No.

128
July2017

TheOrthodoxParish
oftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
Lancaster,UK.

TheStavronian
amonthlymagazine&newsletterpublicisedbythe'HolyCrossSynodia'

TheParishoftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
belongstotheAntiochianOrthodoxChristianArchdioceseoftheBritishIslesandIreland.
ThePatriarchateofAntiochisthirdsenioroftheOrthodoxChurches.
ThePatriarchisHisBeatitudeJohnX.

ThediscipleswerefirstcalledChristiansinAntioch
(Acts11:26)
SERVANTSOFGOD
Oneof our Parishionerscommentingon
lastmonthsarticleTheTargetCulture,
whenIwasquotingfromStPaulsepistle
to the Romans: But now having been
freedfromsinand enslaved toGod,you
deriveyourbenefit,resultinginsanctifica
tion, and the outcome, eternal life,
mentioned a sermon by Metropolitan
Athanasios of Lemessos, Cyprus, on the
differencebetweenaservant,alabourer
andachildofGodandquestionsrelated
totheseseeminglycontrastingroles.
In Scripture it says, 1 John 4:15;
perfect lovecasts outfear.However, in
Psalms King David says, Ps 34:9; Oh,
fear the Lord, you his saints. So, even
those who have been perfected in love,
thesaints,alsofearHim.SaintDorotheos
explainsthiswhenhesaystherearetwo
kinds of fear. One is the fear of a
beginnerandtheotheristhatofasaint.
ThefirstfearsGodbecauseheisafraidof
goingtoHell.Theotherseekstoplease
God becauseheloves Him.Inthislater
casethefearisnotoneofbeingafraidof
some punishment, but, because he has
"tastedthesweetnessofbeingwithGod,"
hedoesnotwanttoloseit.Hecallsthis
perfectedfear.
Saint Basil the Great offers similar
approaches to the idea of fear. He says
therearethreestatesthatwecanplease
God,(i)ByfearingHellandfollowingHis
commandments.Inthiscasewearelikea
slave,(ii)BydoingHiscommandmentsto
receive the reward of eternal life or
peace.Inthiscasewearelikealabourer.
(iii)BypleasingGodoutofloveforHim.
InthiscaseweareachildofGod.
John15:15; Nolonger doIcall you
servants,foraservantdoesnotknowwhat
hismasterisdoing;butIhavecalledyou
friends,forallthingsthatIheardfromMy
FatherIhavemadeknowntoyou.Whilstit
istruethatOurLordcallsushisdisciples
friends, the call to be servants to one
another is also very strong within the
apostoliccommission.
TobeGod'sservant (doulos)
orslaveisperfectfreedom.Thisisalsoa
perfectparadoxandtranscendstherefore
theusual understanding of slaveMaster
relationship. Our Lord himself says in
Matthew 20:26; Yet it shall not be so
amongyou;butwhoeverdesirestobecome
greatamongyou,lethimbeyourservant.
If you don't serve God, then whom
areyougoingtoserve?Toserveanyone
oranythingelseisidolatry;yourself,the
world,theevilone,money,status?Christ
isbothourMasterandourFriend.
Psalm84:10;ForadayinYourcourts
isbetterthanathousand.Iwouldrather
beadoorkeeperinthehouseofmyGod.
Thandwellinthetentsofwickedness.
ToserveGoditisperfectly possible
to fearand loveHimatthesametime,
indeeditisdesirablebecauseGodisboth
ourJudgeandSaviour;Heisjustaswell
asloving.ThelawofGodisfulfilledby
Hisgrace.
When we draw near to God as the
deaconorpriestsaysattheHolyLiturgy
wedosowithfear,faithandlove:With
the fear of God, faith and love draw
near.
The servant/handmaid of God
(Name) partakes of the Holy, Divine,
Immortal, Life Giving Mysteries of the
BodyandBloodofourLordandGodand
SaviourJesusChrist.Amen.
FrJonathan

TheiconofStMartinhandpaintedby
monksinMtAthos.Itwaskindlydonated
toourParishlastMay!
THOUGHTSFROMTHE
CELTICFATHERS
FromtheconfessionofSaintPatrickof
Ireland:ButafterIreachedIrelandIused
topasturetheflockeachdayandIused
topraymanytimesaday.Moreandmore
didtheloveofGod,andmyfearofHim
and faith increase, and my spirit was
movedsothatinadayIsaidfromoneup Great, Baptism/Chrismation, Marriage,
toahundredprayers,andinthenighta
likenumber;besidesIusedtostayoutin
the forests and on the mountain and I
wouldwakeupbeforedaylighttoprayin
thesnow,inicycoldness,inrain,andI
used tofeelneither illnoranyslothful
ness,because,asInowsee,theSpiritwas
burninginmeatthattime.
ChristosVasilopoulos
Kozani,Greece
SUMMARYOFOURANNUAL
ARCHDIOCESAN
CONFERENCE
The Annual Archdiocesan Conference
metfrom 29th to 31st May intheHayes
Conference Centre, Swanwick in Derby
shire.Thisyearsawthehighestattend
ance ever and the topic Ordering the
ChurchsWorshipwasofgreatbenefitto
us all. We were greatly blessed by the
presenceofourMetropolitan.Manyold
friendships were renewed but we also
rejoicedinmanynewfacesandfriends.
Visitors came from as far afield as
Sweden (Fr Mikael) and Cyprus (Fr
MatthewandPresbyteraAnka).
GroupphotoduringtheConfrence
The topics of the many talks we
attended were about Saturday Vespers
and Sunday Orthros, the Divine Liturgy
of StJohnChrysostomandStBasilthe
Funerals, Classification of Feasts, Great
and Holy Week and Pascha, and Daily
Services.
Archimandrite Philips talk on the
roleoftheserverstoodout;Whatcould
an altar server and Jeeves have in
common?!Apparentlyalot!Havealook
atP.G.Woodhouse:JeevesandtheHard
BoiledEgg,whereJeevesshimmered in
with the glass and stuck it competently
on the table. Of course an attentive
server,duringtheHolyLiturgy,moves
inthespiritualdimensionoftimelessness
thatJeeveswouldnotbeabletocompre
hend, but according to Archimandrite
Philip,serversintheAltarcanstilllearn
muchfromthefollowingpoints:
1.Jeeveswasthere.
2.Jeeveswasprepared.
3.Jeevesknewwhatwasneeded.
4.Jeeveshadwhatwasneeded.
5.Jeevesknewwhenitwasneeded.
6.Jeevesknewhewasnottobethe
centreofattentionandhowtodeport
himself.
7.Jeevesknewwheretoputwhatwas
needed.
8.Jeevestidiedawayandwasready
whenthenextdrinkwasneeded.
9.Jeeveswascompetent.
For more insights (and fun), go to the
Archdiocesanmediacentrehere.
MetropolitanSilouanduringtheAnnual
ArchdiocesanConference
Next year Fr Gregory is subdividing
his role as conference organiser with a
conference director, Fr Alexander Tefft,
who will be responsible, along with the
bishopandtheparishesforchoosingnext
years theme. The full photoalbum may
befoundhere.
KleioKechagia
Fr.SamuelCarterandFrJonathanduring
theAnnualArchdiocesanConference
OBITUARYFORVASILEIOS
Vassilis emigrated from Cyprus to
Englandasayoungman,wherehemet
his wife Valentina and made his home.
His work life started in the building
industry,andafterafewyearshefinally
settledonacareerasafishandchipshop
proprietor with his wife, the job from
which he retired at age 59. He quickly
settledinEnglandandhefoundagreat
love for the English countryside and
many of its pursuits. He took keenly to
fishing,shooting,ferreting,wildfowling,
deerstalkingandmanyotherfieldsports.
Headoptedtwobrightchildrenwhomhe
lovedimmensely,andpassedonhislove
of nature and animals to not only his
childrenbuttomanywhoknewhim.
As with all his interests he threw
himself with vim and passion into field
sports, which took him all over the
UnitedKingdom.FromfishinginIreland
todeerstalkingandhuntingcapercaillie
inScotland,shootingpheasantsinWales
and wild fowling in England, and
everythinginbetween.
Hehadagreatloveofgardeningto
whichendhekeptthreeallotments.Fora
numberofyearshewasPresidentofhis
allotment Committee, the role through
which he came to know many of his
friends.Helovedtosharehisadvicewith
other members of the allotment, and
would be found helping wherever he
could. It wasn't unknown to find him
walkingtheallotmentsofferingpeoplea
rawsliceofwhateverfruitorvegetablehe
happenedtobeeatingthatday.Heloved
toshare,andoftengracedhisfriendsand
neighbours with food he had grown
himself.AlthoughVassilishasnowpassed
on,histhrivingfigtreesliveonandbare
fruitinhisgarden.
OnavisittoCyprusbyhimselfone
year,VasbroughthomeaStPhanourios
icon for his wife which his family love
andprayto.ValentinawillgotoCyprus
next year to visit St Phanourios church
andlightabigcandleshepromisedthem
toSt.Vasileiostoo,hispatronSaints.
During his life he came to be very
closefriendswiththeRussellfamily,who
hemetbychancecoincidences.Thatled
to a long and still existing friendship
betweenthefamilies.Vassilisspentmuch
of hislife atthe Russell's farm,helping
with the animals and anything from
mucking out to putting up a new
building, which he often roped his son
intodoingtoo.
Vaswasrarely seenwithoutoneof
his trademark walking sticks, which he
enjoyedmakingwhenheretreatedtoone
ofhisshedsoncoldwinternightswhen
therewaslittleelsetodo.Thehouseis
stillfullofthem!OneofVassilis'sgreatest
loveswashiswife'shomecooking,tothe
point where she could hardly keep up
with feeding him. His appetite for food
was almost as large as his appetite for
life.
Throughouthislifeinfieldsports,he
always had a love for his dogs and
trainingthem,acraftatwhichhebecame
rather good. His dogs are notably well
behavedandloyal.Hebredhens,which
he kept on one of his allotments; and
budgies, finches and cocktails which he
keptinhishomebuiltaviary.Anyspare
eggs he had were freely given to his
friendsandneighbours.
Vasilis was a kind man and would
often be found laughing. He had a dry
sense of humour, which was sometimes
misunderstood.Hewasquitealoudman,
and that, combined with his physical
stature, made his presence known
whereverhewent,whichmeanthewasa
bitofacharacterwithinhissocialgroups.
Althoughnolifeisendedwithevery
task,wishandhobbycompleted,Vassilis
lived a full and contented life following
manyofhispassionsandprojectsinlife.
Vasillis fought bravely and uncom
plaininglyforfourteenmonthsbeforehe
sadlysuccumbedtoafatalGlioblastoma
on 5 June 2017, aged 69 years. He is
survived by his loving wife, Valentina;
daughter,Thespina;andsonChristos,as
wellashisthreeSpringerSpanielsRosa,
JessandMegan.
ValentinaChristophi
NAMESOFDEPARTED
LOVEDONESTOBE
REMEMBEREDTHISMONTH
Jul.9:MetropolitanMethodiosFougias
MEMORYETERNAL!
Pleasesendusthenamesofyourdepar
ted loved ones and dateof their depar
tureinorderforthemtoberemembered.
PARISHNEWS
We would like to wholeheartedly thank
IoannaPlaterandhermotherAurica for
cleaning and repairing the Priestly
Vestments. May our Lord and Saviour
JesusChristgivethereward!
OLDSTAVRONIANCORNER
We are so very grateful to those who
rememberus intheirprayersand show
theirloveasgenerousbenefactorsofour
Parish.WewouldliketothankApostolos
Iakovidis from Thessaloniki, Greece, for
the gifts of icons, books, and prayer
ropes. May our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christgivethereward!
MAJORCELEBRATIONSTHIS
MONTH
st
1July:CosmasandDamiantheHoly
Unmercenaries
nd
2July:St.JohnMaximovitch,Bishopof
Shanghai&ArchbishopofSanFransisco
(1966);St.Juvenal,Protomartyrof
AmericaandAlaska(1796)
rd
3July:StGermanusBishopoftheIsleof
Man(474)
th
4July:St.AndrewofCrete,authorof
theGreatCanon
th
7July:GreatmartyrKyriake
th
11July:GreatMartyrEuphemiatheAll
praised;St.Olga,equaltotheApostles,
PrincessofKiev
th
13July:SynaxisofArchangelGabriel
th
15July:HolyEqualtotheApostles
GreatPrinceVladimir,inBaptismBasil,
EnlighteneroftheRussianLand
th
17July:GreatMartyrMarinaofAntioch
andChildMartyrPrinceKenelm
 th st
20July:HolyGloriousProphetElijah 31July:StJosephofArimathea
th
25July:DormitionofrighteousAnna,
motheroftheMostHolyTheotokos For the lives of Saints please visit the
th
26July:HolyMartyrParaskeue CalendaroftheGreekOrthodoxArchdi
th
27July:GreatMartyrandHealer oceseofAmerica:www.calendar.goarch.org
Panteleimon

ServicesatStMartin'sinJuly*
Sat.1 st
13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.2nd 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Sat.8th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.9th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Sat.15th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.16th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Sat.22nd 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.23rd 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Sat.29th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.30th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgyfollowedbyParishlunch
*Helpsettingupthechurchisgreatlyappreciatedandstartshalfanhourbeforetheservice.

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.