Dear friends in Christ,
This is weekly newsletter #7 of the St Ignatius Parish in Belfast.
Contents of this Newsletter:
- Message from Fr Dmitry: a miracle
- Announcements
- Homily on past Sunday’s Gospel: Break Through to Christ
Message from Fr Dmitry: a miracle
I pray that your struggle during this Great Lent is blessed. Some of you been in touch to say how they feel that the temptations have multiplied when they began fasting. I have experienced this too. The evil one intensifies his attacks when he sees us striving to draw closer to Christ through fasting and prayer. Hence, these challenges, though difficult, are expected. If you stumble, do not despair. Rise, repent, and begin again. Do not let setbacks lead to the abandonment of your Lenten effort. The very fact that you are being tested means you are on the right path.
I want to share with you a story of a recent miracle as an encouragement to trust in God.
Just before my last trip to Belfast (March 2–3), I lost my wallet at the university where I work. It contained my driving license, which I needed not only in Belfast but also for my upcoming trip to the U.S., where I had no other way than a car hire to reach my conference venue on time. Despite searching everywhere – at the university, at lost and found unit, at tube station a coffee shop I vied that day – I could not find the wallet. As the day wore on, my hope began to fade.
I prayed but it was hard as I was stressed. So, I also asked my spiritual father to pray. He encouraged me to seek the intercessions of St. Phanourios, known for helping find lost things. That evening, I decided to check the public study space where I had worked last night one last time and spoke to the same security guard who had been on duty when I lost the wallet. To my amazement, he pulled my wallet from the lost and found drawer. I was overwhelmed with this experience of the power of prayer and the saint’s intercession.
But the story did not end there. My spiritual father reminded me that those who receive help from St. Phanourios traditionally bake and offer in church a Phanouropita (a special sweet bread) in gratitude. My week was so busy that I had no time to do so before my trip. This fact irritated me. Even on Sunday, as I was on the way to the church, I felt unease about it.
After Liturgy, a parishioner approached me with a baking dish. Assuming it was koliva for a memorial, I was surprised when she said, “No, Father, this is Phanouropita.” Only one person in the parish knew my story, but this parishioner had no idea. She explained that St. Phanourios had appeared to her in a dream that night, telling her to bake it. Without hesitation, she obeyed. With great joy, I blessed the Phanouropita, singing the Apolytkion to St Phanourius and offering the thanksgiving prayer to God. And the sweet and tasty bread was shared among the faithful. I remain deeply moved by God’s love, the care of His saints, and the faith of those who listen and respond to His call without hesitation, trusting in Him. Truly, Wondrous is God in His Saints (Psalm 67:36)!
Announcements
- Next Faith & Fellowship Meeting: Thursday, 20th of March 7:00 PM. Our weekly online Faith & Fellowship meetings continue on Zoom, with Lenten sessions taking place on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. This Thursday, we will again pray the Great Compline, followed by the second talk on the lenten prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian. Join the meeting using the same link as usual: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/97707660214 If you’d like to help with chanting or reading, please text or email me.
- Extra Church Services in April. With the blessing of Metropolitan Silouan, we are planning additional services around my scheduled visit to Belfast (April 5–6).
The first serve is the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, on Friday, 4th of April, at 7:00 pm. It is the practice of the Orthodox Church to celebrate the Full Akathist Hymn on the fifth Friday of Great Lent, asking Mother of God for her intercessions and help in our lenten journey. I strongly encourage you to make effort to attend the service, it is very moving and beatiful.
The second service is the Sacrament of Holy Unction, which will be celebrated on Saturday, 5th April, after the Great Vespers. Although this sacrament is usually offered to those suffering from serious illness, during Great Lent it is given to all the faithful, recognizing that we all stand in need of healing, both physical and spiritual, as we prepare for Glorious Pascha. In Antiochian practice the Sacrament is offered on Holy Wednesday. But considering our circumstances, His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan gave us the blessing to celebrate Holy Unction earlier in Lent. To accommodate the Sacrament, on Saturday, April 5, Great Vespers will begin at 4:00 PM instead of the usual time. Afterward, there will be a short break for tea and coffee before we come together again at 5:30 PM to celebrate Holy Unction. I encourage you to attend and take part in the Sacrament.
Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Divine Services in Church:
Friday, April 4th, 7:00 PM – Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos
Saturday, April 5th:
- 4:00 PM – Great Vespers
- 5:30 PM – Holy Unction
Sunday, April 6th:
- 10:00 AM – Orthros
- 11:00 AM – Divine Liturgy, followed by the fasting parish lunch
Location: Cullen Memorial Hall, Methodist Church, 381 Donegall Road, Belfast, BT12 6GR
Past Sunday’s Gospel Reading and Homily:
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (2:1-12):
At that time, Jesus entered Capernaum and it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak thus? It is a blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven, ‘ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”-he said to the paralytic-“I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!
Homily: Break Through to Christ
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
The past Sunday, the Second of Great Lent, is known as the Sunday of St Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki (+ 1359). St Gregory is particularly known for his development and theological defense of the monastic tradition of uninterrupted prayer of the heart, known as hesychasm. But he has also defended the Orthodox teaching on the Divine Energies against heretical distortions.
St. Gregory taught that the Divine Energies – a specific theological term used to refer to God’s active presence and operation in creation – are the means by which He reveals Himself to humanity and draws us into communion with Him. One of these Energies is the uncreated Light of Christ. Our ultimate goal is salvation, which, in Orthodox theology, is understood as deification or theosis. This does not mean merely drawing closer to God but truly being transformed, becoming ever more like Him. However, we do not partake of God’s essence, for He is wholly transcendent and beyond all created being. Rather, we participate in God through His Divine Grace, communicated to us through His uncreated Energies, by which we are united to Him and transformed into His likeness.
St. Gregory affirmed that the Light with which our Lord Jesus Christ shone on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–9; Mark 9:2–9; Luke 9:28–36) is one of these Divine Energies. It is the uncreated Light of Christ, which is not of this world but is nevertheless accessible to us. As we draw closer to God, we too can partake of this Light, and, by His grace, begin to shine with it, like His saints.
But the first step in our theosis is faith. Without strong faith, salvation is not possible. But what do we mean by faith? The Gospel passage for last Sunday offers us insight.
The Orthodox Christian faith is not merely intellectual knowledge of whom we believe in. It is not just a correct understanding of doctrine, nor is it simply adherence to Holy Tradition with all its rich services, prayers, and practices.
Today, the Church and the practice of religion are so accessible to us. Services are offered regularly. Thick prayer books provide prayers for every possible occasion. Homilies by generations of Holy Fathers teach us about every aspect of the spiritual life. The Gospel is available online, with countless commentaries. Hundreds and thousands of Orthodox blogs explain what it means to be an Orthodox Christian. And so, we might come to think that living such a life – going to services, praying at home, even following God’s commandments by performing acts of mercy — is what it means to have faith. That being a “good Christian” is equivalent to having faith.
But there is a danger of substitution here. What if all or some of these things were taken from us? What if there are no services? What if the church is locked and we could not enter? Remember COVID, when we could not go to church. God forbid another such experience! Would our faith disappear? Has our faith been replaced by outward practice? Have we turned the means into the end?
And even now, when our churches are open and all religious items and practices are readily accessible, have we ever found ourselves attending services, praying at home, listening to homilies, and yet still feeling that we have not truly found God? That we are not in communion with Him? That we do not have His peace?
This is the story of last Sunday’s Gospel. As Christ was teaching in a house in Capernaum, four men brought their paralysed friend to be healed. They acted rightly. They showed mercy. They made an effort. But when they arrived at the house where Christ was, they could not enter. The crowd was too large. They sought God, but He seemed inaccessible.
It would have been so natural for them to give up. To say: “I have done my best, but God does not want me. So I will turn back and go home”. But they did not. These four men had such bold faith that they refused to stop seeking Christ. They climbed onto the roof, broke it (a roof of a good house, of a good man, who welcomed Lord inside) so they could lower their friend on his stretcher through the hole, placing him before Christ. And it was this faith in action, which led to the healing of their friend: “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”(Mark 2:5).
This is the faith our Lord seeks from us. Faith in bold action, faith that does not accept obstacles, faith that persists in seeking God no matter what stands in the way. Our faith is not timid. Our faith is bold. Our faith is even scandalous to the world. We worship God who, out of love for us, came down from heaven, took on human flesh, dwelt among us, and was crucified for our sins, so that we might have eternal life in His Resurrection.
God, crucified? Scandal! The Bible says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Deut. 21:23). And yet this is the extent of God’s love for us. So great also must be the extent of our faith!
Such faith is not found in rigidly following every rule, attending every service, or reading Scripture with meticulous precision simply because “this is what Orthodox Christians do.” These are the tools of our salvation, but without bold faith, without bold action, they are pointless.
Each of us knows where bold action is required in our own lives. Let us take that action. Let us have faith as bold as the four friends of the paralytic. Let us act on that faith. So that our prayers and our services take their true meaning. S that they are not mere forms, but become a true path to God. And so that, one day, we too may shine with the uncreated Light of Christ, as St. Gregory Palamas taught. Amen!
Yours in Christ,
Fr Dmitry