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.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Patriarch Gregorios: Lecture at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College


The Melkite Church: living with and for others: dialogue of civilizations, dialogue of life

 

Tuesday 6 November 2012

 

Marie Eugenie Room

 

5.00pm-6.30pm

 

 

The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham is based in Damascus. The Patriarch is the leader of the world-wide Melkite Church, which in the Middle East is mainly concentrated in Lebanon and Syria, although large communities live outside of the Middle East region, particularly in Europe, the United States and Canada, and also significant communities in Argentina and Brazil. Gregory III was elected patriarch on November 29, 2000, and might be considered one of the most important Christian leaders in Syria, the Middle East and the Catholic Church.  

 
All welcome

Saturday 20 October 2012

The Forthcoming Council of the Orthodox Church: Understanding the Challenges

This is to note the above International Colloquium at the Institut Saint-Serge, Paris, that took place from 18th to 20th October 2012

Among subjects scheduled to be discussed included:

  • The common liturgical calendar
  • Autocephaly, Autonomy & Diptychs
  • Future of the Orthodox Diaspora
  • Relations of Orthodox Churches with the other Christian Churches and the Ecumenical Movement
  • Orthodox contributions to ethical questions
  • The importance of fasting

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Gerasimos Makris: Two Special Lectures at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College

Aspects of the Politics of Church and State in Modern Greece
Tuesday 13 November 4-6.30

The Greek Orthodox Church and Muslim-Christian relations: some fractured vignettes from a sideshow Tuesday 20 November 4-6.30


Associate Professor Gerasimos Makris, Panteion University, Athens, Greece: Research Fellow at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London


Marie Eugenie Room. Open to all. There is no charge and no need to pre-register.
 

Gerasimos Makris has a special research interest in the Greek Orthodox Church and Christianity and Islam in the Arab World. His family origins are in the Greek community in the Middle East. Publications include:


Changing Masters: Spirit Possession and Identity Construction among the Descendants of Slaves in the Sudan, Northwestern University Press, 2000;Islam in the Middle East: A Living Tradition, Blackwell, 2006;
Islam: Practices, Beliefs and Trends (In Greek, enlarged edition), Patakis, 2012.
‘The Greek Orthodox Church in the Sudan” in O’Mahony, A. (ed.) Eastern Christianity: Studies in History, Politics and Religion, London, Melisende Press, 2004;
with D. Oulis and S. Roussos, ‘The Orthodox Church of Greece: policies and challenges under Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens (1998–2008)’, International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, (Special Issue guest edited by Charles Miller & A.O’Mahony: ‘Orthodox churches in contemporary contexts’) vol. 10, (2010) nos. 2–3, 192–210;
‘The Greek Orthodox Church and Africa: Missions between the Light of Universalism and the Shadow of Nationalism’, Studies in World Christianity, vol. 16, (2010). no. 3, 245-267.

For further information, please contact j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN

Friday 12 October 2012

BARTHOLOMEW I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION

Vatican City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - During the course of this morning's ceremony in St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Year of Faith, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I pronounced an address, extracts of which are given below.

"Fifty years ago in this very square, a powerful and pivotal celebration captured the heart and mind of the Roman Catholic Church, transporting it across the centuries into the contemporary world. This transforming milestone, the opening of Vatican Council II, was inspired by the fundamental reality that the Son and incarnate Logos of God is 'where two or three are gathered in his name' and that the Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father, 'will guide us into the whole truth'.

"Over the last five decades, the achievements of this assembly have been diverse as evidenced through the series of important and influential constitutions, declarations, and decrees. We have contemplated the renewal of the spirit and the 'return to the sources' through liturgical study, biblical research, and patristic scholarship. We have appreciated the struggle toward gradual liberation from the limitation of rigid scholasticism to the openness of ecumenical encounter, which has led to the mutual rescinding of the excommunications of the year 1054, the exchange of greetings, returning of relics, entering into important dialogues, and visiting each other in our respective Sees.

"Our journey has not always been easy or without pain and challenge. ... The essential theology and principal themes of Vatican Council II - the mystery of the Church, the sacredness of the liturgy, and the authority of the bishop - are difficult to apply in earnest practice, and constitute a life-long and Church-wide labour to assimilate".

"As we move forward together, we offer thanks and glory to the living God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that the same assembly of bishops has recognised the importance of reflection and sincere dialogue between our 'sister Churches'. We join in the 'hope that the barrier dividing the Eastern Church and the Western Church will be removed, and that - at last - there may be but the one dwelling, firmly established on Christ Jesus, the Cornerstone, Who will make both one'".

"Our presence here signifies and seals our commitment to witness together to the Gospel message of salvation and healing for the least of our brethren: the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten in God’s world. Let us begin with prayers for peace and healing for our Christian brothers and sisters living in the Middle East. In the current turmoil of violence, separation, and brokenness that is escalating between peoples and nations, may the love and desire for harmony we profess here, and the understanding we seek through dialogue and mutual respect, serve as a model for our world. Indeed, may all humanity reach out to ‘the other’ and work together to overcome the suffering of people everywhere, particularly in the face of famine, natural disasters, disease, and war that ultimately touches all of our lives.
 
"In light of all that has yet to be accomplished by the Church on earth, and with great appreciation for all the progress we have shared, we are, therefore, honoured to be invited to attend - and humbled to be called to address - this solemn and festive commemoration of Vatican Council II. It is fitting that this occasion also marks for your Church the formal inauguration of the 'Year of Faith', as it is faith that provides a visible sign of the journey we have travelled together along the path of reconciliation and visible unity".

Light of the East - SSJC US Western Region Fall Newsletter

Download here.

Thursday 11 October 2012

AECA 2012 Constantinople Lecture

The New Testament Apocrypha and the Armenian Church Canon of the Bible
by the Rt Reverend Dr Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate of the Armenian Church in the UK & Ireland

22 November 2012, Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU by kind permission of His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury

5.30pm Evensong followed by the lecture
7.00pm Buffet Supper (carriages at 9pm)

Tickets may be booked through www.aeca.org.uk, at £23 to cover the reception costs.

Conference: Louis Mattignon

The Life and Thought of Louis Massignon (1883-1962): Comparative political and theological perspectives
A one-day Conference in honour of the 50th anniversary of the death of Louis Massignon on the eve of the Second Vatican Council
27 November 2012, Centre for Eastern Christianity, Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN, 10.00am-6.00pm (Registration from 9.15pm)

Attendance charge £20 – to be paid on the day. Lunch is not included - but the College cafeteria will be open for meals and snacks.

Louis Massignon, a Greek Catholic Melkite priest who dedicated much of his life to making known the importance of the living presence of Christianity in the Middle East, was an extremely influential French Catholic thinker on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. Massignon's religious thought had a significant influence on the documents of the Second Vatican Council; on the political theology in the encounter between Judaism, Christianity and Islam; and the modern ‘dialogue of civilizations'.

For further information, please contact j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk

Wednesday 10 October 2012

ARABIC TO BECOME A PART OF THE POPE'S GENERAL AUDIENCE


Vatican City, 9 October 2012

Beginning on Wednesday 10 October, during the Holy Father's weekly general audience, an Arabic speaker will join the other speakers who provide a summary of the papal catechises in various different languages.

In this way, in the wake of his recent trip to Lebanon and the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Medio Oriente", the Holy Father intends to express his perpetual concern and support for Christians in the Middle East, and to remind everyone of their duty to pray and work for peace in the region.

Christians in Syria and the Synod of Bishops. A Lecture by Bishop Antoine Aude SJ of Aleppo

19 October 2012
The current situation of Christianity in the Middle East, especially Syria, after the Synod of the Middle East's Final Declaration of September 2012 and the Papal Visit to Lebanon
Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College

11-30 to 13-30 Lecture by Antoine Aude SJ, Bishop of Aleppo of the Chaldean Catholics

Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN. Nearest Tube: Kensington High Street

Open to all. There is no charge for attendance and registration is not required. Further details from j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk

The Christopher Morris Lecture 2012 - Professor Allen Brent

Culture and Mission in Eastern and Western Catholicism – Can Bishops Represent Cultures rather than Territories?
14 November 2012

Father Brent is Professor of Early Christian History and Iconography, King's College London and Professore Invitato, the Augustinianum (Lateran University), Rome

6.15pm - Divine Liturgy
7.30pm – Lecture

Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Duke Street, London W1, by the kind invitation of HE Bishop Hlib, Apostolic Exarch for Ukrainian Catholics in Great Britain and Ireland. Nearest Tube: Bond Street

Followed by a Reception - £10 donation suggested. All are welcome. RSVP to this address, please

Lecture: The Greek Orthodox Church and Muslim-Christian Relations: some fractured vignettes from a sideshow

Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College
20 November 2012, 4.00-6.30 pm

Lecture by Professor Gerasimos Makris, Panteion University, Athens, Greece

Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN. Nearest Tube: Kensington High Street

Open to all. There is no charge for attendance and registration is not required. Further details from j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk

Lecture: Aspects of the Politics of Church and State in Modern Greece

Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College
13 November 2012, 4.00-6.30 pm

Lecture by Professor Gerasimos Makris, Panteion University, Athens, Greece

Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London W8 5HN. Nearest Tube: Kensington High Street

Open to all. There is no charge for attendance and registration is not required. Further details from j.flannery@heythrop.ac.uk

Syrian Orthodox Bishop Calls for Diplomatic Initiatives in Syria

Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim Describes Increasing Violence

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 9, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, the Syrian Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo appealed for concrete diplomatic initiatives in response to the growing violence in Syria.

Speaking to Agenzia Fides, Mar Gregorios said that the situation is worsening in the region and echoed Pope Benedict's called for an international response to the crisis. "We leaders of local Christian Churches can do little. Even Muslim leaders appear divided," he said.

"At this point, given the inaction of the Western powers, the Holy See itself or other realities, such as the Community of St. Egidio, may try to put in place practical proposals to find a way out of the conflict, based on a defined agenda that makes Pope Benedict XVI’s appeals during his visit to Lebanon concrete. Those words of His Holiness were really important, and were appreciated by all, Christians and Muslims."

The Syrian Orthodox Bishop went on to describe the situation in the city of Aleppo, described the ever increasing dangers in his diocese, saying that explosions occur "all day." The Syrian prelate also said that because they live close to neighborhoods where the Free Syria Army has settled, it has been impossible to open schools or accommodate people in churches.

"Every day there are deaths, funerals are celebrated in all Christian churches. Yesterday, I celebrated the funeral of a Syrian Orthodox soldier killed in Sweida," he said. Mar Gregorios sharply denounced the cycle of violence among Syrians, saying that "killing their own brothers and sisters is something atrocious, a shame before the eyes of all humanity."

The Syrian bishop acknowledged that Christians are involved in the cycle of conflict in various ways. The majority, he says, have "become silent, waiting to see where what is happening takes us, and wonder anxiously what the future will be like." Mar Gregorios said that while he knows that among Christians there are both opponents and supporters of the current regime, he could not confirm that Christians have taken up arms. "Those who choose that path, he said, "one way or the other, does it individually. For everyone else, the prospect that comes up is that of escape. There are hundreds of families who have already done so, and others are considering it. The same scenario of Iraq seems to repeat itself here in Syria."

Mar Gregorios concluded his interview with Fides saying that while many have chosen to flee the country, he will not. "I will stay here, I cannot leave Aleppo, I have to be with my people."

Christianity at a Crossroads in the Middle East: Where Next?

Talk by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, with additional analysis from the SAT-7 Trust team

All Souls' Church, Langham Plce, London W1, 6-30 pm. Nearest tube: Oxford Circus

To register for a free ticket, go to www.sat7london.eventbrite.co.uk or phon 01249 765865

Icons Today - 25-27 October 2012

British Association of Iconographers 10th Anniversary Exhibition

St Saviour's Church Hall, St George's Square, London SW1V 3QW, 1030 to 1830 daily (1600 Saturday). Nearest Tube: Pimlico

Over 150 hand-painted icons by 50 members of the Association will be on view.

Thursday 25th at 10-30 am - Opening by his Eminence Gregorios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain

Thursday 25th at 3-30 pm - English Romanesque Painting, Talk by Peter Murphy

Friday 26th at 4 pm - Living Prayer in Christianity, a Film by Jean-Claude Lubtchansk, presented by Richard Temple of the Temple Gallery - admission £10

Saturday 27th at 2-30 pm - Painting Icons: A Living Tradition Today, Talk by Dr Guillem Ramos-Poqui


Wednesday 3 October 2012

The Body at Ceaseless Prayer: Fr Maximus Lavriotes


The Body at Ceaseless Prayer – Real Union with

Christ according to St Maximus the Confessor and

St Gregory Palamas

 

 

Father Maximus Lavriotes

 

 

Saturday 20th October 2012 from  10am – 1pm   


Christchurch, Willesden

Monday 1 October 2012

Antoine Audo SJ - Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo: Lecture at Centre for Eastern Christianity

The current situation of Christianity in the Middle East, especially Syria, after the Synod of the Middle East's Final Declaration (September 2012) and the Papal visit to Lebanon

Antoine Audo SJ, Chaldean bishop of Aleppo

Friday 19 October 2012

11.30-13.30, Marie Eugenie Room - All welcome