Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is weekly newsletter #15 of the St Ignatius Parish in Belfast.
Contents of this Newsletter:
- Message from Metr. Silouan: Remembering Martyrs of St Elias Church in Damascus
- Announcements: Schedule of services and more
- Homily on Next Sunday’s Gospel: Perfection through Weakness
Message from Metr. Silouan: Remembering Martyrs of St Elias Church in Damascus
Dear Reverend Fathers and beloved faithful,
With hearts full of sorrow and eyes filled with tears, we received the grievous news of the cowardly terrorist bombing that took place on Sunday during the Divine Liturgy at St Elias Church in Dweilaa, Damascus. This heinous act led to the martyrdom of a great number of innocent believers and wounded many others, as they were lifting up their prayers before the altar of the Lord.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to His Beatitude Patriarch John X, to our brothers in the Holy Synod of Antioch, and to all the faithful of our mother Church, praying that the Lord may receive the martyrs into His infinite mercy, grant healing to the injured, and console the hearts of all those who grieve.
This appalling crime, which struck our faithful during the hour of worship, is yet another page in the long history of suffering and witness written by the people of Antioch since the earliest centuries. At the same time, it is a living testimony to a faith that cannot be conquered and to a hope that does not disappoint, as we hold fast to the words of our Lord: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)
On this sorrowful occasion, and as we approach the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, founders of the See of Antioch, we call upon all our reverend clergy in this God-protected Archdiocese to offer the Trisagion service for the repose of the souls of the martyrs, on the coming Sunday, 29 June 2025, immediately following the Divine Liturgy.
May this sacred day be one of prayer and spiritual unity with our suffering brethren, and a day of hope, in which we commend the blood of the martyrs into the hands of the Lord, awaiting the joy of the Resurrection.
Let us remain united in prayer, firm in love, remembering always that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church, and that martyrdom has never departed from the Church of Antioch, but has been for her a crown and a glory.
Mercy to the martyrs, healing to the wounded, and peace to our struggling Church.
Your Father in Christ,
+Silouan
Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland
P.S. Following the instructions of His Eminence, we celebrated the Trisagion Service for the Departed (Memorial) on Wednesday, 25th June, during our Online Faith & Fellowship meeting, as there will be no liturgy at church this coming Sunday. Thank you to everyone who joined in prayer for the martyrs of St Elias Church in Damascus.
News and Announcements:
- Service schedule – website updates: We have improved the Services section of our website (saintignatiusbelfast.org/services) to make it more informative and easier to use. Visit the updated page to stay connected and plan your participation in the life of the parish. You can now:
- View the schedule of the next upcoming services
- Download our seasonal services poster directly to your device
- Access and add our shared online calendar of services and events to your own device, with clear instructions provided on the website
- Next services in Church: As shown in the Upcoming Services section on our website, the next services in church will take place over the weekend of 5th–6th July:
- Saturday, 5th July, 17:00: Great Vespers, followed by tea, coffee, and fellowship
- Sunday, 6th July:
- 10:00: Orthros
- 11:00: Divine Liturgy, followed by a parish lunch
- If you would like to contribute to the bring-and-share parish lunch, please contact Carmel, who coordinates it, at +44 7853 911412
- If you would like to arrange a private conversation or confession, please feel free to contact me directly at fr.dmitry@saintignatiusbelfast.org or by phone at +44 7479 630020, so that we can schedule a suitable time.
- Online Faith & Fellowship Meetings: we continue with our weekly fellowship online on Wednesdays. Our next meeting is on Wednesday, 2nd of June, at 7:00 PM, Zoom link: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/97707660214 As usual, we will begin with the Little Compline, the text of which you can find following this link. After the prayers, we will a conversation on a spiritual topic.
Next Sunday’s Gospel Reading and Homily: Perfection through Weakness
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (16:13-19):
At that time, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”.
Homily: Perfection through Weakness
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
This coming Sunday coincides with the Feast of the holy, glorious, all-laudable, and foremost of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. Beyond their universal significance as pillars of the Church, their feast has particular meaning for our Antiochian Patriarchate, of which they are the patrons and founders. Congratulations on this great Feast, which also marks the conclusion of the Apostles’ Fast.
What can one say on the feast day of these holy Apostles? It seems everything is clear: they are the great messengers of Christ and teachers of the whole world. It is through their labor that the foundation of the Church was laid, the Church to which we all belong. Through their tireless work, always treading that thin line between life and death (whether facing natural danger or constant persecution), thousands were brought to Christ in the first decades of the Church. Their witness, including their recorded words and letters, continues to teach and sustain us in the faith even today.
Yet beyond all this greatness, there is a profound lesson for us. Our Lord chose to build His Church through these men who, by human standards, would not seem the most suitable candidates for leadership.
Consider Peter. Originally named Simon, he was of humble origin: a fisherman, lacking formal education (Matthew 4:18-23). Further, he was not exactly reliable by worldly measure: he tended to lose courage under pressure and even denied his Master. It was Peter who began to sink when his faith faltered as he walked toward Christ on the water (Matthew 14:28–31). It was he who denied Christ three times at the time of the Lord’s arrest (Matthew 26:69–75); and according to Holy Tradition, he tried to flee persecution in Rome but was stopped when Christ appeared to him on the road and asked, “Quo vadis?” — “Where are you going?”
Yet the Lord gave him the name Peter, meaning “rock” (Matthew 16:18), and declared that on this rock He would build His Church. Why? Because despite all his weaknesses, Peter possessed great faith and honesty of heart. He was the first to confess Christ as the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). He recognized his own weakness, and it was precisely through that humility that he became a great servant of God. Peter was no president or CEO driving his personal vision; he was an apostle sent to proclaim God’s vision. The less there was of himself in this mission, and the more of Christ, the better. As Peter himself confessed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
And consider Paul. Known before his conversion as Saul, he was a fierce persecutor of the Church (Acts 8:1-3). Paul was highly educated in the religious Law, organized, ambitious, and zealous in all he did (Acts 22:3). On the road to Damascus, however, Christ turned those very qualities to the service of the Church, rather than against it (Acts 9:1–9). Paul did not lose his zeal or ambition, but directed them instead to the Gospel. In today’s Epistle (2 Corinthians 11:21–33; 12:1–9), Paul even lists — almost boasting — the many labors he undertook, “I am a better one” (2 Corinthians 11:23). Yet he, too, learned humility. After his conversion, this great man was sent to a humble priest, Ananias, to be instructed, baptized, and catechized (Acts 9:10-19). Paul also carried a “thorn in the flesh,” which God did not take away despite Paul’s prayers (2 Corinthians 12:7–9), precisely so that he would remain humble. His achievements were in spite of this weakness, and only because Christ lived in him (Galatians 2:20).
So, dear brothers and sisters, despite appearing so different, these two men are in the end quite similar. Both might have seemed awkward choices for leadership, but both became mighty apostles because they allowed God, through their weakness and humility, to accomplish His work in them.
This leaves us with two lessons to remember:
First, we should never look for excuses in our personal weaknesses or limitations. The Lord enlightened the world through humble fishermen, a zealous persecutor, a tax collector, and others who seemed unqualified by human standards. Let your weaknesses remind you to be humble, and trust that God can transform them into strengths for serving Him and His people. You do not need to be perfect before you can do God’s work. Rather, you are made perfect as Christ lives in you — through repentance, through the sacraments, and through coming ever closer to Him.
Second, no matter how clever or capable we think we are, we all need instruction in the faith. Paul, with all his knowledge, first had to learn from Ananias. In the same way, catechumens today must receive proper teaching, and those who are already Christians must continually deepen their knowledge of the faith — through prayer, reading the Gospel, studying the writings of the Holy Fathers, and being active in the Church.
May the holy, glorious, and foremost of the Apostles Peter and Paul intercede for us, strengthen our faith, and inspire us to follow Christ with the same courage and humility. Amen!
Yours in Christ,
Fr Dmitry