Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is weekly newsletter #18 of the St Ignatius Parish in Belfast, returning after summer break!
Contents of this Newsletter:
- Message from Fr Dmitry: Parish Initiatives
- News and Announcements: Icon Workshop
- Homily on last Sunday’s Gospel: Forgive your brethren
Message from Fr Dmitry: Parish Initiatives
Dear brothers and sisters,
I would like to remind you of one important initiative and also bring another to your attention:
Firstly, as mentioned in our previous newsletter Newsletter #17 – The Lord’s Hand, we have established the Fellowship and Hospitality Team to help organise our Sunday parish lunches. This is a vital ministry that contributes to the life and unity of our church community. However, we must ensure that this responsibility does not fall solely on a small group of people, especially those who are already serving in other roles. There are many ways to contribute: coordinating the lunch menu to avoid food waste, bringing food, helping with setup, assisting with cleanup. Our parishioner Carmel has volunteered to serve as the first coordinator of the Fellowship and Hospitality Team.
We are asking for broad participation from the parish. With only a few weeks remaining until we resume in-church services, it is time for the team to begin preparations. So far, only one person has come forward to help. I urge you to prayerfully consider responding to this calling. If you are willing to help in the Fellowship and Hospitality Team, please let me know so you can be added to the team. You can also inform Carmel directly of your willingness to join the Team, by calling or texting her at +447853911412
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)
Secondly, we also need more people to assist with setting up the church at the beginning of the service weekends, and especially with packing everything away after the Sunday liturgy.
This is a labour-intensive work, and the more people who help, the faster and more efficiently it can be done. Carsten, our senior altar server, coordinates the work involved in setting up and putting the church away. If you are willing to assist, please speak to him during the service weekend and be ready to help after lunch on Sunday. He will assign tasks and teach you how the process works, so that this responsibility can be shared among more people in the future.
Some of our parishioners have faithfully carried this task for many years, maintaining the church for our benefit so we can worship and enjoy the fellowship it brings. It is only right that we now support them by stepping forward to share in this work. We are all part of one community, growing in faith and in the knowledge of God. Working together in our Lord’s Vineyard is a wonderful opportunity for this.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10)
News and Announcements:
- Icon painting Workshop in Northern Ireland, 7-13th December 2025: I remind you of the icon painting workshop organised by Fr Justin Venn, the priest at the Orthodox Church of St. John of Shanghai in Belfast (ROCOR), taking place at the Portglenone Abbey in Northern Ireland. There are still a few places left, so if you want to attend, please register by contacting Fr. Justin directly as soon as possible at frjustin@studiosanctus.com.
- Weekly Online Faith & Fellowship Meetings on Wednesdays: Join us for our next regular weekly Zoom meeting on Wednesday, 20th of August, at 7:00 PM (UK time): https://ucl.zoom.us/j/97707660214 This week, we will pray the Little Compline and discuss the Gospel Reading for the upcoming Sunday: https://www.antiochian.org/epistleliturgicday/4290
- Archdiocesan Retreat 2025, 24-27th October: The second annual Archdiocesan Retreat will take place 24–27 October 2025 at the Othona Community, Bradwell-on-Sea. The theme selected by His Eminence, Metropolitan Silouan, for this year is “The Church as Family – Strengthening Bonds in Christ.” I warmly encourage all of you to attend the retreat! To secure you place, complete a fast registration form here: antiochian-retreats.org/register
What to expect: A weekend of fellowship, inspiring talks, workshops, prayer, and activities for all ages in a beautiful setting. Speakers include Metropolitan Silouan, Archimandrite Philip Hall, and Fr Jonathan Hemmings. More info: antiochian-retreats.org
Cost: £250 per adult (meals and accommodation included). Children’s prices are reduced. Limited financial assistance is available through the archdiocese. As treasurer of the Retreat, I am happy to explain what help is available—so please don’t let cost prevent you from attending.
Travel: I know we are the most distant parish and travel involves both flights and ground transport. Do not worry! If you can get to one of London’s airports, the Retreat team will help to arrange easy onward transport to and from the venue. Car-pooling, lifts, train support, and station pick-ups will all be organised.
Next Sunday’s Gospel Reading and Homily: Forgive your brethren
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (18:23-35)
The Lord said this parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”.
Homily: Forgive your brethren
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The parable that our Lord sets before us in the next Sunday’ss Gospel (11th Sunday of Matthew) teaches us two truths about forgiveness: forgiveness in our relationship with God, and forgiveness in our relationships with one another. These two are deeply connected, and when we look at them in turn, their relationship becomes clear.
First, let us consider how God forgives us. The parable begins with a king settling accounts. He finds a servant who owes him ten thousand talents, which is an unimaginable sum of money. No ordinary labourer in ancient Israel could hope to earn that in many lifetimes. The King is Christ, and the indebted servant is an image of us. As St Theophylact of Ohrid explains: “We owe ten thousand talents, receiving benefaction every day, yet giving back nothing good to God in return.”
We tend to fall into sin due to our nature being weakened through the Fall. But, even if we cannot fully uproot sin from our lives, we at least owe God our love, our gratitude, our very lives. And yet, how do we repay Him? Perhaps a few minutes in the morning and evening in prayer, attendance at the Divine Liturgy, Confession from time to time. And then we return again, asking for forgiveness, for mercy, for more gifts, both material and spiritual. Do we ever come simply to be with Him? To speak to Him as we do to those we love, without asking for anything, just because we cannot imagine a day without Him? He gives us life itself, yet so often we fail even to thank Him.
The hymnography of the Orthros of Holy Friday (Service of Twelve Passion Gospels celebrated in the evening of Holy Thursday) puts this starkly before us in the Twelfth Antiphon: “Thus says the Lord to the Jews: O My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? I gave sight to your blind, cleansed your lepers, raised the man lying on his bed. O My people, what have I done to you, and how have you repaid Me? Instead of manna, gall; instead of water, vinegar; instead of loving Me, you nailed Me to the Cross.”
Am I any different? Every time I sin, every time I forget the Lord who gave me everything, everytime I do not repent, I become like those who crucified Him.
Nevertheless, the parable is clear: the king forgave the servant’s debt completely. Notice: the servant did not even ask for forgiveness. He only begged for more time. But the king, moved with compassion, forgave him all. This is how God treats us. He gives more than we dare to ask. Like the repentant thief on the cross, who asked only to be remembered in Christ’s Kingdom, yet received the promise of Paradise itself (Luke 23:42–43).
Now let us turn to the second part of the parable, which speaks about forgiveness between people.
The forgiven servant immediately finds someone who owes him a small debt. Instead of showing mercy, he seizes him, demands payment, and throws him into prison. When the king learns of this, he delivers the servant to torment until he pays in full.
Our Lord is clear: if we expect mercy from God for our countless sins, we cannot withhold forgiveness from those who wrong us. However serious their offence, is it greater than our offence against God? Or, are we in any way better or more special than God, that we demand special treatment and do not have mercy? As we say daily in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Do we mean it? If we do not forgive, but say those words, then we make ourselves hypocrites like the Pharisees who perveted the faith, diverted people away from God and crucified Him. Remember, that our Lord forgave even them at the Cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34).
Moreover, refusing forgiveness brings spiritual torment. Like the servant handed over to the torturers, we too are consumed by anger, resentment, bitterness. If we do not release others, we ourselves remain bound.
And so the two parts of the parable come together. God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others are inseparable. To refuse to forgive is to cut ourselves off from God’s mercy. To forgive is to share in His life. But can we truly do this by our own strength? By human effort alone it is impossible. We struggle even to forgive those closest to us. Only when Christ dwells in us, when we are united to Him through prayer, repentance, the Holy Sacraments, and serving the people around us, can we begin to love and forgive as He does. Only by carrying Christ in ourselves, like our patron St Igantius, called Theophoros (the one who carries God) did, can we show His mercy to others.
And how many times should we forgive? The answer is found just a fe verses above the discussed parable (Matthew 18:21-22). Peter asks the Lord: “How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” In the tradition of the rabbis, three times was considered sufficient. Peter thought he was being generous in offering seven. But Christ replied: “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.”
This is not a number to be counted. It means without limit, always. In Scripture, “seven” is the number of fullness and perfection. “Seventy times seven” means a forgiveness so abundant that it mirrors the mercy of God Himself. So when we forgive, again and again, we are not simply following a rule. We are imitating God. His mercy never ends, and neither should ours.
Brothers and sisters, may we learn from Christ mercy, love, and forgiveness, so that He may forgive us also. If you have someone with whom you are not reconciled, it is not too late. Reconcile. Forgive. And you will find that in forgiving, you are set free. Amen.
Forgive me!
Yours in Christ,
Fr Dmitry