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.

Owing to public health guidance, masks should still be worn indoors and distance maintained. Sanitisers are available. Holy Communion is distributed in both kinds from the mixed and common chalice, by means of a separate Communion spoon for each individual communicant.

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.

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III: West Must Act to Protect Persecuted Christians | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome

Damascus, (Zenit.org) Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan
Earlier this month, British parliamentarians spoke passionately about the lack of concern exhibited by the Foreign Office on behalf of persecuted Christians.

They were, of course, right to voice their concerns and I am deeply grateful they did so. But Western governments need to go beyond words. They need to act.

Increasingly, parts of the Middle East region are becoming “no go zones” for Christians. Despite Christianity’s immeasurable contribution to civilization in the region for the past two millennia – not least in terms of religious freedom – it’s no exaggeration to say that Islamist extremism is doing its best to hound us out.

But where is the anger in the West – a region once a bastion of religious freedom thanks to its Christian heritage? Where is the political action? Did the founders of the United Nations have it in mind that Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be blatantly disregarded by so many countries, peoples and communities in the name of a religion’s supremacy?
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” the article states. “This right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

And yet many Western governments now not only disregard it, they are even actively supporting some of those for whom these principles are anathema. How can so-called democracy-loving nations – the most influential nations on the international scene – close their eyes to nations discriminating against religious freedom and the freedom of conscience in the name of an amalgam of religion and state such as practiced by Islamist extremists? How are they able to convince their electorates of their honesty when they tighten alliances with countries that still forbid other beliefs to exist on their soil?

Syrian Catholic Patriarch: West Must Act to Protect Persecuted Christians | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome

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