The Clergy and Faithful of our God-protected Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland, and all the peoples of these lands,
Grace, peace and mercy be upon you all!
“I called to mind the Prophet, as he cried: I am earth and ashes; and I looked again into the graves and beheld the bones laid bare, and I said: Who then is the king or the warrior, the rich man or the needy, the upright or the sinner? Yet, O Lord, give rest to thy handmaid with the righteous.”
From the Funeral service of the Orthodox Church
It is with great sorrow yet with hope in the Resurrection that I greet the beloved faithful of our Archdiocese, along with the entirety of the peoples of these lands, and ask all to pray to Almighty God for our departed Sovereign, Elizabeth II, that the Lord will number her among the righteous.
Her Majesty has been a conscientious servant of the United Kingdom and her other realms, the Commonwealth and all our world, both as Princess and for more than seven decades as Queen: she has served us and it is left for us to serve her through our intercessions to the Lord on her behalf.
We assure our Sovereign Lord the King of our prayers for him and the Royal Family as we all weep and mourn. Yet through our tears we maintain the hope, the belief, the certainty, that Christ is risen! And his Resurrection means Death cannot hold us and our graves will open: not one shall remain in the tomb.
I beseech all to pray with us as we ask the Lord to receive his departed handmaid, our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth, and make her memory to be eternal.
I remain your Father in Christ,
+ Silouan
Metropolitan of the British Isles and Ireland
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
“What do I have to believe,” I ponder to myself, “to be a member of the Church?” And I turn to the Creed, to books, to Ecumenical Councils, to writings, to the Fathers—if so inclined I may even turn to the Bible—to find what is at the heart, the core, of our Faith. “What do I minimally have to believe to enter the Kingdom?”
A certain young man came to the Lord. We have to assume he came honestly—he is not identified as one of the Lawyers or Scribes who came testing Christ—and he asked him, “Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” He knew the Law, “All these I have observed,” he answers when the Lord tells him but he has a nagging feeling at the back of his mind; “this is still not quite right,” he is feeling deep down, “not quite enough: I still lack.”
In my own pride and hubris I believe I know what it is to be a Christian. “I have this all mapped out,” I declare, “I know the answers to questions when people ask.” Because I have turned our Faith into a set of beliefs, rules which need a minimal following, rather than the totality of Faithfulness. The Lord says elsewhere,
“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Luke 12:47)
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Read last Sunday’s Sermon, What do I have to believe?
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 9th September
Discussion on the Apocalypse of John (Revelation), 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 10th September
Vespers, 6.30 pm
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Sunday 11th September
Divine Liturgy, 9.30 am
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We will be meeting at St Francis’ Hall, Nightingale Avenue, Eastleigh, SO50 9JA. Come and See.
Can I help you?
I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
Can you help the mission?
Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
[email protected]