Every second Saturday of the month, Divine Liturgy in English of Sunday - Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family, Duke Street, London W1K 5BQ.
4pm Divine Liturgy. Next: 13th November 2021
Very sadly, the Divine Liturgy in English at 9-30 am on Sundays at the Holy Family Cathedral, Lower Church, have had to be put on hold. Until the practicalities we cannot use the Lower Church space. Hopefully this will be resolved very soon. Please keep checking in here for details.
To purchase The Divine Liturgy: an Anthology for Worship (in English), order from the Sheptytsky Institute here, or the St Basil's Bookstore here.
To purchase the Divine Praises, the Divine Office of the Byzantine-Slav rite (in English), order from the Eparchy of Parma here.
The new catechism in English, Christ our Pascha, is available from the Eparchy of the Holy Family and the Society. Please email johnchrysostom@btinternet.com for details.
Saturday 29 June 2013
Friday 28 June 2013
YouTube video shows graphic scenes of Franciscan monk's beheading
Father Mourad - May your memory be eternal. Glory to Jesus Christ.
Thursday 27 June 2013
The Icon: A Seven Part Documentary
This is one of the best videos explaining the theology of the icon, and how it fits within the theology of the Church as a whole. I recommend all my students to watch this, even though some of the theology is a bit technical and difficult to understand.
The Icon: A Seven Part Documentary - YouTube
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Monday 24 June 2013
Sunday 23 June 2013
CHRISTIAN EAST-WEST DAY X: Turvey Abbey
- Dame Mary Tanner: a President of the World Council of Churches, formerly Moderator of Faith and Order - “Staying together on the ecumenical journey: a story of bridge-building between East and West” [the work of listening and understanding of the Commission that helped the Orthodox to remain within the WCC]
- Rev Canon Dr Robert Gibbons, Eastern Catholic Melkite, Lecturer at The Kellogg Foundation, Oxford - “Eastern Catholic Churches as bridge-builders between East and West”
- Sr Esther of Turvey Abbey: Iconographer and Teacher; President and Founder-member of The British Association of Iconographers - "Icons—a means of building bridges between Eastern and Western Churches"
Practice on the Spiritual Way of the Divine Liturgy: New Book from Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch
Practice on the Spiritual Way of the Divine Liturgy by Patriarch Gregorios III
English translation of the clergy retreat given by His Beatitude in Kevelaer, Germany in 1998. 140 pages with icons
Published by Eastern Christian Publications, Fairfax, Virginia USA
www.ecpubs.com
ISBN: 978-1-940219-03-5. Price: $15.00 USD
https://secure.webvalence.com/ecommerce/kiosk.lasso?merchant=ecpubs&kiosk=books&class=ecp
The ecology of faith
A third RISU article on culture, faith, church, proclamation and mission - important alike for Eastern and Roman Catholics - and Orthodox too. Thanks to Fr James Siemens (Symposium - Priest of the Church) for alerting us to this.
See his Symposium blog for his own articles addressing related themes.
Saturday 22 June 2013
Patriarch’s opening address at the Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church
We also find in the words of the Apostle Paul consolation and strength in the current tragic conditions experienced by our country, the Church of the Middle East and our fellow-citizens of all Christian and Muslim denominations.
- We shall study how to implement in practice the above-mentioned Apostolic Exhortation, in our Church’s eparchies locally, regionally and abroad
- We shall examine legal issues prepared by the Canonical Committee, concerning the particular law of our Church based on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, and other topics concerning the ecclesiastical tribunal and canon law.
- We shall evaluate the work of Saint Anna’s Major Seminary which trains all our eparchial priests.
- We shall discuss issues relating to the observance in our parishes of World Priest Day and the Year of Faith
- We shall also review the working of the Holy Synod during my patriarchal service, take a look at the topics examined and decisions taken, what has been implemented and what still remains to be done, and consider how to implement the work and decisions of the synod so that it can be really at the service of our parishes in order to strengthen their faith and confirm them in their calling, mission and role in the Church and society.
- We shall have plenty of time to hear reports on the current crisis from their graces the bishops of our eparchies in Syria. We asked each eparchy to establish a detailed report on the situation, describing, for example: the affected villages - churches demolished - IDPs - institutions affected ... and what steps can be taken in the face of this reality.
- This is what we said in the Lent Letter for this
year 2013. We described some conditions in our eparchies, and we made a
proposal for a special Solidarity Committee at the level of our Church:
- Nominations to the episcopal ministry: of course we shall work to draw up a list of priests suitable to serve as bishops. It is axiomatic that one of the most important duties in the Holy Synods is that of preparing good, humane bishops, right for their place and right for the time. The bishop is a man of God and a man of society, a good shepherd after God’s heart.
- We shall also study the five-yearly parish reports submitted to us. In this way we shall review the general situation of our parishes both in beloved Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Kuwait and in the expansion in Europe, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, our Church is not confined to one country, but we are the Church with the most diverse presence and spread in Arab countries and worldwide. It is useful to explain this through statistics. That is why I have drawn up a list (in an appendix) to show the presence of our Church in the world.
Friday 21 June 2013
Pope to Middle Eastern Christians: Never lose hope
Address to Gathering of Middle East Aid Agencies, 20 June 2013
Thursday 20 June 2013
Melkite Patriarch from Syria calls for unity among Christians
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Pontificium Consilium pro Familia - Peace with a Broken Heart
The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus writes a heart-rending letter to the Pontifical Council for the Family on the effects of the strife in Syria and hopes for peace
Tuesday 18 June 2013
Saturday 15 June 2013
Light of the East - Youngstown-Warren-Ohio Chapter Newsletter May-June 2013
Friday 14 June 2013
Pope Francis: a pastor according to the heart of Christ - from the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church - Volume 13, Issue 2
The universal pastorate under Pope Francis - with consideration of Orthodox reflections
Thursday 13 June 2013
Syria Militants Massacre Christian Village Population (Graphic Images)
More details of a massacre in Homs late last month have emerged following the global outcry of a massacre in Deir el-Zour yesterday.
The massacre, carried out by Free Syrian Army militants reportedly targeted men, women and children in the Christian village of al-Duwayr/Douar close to the city of Homs and the border with Lebanon. The incident received little media attention, having occurred at the same time as thousands of Syrian troops converged on the insurgent-occupied town of al-Qusayr.
According to sources, around 350 heavily armed militants entered the village, broke into homes and assembled residents in the main square of the village where they were executed. The final death toll is not known but photos show severe damage to property in the village.
Syrian army sources said that they reached the village after the massacre, resulting in clashes with militants. Sources also reported that Turkish and Chechen extremists were among the perpetrators. Chechen militants are known to have kidnapped two Christian bishops in Aleppo earlier this year. The following images show al-Duwayr/Douar village after the massacre:
More here:
Syria Militants Massacre Christian Village Population (Graphic Images)
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Tuesday 11 June 2013
St Volodymyr's Statue in London at 25 Years
Peter Pidjarkowskyj Bykar, our secretary-designate, writes:
This year, 2013, marks the twenty fifth anniversary since St. Volodymyr’s statue was erected outside of the Ukrainian Institute in London. This year is also an important year for Ukrainians, their descendants and those interested in Ukraine, as it marks the 1025th anniversary of Christianity being introduced to Ukraine by St. Volodymyr in 988 whose feast day is 15th July.
On Saturday 8th June 2013, at 2.00pm, an ecumenical prayer service called Moleben (молебен) marked these two occasions. The service was celebrated by clergy and its faithful from both Great Britain’s Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Churches; and AUGB’s (Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain) Fedir Kurlak offered some words too.
More than 100 people gathered around St Volodymyr’s statue and many passers-by stopped to see what was happening, listen to the choir, the prayers and the Ukrainian National Anthem – ‘Ukraine has not yet perished’ (Ще не вмерла Українa).
Слава Ісусу Христу! Слава Навіки!
Fr Ireneu Kraiczyi, Fr Josafat Leshchyshyn, Very Revd Bohdan Matvijchuk |
Monday 10 June 2013
Friday 7 June 2013
Thursday 6 June 2013
Patriarch Gregorios to the Second Geneva Peace Conference on Syria
With what shall we evangelise? Ukrainian Greek Catholics and their role in the Universal Church
A second article from RISU on the role and mission of Byzantine Catholics in diaspora and new language zones. Dr James Siemens is director of the Theotokos Institute in Cardiff (Wales, UK) and a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic eparchy in Great Britain.