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.

Friday 17 September 2021

Eparchy of the Holy Family and Society combine: Divine Liturgy at the London Eucharistic Octave

In the London Eucharistic Octave, the clergy and choir of the Cathedral of the Eparchy of London of the Holy Family for the Ukrainian Greek Catholics served the Divine Liturgy at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, Covent Garden, Mitred Archpriest Mykola Matwijiwskyj presiding, Andrij Bebko the reader, and Fr Mark Woodruff, Chairman of the Society of St John Chrysostom preaching. Also present were His Excellency Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and Canon Christopher Thomas, General-Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England & Wales. The other clergy serving were Fr Gabriel Diaz, Fr Andriy Malysh and Fr Andriy Chornenko.

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The text of our Chairman's homily is here:

In Priora Extendens Me: To You, O Lord: the Direction of the Liturgy in Christ - Homily at the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, London Eucharistic Octave, Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, Covent Garden, 16 September 2021

And here is a link to the beautiful photographs of the occasion.

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Tuesday 14 September 2021

Reflection on St John Chrysostom on the anniversary of his death: Fr Mark Woodruff

Over the last year or so, the Society has gained a new friend. Alongside the amazing work of our close partners Aid to the Church in Need in support the persecuted and rebuilding Church across the Christian East and indeed globally, another charity has begun to work in Great Britain, FACE - Fellowship and Aid to the Christians of the East. There is more than enough work to do to sustain and develop the Eastern Churches in this historical moment, and the two charities are complementary. FACE is the newly established and resourced UK operation of Oeuvre d'Orient, founded in the 19th century in Paris to raise awareness and promote study on behalf of the Catholic Eastern Churches and to assist with their development, both in their historic homelands and in their modern-day expansion across the world - much like our Society.

Fr Mark Woodruff, our Chairman, is acting as an adviser to FACE given the close relationship of its work with the Society's in different spheres. FACE has set up a monthly online prayer group for its work and in September, Fr Mark was asked to provide a reflection on the Society's patron, St John Chrysostom. St John died on 14th September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In the Latin Church, he is venerated on the 13th September, and in the Byzantine Eastern Churches he is commemorated on November 13th.

Here is the link to the Reflection on the resources page of FACE. Below is Fr Mark's full text.


READING - Ephesians 4.1-7, 11-13

I, Paul, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is above all and through all and in all.


But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.


REFLECTION - by Father Mark Woodruff, Chairman of the Society of St John Chrysostom

At first sight, St Paul’s address to the new Christians of Ephesus on the western coast of what is now Turkey is about our faith in the Persons of the Holy Trinity and the gifts with which our baptism has equipped us to serve the building up of all humanity into the body of Christ. So indeed it is. But look again, and St Paul is saying that this first comes out of a lived experience of adversity (his imprisonment), sacrifice of self (humility), endurance (patience, and bearing with others) and redemption that take what is amiss and converts it permanently into good (love marked by forgiveness, and God’s calling that makes good on hope), because the body into which we are baptised is that of the Father’s Son nailed to the Cross, which He endured to bring our salvation into effect.


St John is a second St Paul. His eloquence and spiritual imagination flow through abundant writings. 1687 letters and sermons reveal a lively mind, beautifully communicating from his direct encounter with Christ, and faith distilled through adversity for His sake. His preaching gained him the title ‘Chrysostomos’, the Golden Mouth, not only because what he said warmed people’s hearts and convinced their belief and discipleship, but because it rang true coming from John. What Paul said of himself, is true of Chrysostom too: “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.” How did this life take shape?


He was born in the third city of the eastern Roman empire, Antioch, in around 345. An outstanding literary, philosophy and rhetoric scholar with a successful public career ahead of him, in 374 he chose instead to live for God in the severely ascetical life of monk. It was not until 386 that he was ordained priest, when his exceptional oratorical skills were revealed in the straightforward practicality, vivid imagery and convincing moral appeal of his sermons, as well as the rich insight of his commentaries on the Scriptures. Having brought about the reconciliation of the sees of Antioch and Alexandria with old Rome after a loss of communion for seven decades, in 397 he was the outstanding candidate to be the new Archbishop of new Rome, the capital of the Christian Roman Empire, Constantinople. The people of Antioch did not wish to lose him, so to evade opposition to his election, he left in secret to be consecrated away from the public eye.


Immediately, the consequence of faithful preaching “in season and out of season” in Constantinople began. While his inspiring illustrations of the Scriptures and his clear preaching, applying Christ and faith to real life, endeared him to the people, he inevitably showed up the lax lifestyles and the moral injustices of the rich and powerful. The empress Eudoxia flattered herself that these barbs were aimed above all at her. A synod was trumped up to depose him for supposed unorthodox teaching. Her husband the emperor Arcadius then exiled him in 403 to Pontus on the Black Sea coast. The people of Constantinople were in uproar. An earthquake frightened Eudoxia to thinking it too was all about her. Promising amendment, she begged the emperor for St John’s recall to appease God. Yet within months she would erect a silver statue of herself outside the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. The Golden-Mouthed John, whose triumphant return made his words more potent than ever, kept speaking vividly about the contrast between the life in Christ shown in the Scriptures and the moral shortcomings of those in power in a supposedly Christian empire, this time singling out Eudoxia. The following June he was banished inland, to the remote edge of the province of Cilicia. There were riots in Constantinople, and the first Hagia Sophia was burned down. St John continued to teach his people by letters. He was also able to correspond with Pope Innocent I in old Rome, who sent a delegation to the emperor to convene a Council to reinstate the patriarch of new Rome. Chrysostom’s powerful enemies, however, convinced Arcadius that the archbishop had insulted the emperor by contacting the pope, and now posed a threat. So in 407 St John was banished to even more remote exile in Pityus, a port on the eastern edge of the Black Sea. 310 guards ensured no one prevented his removal once and for all. The journey was harsh because of the terrain and the elements, some of the soldiers were cruel, and Chrysostom, now about 60, was weak, not having enjoyed strong health since the extreme ascesticism of his time as a hermit. He did not make it beyond Cumana in Pontus, not far from where he had been exiled four years earlier, and he died on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 14th September, saying, “Glory be to God in all things”.


Thus, like St Paul, a “prisoner in the Lord,” by the public humiliation and the physical afflictions he endured, he was indeed in his flesh “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church”. Eudoxia and Arcadius failed to silence him or put the Church in its place. Instead, his faithful confession of Christ despite persecution, was “Christ’s gift” of an apostle and a teacher, who “built … up the body of Christ” towards our even deeper “knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”


In the Orthodox Church St John Chrysostom is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs, along with St Basil the Great of Caesarea and St Gregory the Theologian of Nazianzus. In the Latin Church they are venerated as three of the Greek Doctors of the Universal Church, on account of their decisive and compelling teaching on Christ and the Trinity, that remains formative of the faith and worship of the Church in East and West to this day. Indeed the form of the Eucharist most often celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and the Greek Catholic Churches is the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, believed to have been abbreviated under his influence for the practical purpose of the greater engagement and spiritual enrichment of the people.


His feast in the West is kept on the day before his death on the 13th September, and in the East it is transferred two months later to 13th November. He is the patron of the city of Constantinople where its Christians are today reduced to several thousands, pressed on all sides by an almost entirely Turkish Muslim population and government, yet determined, “with patience” like St Paul’s, to preserve the living roots of Byzantine Christianity for 260 million Orthodox worldwide. (Byzantium is the older name for the city of Constantinople). He is also the patron of Christian educators, lecturers and preachers that “lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”


PRAYER

Troparion for November 13 in the Byzantine Rite

Grace shone forth from your mouth like a fiery beacon and enlightened the universe, bestowing on the world not the treasures of greed, but rather showing us the heights of humility. As you teach us by your words, O John the Golden-Mouthed, our father, intercede with the Word, Christ our God, for the salvation of our souls.


Kontakion for November 13 in the Byzantine Rite

From heaven you received divine grace; your lips have taught us all to worship the Triune God, O blessed John Chrysostom. It is fitting that we prause you, for you are a teacher, clarifying all things Divine.


Collect for September 13 from the Roman Missal

O God, strength of those who hope in You, Who willed that the Bishop Saint John Chrysostom should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence and his experience of suffering: grant us, we pray, that, instructed by his teachings, we may be strengthened by his invincible patience. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

 

 



Friday 10 September 2021

Divine Liturgy in English resumes

The monthly celebration of the Divine Liturgy in English at the Cathedral of the Holy Family of London, Duke Street, Mayfair (Bond Street tube station), resumes on Saturday 11th September at 4pm.

It will be preceded by the Ninth Hour in English, and followed at 5pm by Great Vespers in Ukrainian. All are most welcome.

Please continue to take precautions over distance and masks. Holy Communion is distributed in both kinds from the mixed and common Chalice, but with a separate Communion Spoon for each individual communicant.

It is intended that a WEEKLY Liturgy in English on SUNDAY morning, will begin again from October. The time is to be confirmed.

Saturday 12 December 2020

December 2020 Update

Owing to public health restrictions on events other than Divine Worship, it has not been possible for the Society to host meetings or conduct other activities. This includes our Annual General Meeting and our annual Lecture. Not has it been possible to put together the Chrysostom review and newsletter.

We hope everyone understands.

We trust we can issue delayed publications and resume events as soon as allowed and safe to do so in 2021. The monthly Divine Liturgy in English on the second Saturday of each month at 4 pm (preceded by Great Vespers at 3pm) will resume at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family, Duke Street, London (Bond Street tube) subject to public health regulations.

In 2020, we said a sad farewell to our Secretary, Antony Chirovsky, who has moved with his family to their new home in north America, from where he will continue his academic work. We are most grateful for his optimism, advice and encouragement, and wish him and his family well for the future. Thanks to the wonders of Zoom and online communication we know, however, we will remain in contact and continue to benefit from his contribution. Thank you, Antony! 

Wednesday 15 January 2020

New Bishop for Ukrainians in Britain

Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, hitherto Eparch of New Westminster (Canada) is today appointed bishop of the Eparchy of the Holy Family of London for Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Kyr Kenneth has issued the following pastoral letter:

To the Reverend Clergy, the Venerable Religious, and the Lay-Faithful of the Eparchy of the Holy Family of London
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you-- that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
(Romans 1:11-12)
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Today, the Holy Apostolic See of Rome and His Beatitude Sviаtoslav on behalf of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church have announced my appointment as the new bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London. Since July of 2007 I have been the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop of New Westminster, responsible for the territory of British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada. It has been a great privilege to serve as Bishop in New Westminster, and I will miss the Eparchy, my beloved-faithful and the clergy, my dearest brothers and co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard.
Looking forward to being your bishop, I wanted to write you a short letter to express my deep joy and hope, as I prepare to meet with you, to pray with you, and to journey together with you as your Pastor, in Christian discipleship and fellowship. A wonderful program and promise can be found in the words of the Acts of the Apostles: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” (Acts 2:42-43).
Some of you may know from my official biography that I was born in Canada and am the great-grandson of Ukrainian immigrants. But what is not mentioned in my official biography is that the first time I came to Great Britain was in 1974, when I was 16 years old. This was to be the first of many visits to the United Kingdom. I did not know the first Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainian Catholics in Great Britain, Bishop Augustine Horniak, OSBM. However, I have had the good fortune to know and, in fact, be good friends with Bishop Mykhailo Kuchmiak, CSsR, of blessed memory, as well as with Bishops Paul Chomnycky, OSBM, and Hlib Lonchyna, Studite. Each of these dedicated men have blessed our Eparchy with their particular leadership charisms and spiritual gifts. I also wish to acknowledge the good work, dedication and generous spirit of service of Fr. Mykola Matviyivsky, appointed Apostolic Administrator by the Holy Father following Bishop Hlib’s resignation last year.
Over the last decade, I have attended many meetings in London, and was a frequent guest in the Bishop’s House. I have celebrated Divine Liturgies in the cathedral and am grateful to have been able to pray with so many of our clergy and faithful. However, I have not had an opportunity to visit the other parishes in the Eparchy. This is something that I will want to do as soon as possible. I look forward to encountering you where you live, to asking you about your hopes and concerns, to working and growing together with you on the path of salvation offered to us in Christ Jesus. As the Apostle Peter writes: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9).
My dear Sisters and Brothers, know that I am praying for you and already rejoice in you. I humbly ask for your prayers as I make my farewells in the Eparchy of New Westminster and begin the journey towards my new home and flock in the United Kingdom.
I am placing all of you under the protection of the Holy Family, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, and the holy and righteous St. Joseph the Betrothed.
Your brother and servant in the Lord,
+Kenneth Nowakowski
15 January 2020

For Bishop Kenneth's biography see Eparchy of New Westminster

Friday 15 November 2019

Newman on Jesus as Saviour: Christopher Morris Lecture 2019: 10 December 2019

Mgr Roderick Strange
Professor in Theology, St Mary's University

“Newman on Jesus as Saviour: A Biographical and Patristic Sketch”

at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family,
Duke Street (corner of Weighhouse Street), Mayfair, London W1K 5BQ

(close to Bond St Underground on the Central or Jubilee Lines)

10th December, 7-30 pm
Preceded by Ukrainian Catholic Divine Liturgy at 6-15 pm with blessing of a new Icon of St John Henry Newman by Ian Knowles

Followed by a Reception

RSVP -
johnchrysostom@btinternet.com
or

Tuesday 15 October 2019

Constantinople, Orthodoxy & Unity - Lecture, 1 November 2019

His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira
Inaugural Lecture as Orthodox Patron of the Society

“Constantinople, Orthodoxy and Unity”

at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family,
Duke Street (corner of Weighhouse Street), Mayfair, London W1K 5BQ

(close to Bond St Underground on the Central or Jubilee Lines)

1st November 2019, 7-30 pm

Preceded by Ukrainian Catholic Divine Liturgy at 6-15 pm and followed by a Reception

Booking essential at:

or
www.facebook.com/events@SocietyofStJohnChrysostom




Friday 13 September 2019

Letter of Francis to Bartholomew: on bones of the Apostle Peter

To His Holiness Bartholomew
Archbishop of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch

Your Holiness, dear Brother,

With deep affection and spiritual closeness, I send you my cordial good wishes of grace and peace in the love of the Risen Lord. In these past weeks, I have often thought of writing to you to explain more fully the gift of some fragments of the relics of the Apostle Peter that I presented to Your Holiness through the distinguished delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate led by Archbishop Job of Telmessos which took part in the patronal feast of the Church of Rome.
Your Holiness knows well that the uninterrupted tradition of the Roman Church has always testified that the Apostle Peter, after his martyrdom in the Circus of Nero, was buried in the adjoining necropolis of the Vatican Hill. His tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage for the faithful from every part of the Christian world. Later, the Emperor Constantine erected the Vatican Basilica dedicated to Saint Peter over the site of the tomb of the Apostle.

In June 1939, immediately following his election, my predecessor Pope Pius XII decided to undertake excavations beneath the Vatican Basilica. The works led first to the discovery of the exact burial place of the Apostle and later, in 1952, to the discovery, under the high altar of the Basilica, of a funerary niche attached to a red wall dated to the year 150 and covered with precious graffiti, including one of fundamental importance which reads, in Greek, Πετρος ευι. This contained bones that can quite reasonably be considered those of the Apostle Peter. From those relics, now enshrined in the necropolis under Saint Peter's Basilica, Pope Saint Paul VI had nine fragments removed for the private chapel of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.
The nine fragments were placed in a bronze case bearing the inscription, Ex ossibus quae in Archibasilicae Vaticanae hypogeo inventa Beati Petri apostoli esse putantur: “Bones found in the earth beneath the Vatican Basilica considered to be those of Blessed Peter the Apostle”. It was this same case, containing nine fragments of the bones of the Apostle, that I desired to present to Your Holiness and to the beloved Church of Constantinople over which you preside with such devotion.

As I reflected on our mutual determination to advance together towards full communion, and thanked God for the progress already made since our venerable predecessors met in Jerusalem over fifty years ago, I thought of the gift that Patriarch Athenagoras gave to Pope Paul VI: an icon depicting the brothers Peter and Andrew embracing, united in faith and in love of their common Lord . This icon that, at the behest of Pope Paul VI, is displayed today in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has become for us a prophetic sign of the restoration of that visible communion between our Churches to which we aspire and for which we fervently pray and work. Hence, in the peace born of prayer, I sensed that it would be highly significant were some fragments of the relics of the Apostle Peter to be placed beside the relics of the Apostle Andrew , who is venerated as the heavenly patron of the Church of Constantinople.
I sensed that this thought came to me from the Holy Spirit, who in so many ways prompts Christians to regain that full communion for which our Lord Jesus Christ prayed on the eve of his glorious Passion (cf. Jn 17:21).

This gesture is intended to be a confirmation of the journey that our Churches have made in drawing closer to one another: a journey at times demanding and difficult, yet one accompanied by evident signs of God’s grace. Pursuing this journey calls above all for spiritual conversion and renewed fidelity to the Lord who requires on our part greater commitment and new, courageous steps. Difficulties and disagreements, now and in the future, must not distract us from our duty and responsibility as Christians, and particularly as Pastors of the Church, before God and history.
The joining of the relics of the two brother Apostles can also serve as a constant reminder and encouragement that, on this continuing journey, our divergences will no longer stand in the way of our common witness and our evangelizing mission in the service of a human family that today is tempted to build a purely secular future, a future without God.

Your Holiness, beloved Brother, I have found great comfort in sharing these thoughts with you. In the hope of soon encountering you once more, I ask you to pray for me and to bless me, and I exchange with Your Holiness a fraternal embrace of peace.

From the Vatican, 30 August 2019
FRANCIS


Wednesday 4 September 2019

Bishop Hlib Resigns as Ukrainian Eparch for UK

Kyr Hlib serving in Rome on the day of his resignation

“The authority of a bishop is not the strength of his power, but the power of his willingness to serve.”   – Kyr Hlib (Lonchyna)


The Apostolic See announced on 1 September 2019 that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Hlib Lonchyna from the pastoral leadership of the Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of London. Following the announcement, Bishop Hlib summed up his years of service in Great Britain as well as his plans for the future.

How would you summarise 10 years of ministry in Great Britain and Ireland? What has changed? Whathas developed differently and what has remained the same? 

In 2009 I was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Exarchate of Great Britain, then the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church elected me Exarch. Later the Synod asked Pope Benedict to raise our two exarchates – of Great Britain and France– to the dignity of Eparchy (diocese). This happened in 2013. I see this as a great blessing for the organisational and pastoral development of the London Eparchy, which in these years has become dear to me.

I envisioned my main task as being not in administration, but in pastoral care for our faithful in Great Britain, as well as in Ireland, where I have served as Apostolic Visitor since 2004.

In Great Britain there are two waves of migration: post-World War Two and contemporary; the latter predominantly being in search of employment. These are two diverse groups of people whom I strived to bring together and help them to integrate in the larger community so that they support one another and work together. My instruments have been quite simple: homilies, spiritual talks, confession, conferences, and just meeting people.

What is the Church like in this part of the world? Who attends our churches?

The London Eparchy of the Holy Family covers all Great Britain, that is, the island that contains England, Wales, and Scotland. As I mentioned before, there are two waves of migration. The post-war emigration was numerous, counting around 30 thousand, and people settled across the entire island. Thus, our parishes were scattered throughout the whole of Great Britain – from Scotland in the north to England in the south. Our Church was organised quite nicely. Our people did not build their own churches as they had not the means. Instead they bought churches, mainly Anglican ones, and later adapted them to the needs of our rite. There were different cultural and educational organisations. This is the reality in the United Kingdom.

By the 1990s many people of the first migration had passed away. Unfortunately, their children and grand-children left the Church for various reasons.

In the last 70 years our parishes grew smaller. Then in the 1990s and 2000s people from Ukraine began arriving and filling up our churches. However, they usually settled in larger cities where there is employment, especially London. Our cathedral parish is comprised mainly of the new émigrés. In other cities there are not many new-comers, and you can see this reflected in our congregations.

Today we have around 30 pastoral centres, 10 of which are full-fledged parishes, and the other 20 are missionary points where not many people attend Liturgy – which is not even celebrated every Sunday.

How does this new wave of migration affect pastoral workWhat challenges do bishops and priests face?

Pastoral work outside of Ukraine, where people do not live nearby as they had in the homeland, is very different. We see people mainly on Sundays, as they are scattered and constantly busy, because they have come here to seek employment. So, our pastoral work is limited to those few hours when the people are available. This requires of us more concentration – we need to fit our pastoral plan into that one Sunday. This is a challenge for priests who must focus on the needs of the people who come to them, serving them the best they can.

What is the reason for your decision to leave the ministry of eparchial bishop?

Last year our Synod of Ukrainian Bishops appointed me to spearhead a committee for the revision of liturgical texts and this year the Holy Father entrusted me to be Apostolic Administrator of the Paris Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr, since Bishop Borys, the former Eparch, was transferred to the metropolitan see of Philadelphia. This gave me two huge responsibilities which were added on to my main obligations to the London Eparchy. I also have other commitments for which I must travel, mostly to Rome and to Ukraine.

For the last few months I have been striving to fulfil my obligations but concluded that I cannot do justice to all. My faithful in the Eparchy of London need stability and care. The bishop should provide for the eparchy, visit parishes, be with the people 100%.

For its own good the eparchy needs a bishop who will serve our people on both islands. Therefore I asked the Holy Father and he has graciously released me from my duties towards the London Eparchy of the Holy Family.

What are your feelings as you depart? What are you going to miss? How will you uphold contact with the faithful for whom you were and remain a spiritual father?

hada good relationship with the priests and in every parish I found people who truly seek God and cherish the visits of their pastors. I will miss such direct contact with our faithful.

was always glad to see how parishes and organisations collaborate to preserve what our parents have left us. This shows there is a healthy spirit amongst our faithful, which I support with gratitude.

I have spent 10 years in Great Britain. This is the longest I have ever been in pastoral ministry in one place and will miss the people with whom I have developed a spiritual bond.

How do you envision the new bishop for the eparchy?

He must, first, be a man of prayer who will intercede for his priests, religious and faithful before God. He needs to be pastorally minded, open to people and sincerely desire to serve them. He should not fear challenges but be ready to offer his time and energies to interact with people, visit even the most distant parishes, support his priests and develop pastoral areas. The bishop should love his priests and be a father to them.

The bishop should also cherish our rite and our traditions.

Of course, he must master the English language because the bishop is a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and has regular meetings with the local bishops. We also maintain contacts with the Syro-Malabars, who are Eastern Christians from India. They too have an eparchy in England, as do we Ukrainians.

Summing up, I would say we need spirituality, openness and hard work.

What will happen to the Paris Eparchy where you are currently Apostolic Administrator?

I shall be in that temporary position until our Synod chooses a new bishop and the Apostolic See assents to his election. In the Paris Eparchy I shall strive to upkeep and develop everything that Bishop Borys Gudziak has built up in the six years he was there.

But at the same time your episcopal ministry does not endWas form will it take from now on?

I have already occupied numerous roles as bishop in our Church, so a change is nothing new to me. I served in Italy, Spain, as curial bishop in Ukraine; as a priest I served in my Studite monastery, in St Nicholas Parish in Passaic, NJ, worked as attaché in the Apostolic Nunciature in Kyiv, was spiritual director at the Lviv Seminary and taught there, as well as at the Lviv Theological Academy and other institutes of higher learning. I have always looked at these forms of service as one whole in pastoral ministry. I am united to the end of my life to all these people whom I have served, encountered, worked with – I carry them all in my heart and in my prayers. Wherever I am in the world, they will always be dear to me.

Allow me a somewhat indiscreet question: what does episcopal authority mean and what does it mean to relinquish it voluntarily? The world, both contemporary and past, is just obsessed with power. Where do you find the strength to overcome this?

The authority of a bishop is not the strength of his power, but the power of his willingness to serve. If I do not serve the faithful, then power will be useless – even if it is the greatest on earth. I do not relinquish an office to search for prestige or comfort, but wish the best for this eparchy. I have prayed and contemplated for quite some time on what would best serve my eparchy and my faithful. And I believe that after 10 years I should depart and allow others to take on this responsibility so the eparchy may grow and prosper.

Interview by Mariana Karapinka


Saturday 15 June 2019

First Mass at Notre Dame since the Fire: the Solidarity of the Christians of the Middle East


Tonight at 6 o'clock in Paris, Mass was celebrated at Notre Dame on the feast of its Dedication, for the first time since fire devastated the roof and part of its vault was destroyed on the 15th April 2019. At the end of Mass, Monseigneur Pascal Gollnisch (left), director-general of Oeuvre d'Orient (a Catholic relief agency for Eastern Christians) presented the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Michel Aupetit,  with a Cross carved from the stone of the Maronite Catholic cathedral of St Elias in Aleppo in Syria, which had itself been badly damaged in the civil and religious strife between 2011 and 2016. The Cross will be installed in Notre Dame when it is restored. Thus there will always be a spiritual bond between the Church in France, and the Christians of all Churches who had been persecuted and had their homes and churches attacked and destroyed in hatred of the Faith in the Middle East. The Archbishop observed that, on the feast of Notre Dame's dedication, how appropriate it was that they were recalling the Stone once rejected Who became the chief Cornerstone.

Friday 19 April 2019

Today, we venerate Your Passion, O Christ: now give us Your glorious Resurrection



Today the Lord Who raised the dry land from the waters is raised upon the Cross. A crown of thorns is placed upon the head of the King of angels. He cloth the sky with clouds; now today He is clothed with a purple robe. In the Jordan He freed Adam; now today He is slapped in the face. The Bridegroom of the Church is fastened with nails; the Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We worship Your Passion, O Christ; we worship Your Passion, O Christ; we worship Your Passion, O Christ. Now let us behold Your glorious Resurrection.

Antiphon 15, sung by Fr Shafiq Abouzayd, Melkite parish of St John Chrysostom, London, at Procession of Cross, 18 April 2019

Monday 11 March 2019

Update

The delayed editions for Chrysostom for October 2018 and Theophany 2019 will be issued after Pascha, once work is completed on the Ecumenical Marian Pilgrimage to Walsingham, which is a biennial major focus of the Society. See www.ecumenicalmarianpilgrimage.org.uk

We will also announce events for late summer and autumn (our annual Christopher Morris Lecture).

Thursday 14 February 2019

The Face of God: Ian Knowles on Icons


Wednesday 31 October 2018

Vespers with Catholic & Coptic Orthodox Archbishops

Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Archbishops to pray Vespers together
Press Release for immediate release 26.10.2018

At the kind invitation of Bishop Hlib Lonchyna the Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family, Mayfair, London, the first Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos will be present with Archbishop Kevin McDonald, Emeritus Archbishop of Southwark, at Vespers in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral on Tuesday 6 November 2018 at 6.15pm. The homily will be given by Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod, the leader of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the UK.  The Vespers will be followed by a Reception.

The rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches is one of the most significant ecumenical developments of the last hundred years. The Popes of the Catholic Church and Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches have agreed joint statements that move beyond the doctrinal conflicts of the past, and they have been able to proclaim their Faith in Jesus Christ with a united voice and minister collaboratively, regardless of existing and continuing differences.  

The joint celebration expresses a deep desire for unity at the grass roots of the Churches. The evening is one of the fruits of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum of Great Britain which meets precisely to promote rapprochement and to establish ever greater collaboration between the Churches. All ecumenical endeavours are rooted and grounded in prayer, particularly in shared prayer. The kind invitation and hospitality of the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London provides a beautiful place to come together for this evening prayer, which includes the heartfelt desire to make our own the prayer of Our Lord Jesus Christ that “they all may be one” (John 17:21).

All who wish to attend this ecumenical event are very welcome, please RSVP by 31 October to Canon John O’Toole, Secretary Department for Dialogue and Unity, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales 020 7901 4811 


Note to Editors
The Oriental Orthodox Church is a family of six self-governing Church bodies in the East and is the fourth largest communion of Christian Churches. The Oriental Orthodox Churches include: the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Egypt), the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (also called the Indian Orthodox Church) and the Syriac Orthodox Church. Each of these Churches is autonomous while maintaining communion with each other.

Each self-governing church in Oriental Orthodoxy has as its highest office a patriarchate. The patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria is also known as the Pope. Most of the 70 million members of the Oriental Orthodox Family of Churches live in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, Armenia, India, Syria, and Lebanon. Oriental Orthodox churches also exist in North America, Australia, Europe, and other parts of the world.         

The Oriental Orthodox family of Churches is separate from the Eastern Orthodox family of Churches. They recognise the first three ecumenical councils of Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus. They are known as ‘non-Chalcedonian’ or ‘miaphysite’ not monophysite.      

Archbishop Angaelosis widely recognised for his extensive advocacy work, and as a result he was conferred the honour of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen for ‘Services to International Religious Freedom.’ Archbishop Angaelos has also been conferred the Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Coventry Cross of Nails for Reconciliation. With a pastoral ministry spanning more than two decades, Archbishop Angaelos specialises in youth ministry and travels around the world to speak at youth conferences and conventions.

Archbishop Kevin McDonaldis the Catholic Emeritus Archbishop of Southwark.  He worked for eight years inin Romeon the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unityand is the Catholic Co-Chair of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Forum and Chair of the Committee for Catholic-Jewish relations.



Photos:



Thursday 25 October 2018

Revival of the Society of St. John Chrysostom in 1959

The following article appeared on page 5 of the 13 November 1959 edition of The Catholic Herald:

Eastern Churches Society Forming Links of Charity

A gesture of goodwill towards separated Christians was successfully made by London Catholics last Friday, when the recently revived Society of St. John Chrysostom invited Orthodox and Anglican clergymen to attend a lecture by Mr. Donald Attwater on " The Society of St. John Chrysostom and its Patron Saint ".


Fr. Kyril, a Russian Orthodox priest, was present, and wore cassock and pectoral cross. The Rev. C. E. Hampson, of the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius, was the Anglican representative.
The Fellowship, mainly an Anglican venture, is first in the field in this modern move to replace prejudice with charity among Christians in Britain.
OBJECTS
That the Society of St. John Chrysostom, a Catholic organisation having as one of its objects to get Catholics to know and love the Eastern Christian tradition, intends quickly to establish links of charity with other Christians was shown by the presence at the meeting of priests whose avowed aim this is. They included Mgr. J. M. T. Barton, Fr. Maluga, C.SS.R. Vicar General of the Ukrainians, Fr. C. Sipovich. M.I.C. superior of the Byzantine Rite Marian House, London, and Prebendary Pilkington of Westminster Cathedral. The late Dom Bede Winslow, O.S.B., a pioneer in this work. would have attended too, for he had been invited. The Society has arranged for a funeral service in the Byzantine rite to be celebrated for him on Friday. November 27. at 7 p.m., at the Saffron Hill Ukrainian Church, London.
Mr. Attwater, the expert in Eastern Church matters, prefaced his remarks by complimenting the Ukrainians in choosing the second Archbishop of Canterbury. the Greek monk St. Theodore, as patron for their London church. "Cardinal Godfrey, the president of the society, and their Exarch, is his 67th successor," he said. "Theodore gave us the basic structure of the English Catholic Church." When questioners turned from the subject-matter of the lecture and began to comment on the prospects for unity, Fr. Sipovich wisely intervened to point out that the society exists to get Catholics to appreciate "the treasury of theology and devotion to be found in the East". Once this is done, and a bond of sympathy established. then we can go on and talk about unity.
Tonight (Friday) the feast of St. John Chrysostom in the Eastern calendar, Fr. Maluga, Fr. Sipovich, and Fr. Alexander will concelebrate the Liturgy at seven o'clock in Marian House, to which all are invited.