Dear Friends
And in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
The Symbol of Faith
We read and say this regularly, particularly at the Liturgy: we believe in—which is to say, we are faithful and loyal to—the one Church, the holy Church, the catholic Church, the apostolic Church, and our fidelity to the Orthodox Church stands firm. As we say on the first Sunday of Lent,
This is the Faith of the Apostles;
The Synodikon: The Affirmation of the Orthodox Faith
this is the Faith of the Fathers;
this is the Faith of the Orthodox;
this is the Faith which has established the universe!
The Church is one. This is easily misunderstood, for while she, the Church, is organised locally into dioceses and patriarchates etc., there are not “Orthodox Churches” of which we are one among many, there is “the Orthodox Church” whose High Priest is Christ himself.
The Church is holy, which is to say, the Church is of God. This is no mere human institution—a club to join—but the living body of Christ. She has been set aside to do the will of God: to proclaim the Resurrection, the victory of Christ over idolatry, sin and death, and invite all to join in that victory.
The Church is catholic. She is whole and complete—the primary meaning of the word catholic—and is not deficient in any way.
The Church is apostolic. She was founded on the teachings of the Apostles, she maintains the apostolic Faith with neither addition nor subtraction (Deuteronomy 4:2, Revelation 22:18–19), and she is sent out (the meaning of apostéllō, from where we get the word Apostle) to bring all the more to the Lord.
On Sunday we will have a happy coincidence of feasts. For while the Sunday after Pentecost is dedicated to all the Saints, 30th June is the feast of our community, the Feast of the Twelve Apostles. Happy feast! All the Saints, who in every generation have, for twenty centuries, maintained the faith delivered to them from the Apostles.
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 3
The Apostle Paul writes to us as much as to the Christians in Corinth,
To the Church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
First Corinthians 1:2–3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
For we, the Church of God which is at Eastleigh, are too “called to be saints.” God is calling you and he is calling me to contend for the Faith, to maintain the teachings of the Apostles, to pass on that which we have received, that we may each be told by the Lord,
Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.
Matthew 25:21, 23
The Apostles were sent out as witnesses, as martyrs, because they witnessed the Resurrection of Christ. We, too, following the example the Saints of every generation, by our participation in the death and Resurrection of the Lord—changed by the power of Christ’s victory—are sent out as witnesses of the Resurrection in our land and in our society.
Come. Come and discover the apostolic Faith handed down to us through all the Saints. Come and find the fulfilment of our lives. Come and encounter the risen Christ who brings joy in the place of sorrow, love in the place of hatred, Life in the place of death.
Come and see!
We serve a meal following the Liturgy on Sundays. All are welcome.
Do you, or someone you know, want to join our mailing list and receive our weekly email? Then let me know.
Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
In Palestine there are two seas, Galilee to the north and the Dead Sea to the south; both are fed by the Jordan River. Galilee, despite its misfortune in being below sea level, is full of life, it receives the blessings of the Jordan and passes on those blessings as the Jordan continues its journey southwards. The Dead Sea, in contrast, receives the blessings of the Jordan but does not let them go: it is a dead end and in its greed life there for any complex organism is near impossible.
“If any one thirst,” says the Lord,
“let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
And I must judge myself based on this: am I as the Sea of Galilee receiving the blessings of Jordan and passing them on? Or am I as the Dead Sea holding onto the blessings for myself? For if “out of my heart flows rivers of living water” then where I hold on to them they will drown me: but, in contrast, if I share them I may become truly alive.
…
Read this Sermon, Pass on the blessings.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 28th June
Discussion on the Gospel of Matthew, 8 pm.
Online only
Saturday 29th June
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm.
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
Sunday 30th June
Matins and Divine Liturgy, 9 am.
At 3rd URC Scout Hall, Chandlers Ford
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 meet at 3rd URC Scout HQ, Kings Rd, Chandlers Ford SO53 2EY. The Scout hall is behind and to the left of the URC Church. 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 parish?
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]