the source of
secretenvy butitwill notlastbeyond
hergoodlooks.Also,fameisoftenquite
ambiguousitcaneasilybereversedto
infamy,givenenoughtimeandfewfacts
exposed.
Andpower?Powerfulpeoplecontrol
thelivesofothers,whilelivinglivesfull
of poisonous doubts.Politicians and oli
garchshaveenormouspowerbutthey
areisolatedthroughtheireverincreasing
fearofthosewholooktotheirpositions.
Theydonttrustanyoneandrarelyinspi
retrustinanyone.
MFPdoesnotequaltrustandrespect
oradmiration.Ourbasicsurvivalchances
are strengthened through them, but our
livescouldneverbefulfilledandactuali
sed just by chasing money, fame and
power. To have a Status that is good
enough for us our lives still need to
encounter the Edenbased experience of
beingacreaturethatinspiresdeepreact
ioninothers.
Christ rejected, fully and eternally,
theappealofMFPduringHistemptations
intheDesert,Healsoeventuallydecided
toletgooftheattachmentofbeingtrust
ed, admired and respected as well. His
disciplesbetrayed(inJudascase),denied
(St.Peter)andwereashamedofHim.His
enemiesmockedhimandtriedtohumili
ateandundermineHim.Itistooeasyto

forgetthatHecouldhavechosenother
wiseifHewantedso.
So,wheredoesthisleavestherestof
us? The race for MFP not only about
meresurvival hassomethingtodowith
ourselfesteemaswell.Many(mistaken
ly)believethatmoney,fameandpower
MUST deliver to us desired status and
high selfesteem. In reality, it is Gods
estimate of our own worth that really
counts.Wewanttobetrusted,admired
and respected, because that is our divi
nelygivenpromise
Willweeverseekouttrustinsteadof
power; admiration rather than money;
respect rather than fame? We tend to
turn everything into an idol; Godmedi
ated admiration, trust and respect can
become a basis for the cultivation of
Pridetheworstofallhumanpassions.
OursignificanceasGodimagedcrea
ture,nevertheless,residesintherecogni
tionofbeingsomeoneworthyofadmira
tion,respectandtrustworthinessnoth
ing else truly matters to us. We must
increaseoureffortstoreplacethevalue
of MFP in our lives, by recognising the
sourceofourtruedesiresandweneedto
carefully discern the impact that the
world hasonus,anditssubtlewaysin
temptingusawayfromTruth,Beautyand
Goodness.
Itsaperilousjourney,inwhichthe
onlyreliablecompassisourhumblefaith
andourmodesthopeiseternallyembod
ied in the Person and Works of Jesus
Christ,theSonofthelivingGod.
AleksandarMiljkovic
London

NAMESOFDEPARTED
LOVEDONESTOBE
REMEMBEREDTHISMONTH
May26:Paraskeui
MEMORY ETERNAL!
Pleasesendusthenamesofyourdepar
ted loved ones and date of their depar
tureinorderforthemtoberemembered.

FrJonathanhasgiven,onbehalfofthe
Parish,achequeof300totheCatholic
chaplain asour donation fortheuse of
theRCchapel,quietroomandfacilities
intheChaplaincyCentre.

PARISHNEWS
On Apr. 26th, Paul Morgan was joyfully
receivedintheFaithviatheHolySacra
ment of Chrismation. We warmly wel
come him and give him and his family
our best wishes for a spiritually fruitful
journey intheFaith!MayourLord and
SaviourJesusChristgivetheblessing!

OLDSTAVRONIANCORNER
We extend our many thanks to Maria
Christofidou, Eutychia Schini, Sophocles
and Angeliki Ioulianou, Konstantinos
PapakonstantinoufromCyprus,aswellas
TatianiRapatzikou,KonstantinosBratsas,
IoannaNasiopoulou, NikolaosAndrielos,
Thomas Tziortziotis, Maria and Antonia
Eleutheriadou from Greece for their
Paschal gifts of large and small white
candles,plasticcandleholders,iconcards
oftheResurrectionandreddyetopaint
ourEastereggs!MayGodblessyourichly
foryourkindness!Weexpressourgrati
tudeonbehalfofeverybodyattheParish
ofHolyCross,which isGod's,oursand
yours!

MAJORCELEBRATIONSTHIS
MONTH
th
5May:TheGreatMartyrIrene
th
8May:St.JohntheTheologianandSt.
ArseniustheGreat
th
11May:Sts.CyrilandMethodius,Equal
totheApostles
th
15May:St.PachomiustheGreatMartyr

st
21May:TheHolyAscensionandSt.
ConstantineandHelenEqualtothe
Apostles
rd
23May:TheretrievaloftherelicsofSt.
JoachimofIthaca
th
rd
25May:The3
FindingofthePrecious
HeadoftheForerunnerandBaptistJohn
st
31May:TheHolyPentecost

For the lives of Saints please visit the

CalendaroftheGreekOrthodoxArchdi
oceseofAmerica:www.calendar.goarch.org

ServicesduringMay*
Sat.2nd
10:00am HolyLiturgyinR.C.
Sat.9th
10:00am HolyLiturgyinR.C.
Sat.16th
10:00am HolyLiturgyinR.C.
Sat.23rd
10:00am HolyLiturgyinR.C.
Sun.31st
10:00am HolyLiturgyinQ.R.followedbyParishlunch
*Helpsettingupthechurchisgreatlyappreciatedandstartsfrom9.15a.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

TopandbottomsketchesarecreatedattheHolyMonasteryofTheAnnunciationoftheTheotokosChios,Greece,courtesyofFrTheodosiosDendrinos,Ithaca,Greece.
ThesketchofChristbyPhotisKontoglouwasscannedfromtheOrthodoxcalendaroftheApostolikiDiakoniaoftheChurchofGreece.