Category Archives: Suggested Reading

Journey to Pascha 2019 | Issue 10 (Palm Sunday and Holy Week)

21 April, 2019 – 3:30 pm

Christ’s Apostles struggle to stay awake on the evening before Jesus’ arrest.

The tenth issue of Journey to Pascha can be downloaded below:

Journey to Pascha X (Palm Sunday & Holy Week)

Any questions, or to be added to a mailing list to receive electronic issues directly to your email every Sunday, please contact Deacon Jonathan (zgjmc@hotmail.com)

 

Readings for this Sunday: Philippians 4:4-9 (Epistle); John 12:1-18 (Gospel)

 

“Passing from one divine Feast to another,

From palms and branches let us now make haste, ye faithful,

To the solemn and saving celebration of Christ’s Passion.

Let us behold Him undergo voluntary suffering for our sake,

And let us sing to Him with thankfulness a fitting hymn:

Fountain of tender mercy and haven of salvation,

O Lord, glory to Thee!”

 

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Journey to Pascha 2019 | Issue 9 (Sunday of St Mary of Egypt)

14 April, 2019 – 4:43 pm

St Mary of Egypt and St Zosimus

The ninth issue of Journey to Pascha can be downloaded below:

Journey to Pascha IX (Sunday of Mary of Egypt)

This Sunday is dedicated to the St Mary of Egypt. Her feast day is the 1st of April, which means it falls within Lent and so we remember her on the fifth Sunday of Lent as well. Her life is a perfect icon of repentance and can be read online here.

Any questions, or to be added to a mailing list to receive electronic issues directly to your email every Sunday, please contact Deacon Jonathan (zgjmc@hotmail.com)

 

Readings for this Sunday: Galatians 3:23-29 (Epistle, for St Mary); Luke 7:36-50 (Gospel, for St Mary)

The Epistle and Gospel readings for the fifth Sunday, as used before St Mary was commemorated on this day, are: Hebrews 9:11-14 and Mark 10:32-45.

 

“As we eagerly begin, O faithful, the sixth week of the Fast,

Let us sing a hymn of preparation for the Feast of Palms,

To the Lord who comes with glory to Jerusalem in the power of the Godhead, that He may slay death.

So with reverence let us prepare the branches of virtues, as emblems of victory;

And let us cry Hosanna! to the Creator of all.”

 

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Journey to Pascha 2019 | Issue 8 (Sunday of St John of the Ladder)

7 April, 2019 – 5:42 pm

St John ‘Climacus’ of Sinai (author of “The Ladder of Divine Ascent”)

The eighth issue of Journey to Pascha can be downloaded below:

Journey to Pascha VIII (Sunday of St John Climacus)

This Sunday is dedicated to the St. John Climacus (i.e. of the Ladder). His feast day is the 30th March, which means it falls within Lent and so we remember him on this Sunday of Lent as well. He is named after his famous work “The Ladder of Divine Ascent”, which can be read online here. It is a remarkable spiritual work that, although written for monks, is useful for all Christians who want to make progress in life.

Before St John was born, the fourth Sunday of Lent was dedicated to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which has an additional, Lenten, interpretation in the Orthodox Church. Read more about the Parable of the Good Samaritan here.

Icon showing Christ as the Good Samaritan, and humankind as the ‘man who fell among thieves’

Any questions, or to be added to a mailing list to receive electronic issues directly to your email every Sunday, please contact Deacon Jonathan (zgjmc@hotmail.com)

 

Readings for this Sunday: Hebrews 6:13-20 (Epistle); Mark 9:17-31 (Gospel)

 

“Having passed beyond the middle point in this holy season of the Fast,

With joy let us go forward to the part that still remains,

Anointing our souls with the oil of alms-giving.

So that we may be counted worthy to venerate the Divine Passion of Christ our God,

And to attain his dread and holy Resurrection.” 

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By Orthodox Parish of St Cuthbert (OPOSC) | Also posted in Lent | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Journey to Pascha | Forgiveness Sunday

17 February, 2018 – 9:55 pm

During Lent, the parish of St Cuthbert will be publishing short booklets every week. It is hoped that these booklets will be useful and help us all through this time of spiritual growth.

The first two booklets can be found as pdf files below. The first explains a bit about Lent, fasting and the Sunday of the Last Judgement. The second talks about forgiveness, the Canon of St Andrew, and the sin of anger.

Each can be printed on to one A4 piece of paper (double-sided) by selecting ‘booklet’ in the print settings in Adobe reader, although the writing is a bit small. Otherwise they can be read on your computer.

If you have any questions about the contents of these booklets, please contact Fr Edwin or Deacon Jonathan.

Issue 1: Sunday of the Last Judgement

Issue 2: Forgiveness Sunday

Other useful links:

Daily readings for Lent

The Great Canon of St Andrew…

in English (another link is also found in Issue 2, with scriptural references)

in Russian

in Greek

in Romanian

In Bulgarian

in French

 

May you all have a blessed and fruitful Lent!

By Orthodox Parish of St Cuthbert (OPOSC) | Also posted in Services | Comments (0)

Lent | Journey to Pascha

29 January, 2018 – 12:37 am

Preparing the Lenten services…

Sunday the 28th of January is the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, which marks the beginning of the Lenten Triodion, a book of services and prayers that takes us to the Eve of Pascha (Easter) which this year is on the 7th of April. The period between now and that celebration of the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ is one of preparation and potential for growth. “Potential growth”, because our growth and preparedness for Pascha is not guaranteed if we enter into this period – Lent – with a superficial understanding or wrong attitude.

The Church services and prayers of Lent are a beautiful way of telling us how to have a “proper” and fruitful Fast, but there is an overabundance; in Holy Week alone, if all the services were offered in their fullness and we attended them, we’d spend close to 40 hours in church! For most people, monasteries, and all parishes today, the full compliment of Lenten services is impossible. All we at St Cuthbert’s can hope to do is try to select enough of the Church’s  wisdom and beauty to give services that can keep us going through these long weeks. Attending these services will help us to recharge on our progression of growth and repentance, spending time with other people on a similar journey. In between, we must support and love each other in prayer using the lessons taught us on each Sunday. In addition, below are a few resources that might be of help. Let’s keep in touch with each other, and especially with God.

From the Parish of St Cuthbert, may you all have a blessed and fruitful Lent!

Parish of St Cuthbert’s calendar of services for Lent and Holy Week

The Journey to Pascha – pdf of the Sundays leading to Easter and suggested “ways to participate”

Explanation of the special days, hymns and practices of Lent and Holy Week – from Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (there are some slight differences in practice between us and the Greeks, but a very good resource)

“On Fasting” by St John Chrysostom

By Orthodox Parish of St Cuthbert (OPOSC) | Also posted in Services | Comments (0)

Le Feuillet in English

27 July, 2014 – 6:43 am

Click to access 2014-06-Feuillet.pdf

If you haven’t yet found this on the website of the Exarchate, it’s well worth a read.  It sets our little islands and their worshipping communities in a world context!

 

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Forgiveness

28 February, 2014 – 4:29 pm

http://glory2godforallthings.com/2014/02/28/forgiveness-do-we-know-what-were-doing/

Please read as we move into Great Lent.

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Father Stephen Freeman …

5 February, 2014 – 9:57 am

… writes a regular blog, Glory to God for All Things, which is always very well worth spending time with.

Here is today’s post:

http://glory2godforallthings.com/2014/02/05/saving-the-atonement/

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