Beloved brothers and sisters,
This is Community Bulletin #48 of Saint Ignatius Parish in Belfast
Contents of this Bulletin:
- This Week in the Life of the Church: Feast Elevation of the Holy Cross
- A Pastoral Word: God so loved the world
- News and Announcements
This Week in the Life of the Church
On Monday, 14th of September the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. Here you can read the Synaxarion, which tells the story behind the Feast: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2015/09/synaxarion-for-exaltation-of-honorable.html
Despite being one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a strict fasting day, on which we abstain from meat, fish, dairy, eggs, wine, and oil.
The Cross is the weapon of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over death. Yet, even as we celebrate this victory, we remember the price at which it came to us: through the voluntary sufferings of our Lord. And so we fast on this day in order to be with our Lord, to keep our focus upon Him, to remain spiritually vigilant, and to persevere in our struggle against the evil one.
Saints and Feasts of the Week
*The saints named here accompany the days of the week as living witnesses of Christ. Only the principal saint or feast of each day is listed here, in keeping with the liturgical order of the Church.
- Sunday, 13th of September – Sunday before Holy Cross
- Monday, 14th of September – The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross
- Tuesday, 15th of September – Nikitas the Great Martyr
- Wednesday, 16th of September – Great Martyr Euphemia the All-praised
- Thursday, 17th of September – Holy Martyr Sophia, and her three daughters, Faith (Pistis, Vera), Hope (Elpis, Nadezhda), and Love (Agape, Lyubov), at Rome
- Friday, 18th of September – St. Eumenios, bishop of Gortyna
- Saturday, 19th of September – St. Theodore of Tarsus, 7th archbishop of Canterbury & Patron of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland
- Sunday, 20th of September – Sunday after Holy Cross
Hymns of the Week
*The hymns listed here are those that shape the prayer of the Church for the week, following the liturgical order and hierarchy. They are offered as an aid to prayer and may be used, as each is able, in personal prayer or a simple prayer rule at home.
RESURRECTIONAL APOLYTIKION IN TONE SIX
When Mary stood at thy grave looking for thy sacred body, angelic powers shone above thy revered tomb, and the soldiers who were to keep guard became as dead men. Thou led hades captive and wast not tempted thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst give life to the world; O thou that art risen from the dead! O Lord, glory to thee.
APOLYTIKION OF THE HOLY CROSS
O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy commonwealth.
APOLYTIKION OF ST. SOPHIA AND HER DAUGHTERS IN TONE FOUR
O Lord Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice: * O my Bridegroom, Thee I love; and seeking Thee, I now contest, * and with Thy baptism am crucified and buried. * I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign with Thee; * for Thy sake I die, that I may live in Thee: * accept me offered out of longing * to Thee as a spotless sacrifice. * Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since Thou art great in mercy.
KONTAKION OF THE ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS IN TONE FOUR
Do Thou, Who of Thine own good will was lifted up upon the Cross, O Christ our God, bestow Thy bounties upon the new Nation which is called by Thy Name; make glad in Thy might those who lawfully govern, that with them we may be led to victory over our adversaries, having in Thine aid a weapon of peace and a trophy invincible.
Epistle and Gospel Readings:
*The Epistle and Gospel of the Sunday that begins the current liturgical week
- Epistle: Galatians 6:11-18
- Gospel: John 3:13-17
The Sunday and daily Scripture readings may be read online via the Archdiocesan website: https://www.antiochian-orthodox.com/calendar
A Pastoral Word: God so loved the world
The Lord said, “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
This short Gospel passage contains what is perhaps one of the central messages of Christianity, the very heart of the Gospel, the “Good News” (Evangelion in Greek): “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
The path towards salvation passes through the Cross. First comes the Cross, the clearest sign of God’s self-sacrificial love for us. God does not merely tell us that He loves us. He enters into our suffering and truly gives Himself for us upon the Cross. And then comes the Resurrection.
Yet the Cross and the Resurrection cannot really be separated. They belong together and form one saving work of Christ, one Divine Economy of our salvation. The Cross leads to the Resurrection, and the Resurrection reveals the Cross as the weapon of victory over sin, death and the devil.
In this Gospel, our Lord also points us back to an image of the Cross already given to Israel in the Old Testament: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” In chapter 21 of the Book of Numbers, the Israelites begin to speak against God and against Moses in the wilderness. Fiery serpents come among the people, and many are bitten and die. The people then recognise their sin and turn back to God, asking Moses to intercede for them. God commands Moses to make a bronze serpent and raise it upon a pole. Anyone who had been bitten was told to look upon it, and by doing so would live.
What does all of this mean for us?
We must not hide the Cross. We must place it at the centre of our lives and of our attention. When we look upon Christ crucified, we remind ourselves both of His victory and of His immeasurable love for us. The Cross tells us that we need not live in fear. If God loves us so greatly that He enters into suffering and death for our sake, and if He has overcome death itself, then surely, with His help, we can endure and overcome the much smaller trials that confront us in our own lives.
And when we find ourselves attacked by temptation, fear, anger, despair, or sinful thoughts, let us turn again to the Cross. Make the sign of the Cross over yourself. The Cross is a weapon against the evil one.
Bless yourself with the sign of the Cross when you wake up and before you sleep. Bless the road before you when you leave your home. Bless the food you eat. Bless your children with the sign of the Cross. Wear your baptismal cross. Keep the Cross visibly in your home and in your icon corner.
The Cross should not be something we remember only on particular feast days. It should accompany us every day. When we make the sign of the Cross, we proclaim with our whole body that we belong to Christ, that we place our hope in His victory, and that we trust in the love of the One Who was lifted up upon the Cross so that we might not perish, but have eternal life.
News and Announcements
- Faith & Fellowship Meeting this week – Join our regular Faith & Fellowship meeting this Wednesday, 16nd September, at 7:00 pm on Zoom. We will pray Little Compline and have the last talk in the series on the Letters of St Paul. Zoom link: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/93643306643
- Parish Registration Form Reminder – Thank you to everyone who has already completed the parish registration form. Your response is greatly appreciated and will help us in planning and supporting parish life more effectively.
If you have not yet registered, we kindly encourage you to do so. Maintaining an up-to-date parish register helps us better understand the size and needs of our parish community, improve communication, and plan for the future as our parish continues to grow.
The registration form can be completed online using the link below: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/2CN1yeinMb
Thank you for your support and commitment to the life of St Ignatius Parish. - Have you visited our Parish Library yet? Our library offers a growing collection of Orthodox books for adults and children: spiritual classics, lives of the saints, theology, Church history, and books for young readers. A good spiritual book can deepen our understanding of the faith and accompany us in our spiritual life.
You can browse the catalogue and request books online through the parish website. All the information about borrowing books, together with the online request form, can be found here: https://saintignatiusbelfast.org/library
Our librarians, Michael and Porphyrios, will be happy to help if you are looking for something to read. You can contact them at: library@saintignatiusbelfast.org
