August 2012 at Audley and Dresden




Wed 1st 11am Divine Liturgy

The Dormition Fast begins!
Sat 4th Pilgrimage to Ilam – No Parish Services
Sun 5th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy


Mon 6th 11am Divine Liturgy for the Transfiguration of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Wed 8th 11am Divine Liturgy


Sat 11th 6pm Great Vespers
Sun 12th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy
Tue 14th 6.30pm Great Vespers
Wed 15th 11am Divine Liturgy for the Dormition of the
Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary


Sat 18th 6pm Great Vespers
Sun 19th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy
Wed 22nd 11am Divine Liturgy


Sat 25th 6pm Great Vespers
Sun 26th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy
Wed 29th 11am Divine Liturgy


Name Days
16th Radu
20th Father Samuel


Patronal Feasts
9th Lincoln: Apostle Matthias
31st Levenshulme: Saint Aidan

2012 Pilgrimage to Ilam – 4th August

On the first Saturday of August we make our annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Bertram in
Ilam, together with members of other visiting parishes.
In the editors time with the parish, we have always been blessed with beautiful sunshine to bake
us on our afternoon trek
to the well, and it is
always slightly
disappointing to
remember that we have
already begun our
Dormition Fast – so the
ice-cream van which is

always so temptingly
parked in the centre of the
village is out of bounds!
There is no need to
remind regulars of the
story of Saint Bertram –
Hermit of the Mercian
Woods – but some may
not know that Saint
Bertram was a significant
figure in establishing our
Orthodox community back in
1996. The community had assembled some years before, worshipping first in Fr Samuel’s front
room – complete with an iconostasis – and later in a nearby Anglican church; but from the
beginning, members had wanted to have their own church. It was suggested early on that Father
Samuel find a local saint and ask for their prayers.
Through the prayers of Saint Bertram, the community
was led to the little chapel in Audley.
Each year the Parish of Saint Michael visits the Shrine
of Saint Bertram not only in celebration of his Feast
(which is celebrated on 10th August) but also in
thanksgiving.
In the village of Barthomley near Audley, the church
of Saint Bertoline (an alternative spelling of Bertram)
had in its possession three large stones. Tradition says
that Bertram in being tempted by the devil to turn
stones into bread had refused – and turned his bread
to stone instead.
One of these stones was donated to Saint Michael’s
Church and can now be seen there.
In return, an icon of Saint Bertram was given to Saint
Bertoline’s Church where it is placed on a side altar.

The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church,
celebrated on August 15. It is for this feast that we have been preparing through fasting since the
first day of the month. This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates
the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ's mother. It proclaims that Mary has been
"assumed" by God into the heavenly
kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her

spiritual and bodily existence.
According to Orthodox Tradition, Mary died
like all humanity, "falling asleep," so to
speak, as the name of the feast indicates.
She died as all people die, not "voluntarily"
as her Son, but by the necessity of her
mortal human nature which is indivisibly
bound up with the corruption of this world.
The Holy Scriptures tell us that when our
Lord was dying on the Cross, He saw His
mother and His disciple John and said to the
Virgin Mary, "Woman, behold your son!"
and to John, "Behold your mother!" (John
19:25-27). From that hour, the Apostle took
care of the Theotokos in his own home.
Along with the biblical reference in Acts
1:14 that confirms that the Virgin Mary was
with the Holy Apostles on the day of
Pentecost, the tradition of the Church holds
that she remained in the home of the
Apostle John in Jerusalem, continuing a ministry in word and deed.
At the time of her death, the disciples of our Lord who were preaching throughout the world were
miraculously summoned to Jerusalem to see the Theotokos. Except for the Apostle Thomas, all of
them including the Apostle Paul were gathered together at her bedside. At the moment of her
death, Jesus Christ himself descended and carried her soul into heaven.

Following her repose, the body of the Theotokos was taken in procession and laid in a tomb near
the Garden of Gethsemane. When the Apostle Thomas arrived three days after her repose and
desired to see her body, the tomb was found to be empty. The bodily assumption of the Theotokos
was confirmed by the message of an angel and by her appearance to the Apostles.
As with the nativity of the Virgin and the feast of her entrance to the temple, there are no biblical
or historical sources for this feast. The Orthodox Church teaches that Mary is without personal sin,
also that Mary truly needed to be saved by Christ as all human persons are saved from the trials,
sufferings, and death of this world. She truly died and was raised up by her Son as the Mother of
Life and participates already in the eternal life of paradise. This life of paradise is prepared and
promised to all who "hear the word of God and keep it." (Luke 11:27-28)
                                 


                                                                   The Icon of the Feast

The Icon of the Feast of the Dormition
of the Theotokos shows her on her
deathbed surrounded by the Apostles.
Christ is standing in the centre looking
at His mother. He is holding a small
child clothed in white representing the
soul of the Virgin Mary. With His
golden garments, the angels above His
head, and the mandorla surrounding
Him, Christ is depicted in His divine
glory.

The posture of the Apostles direct
attention toward the Theotokos. On
the right Saint Peter censes the body
of the Theotokos. On the left Saint
Paul bows low in honour of her.
Together with the Apostles are
several bishops and women. The
bishops traditionally represented are
James, the brother of the Lord,
Timothy, Heirotheus, and Dionysius
the Areopagite. They are shown
wearing episcopal vestments. The
women are members of the church
in Jerusalem.
In front of the bed of the Theotokos
is a candle that helps to form a central axis in the icon.
                                                           Troparion of the Feast

In giving birth thou didst preserve thy virginity; in falling asleep thou

didst not forsake the world, O Theotokos.

Thou wast translated to life, O Mother of Life, and by your prayers

you deliver our souls from death.

               July 2012 at Audley and Dresden

Sun 1st 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy

Mon 2nd 7:30pm Meeting of the Trustees at Sparch Hollow
Wed 4th 11am Divine Liturgy

Sat 7th - 3pm Wedding
            - 6pm Great Vespers

Sun 8th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy

Wed 11th 11am Divine Liturgy
Sat 14th 6pm Great Vespers
Sun 15th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy
Wed 18th 11am Divine Liturgy
Sat 21st 6pm Great Vespers
Sun 22nd 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy
Wed 25th 11am Divine Liturgy
Sat 28th- 11am Liturgy at Stoney Middleton
              -  6pm Great Vespers at Dresden
Sun 29th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy
Sat 4th Aug Pilgrimage to Ilam – no services at Dresden

         The Dormition Fast begins Wednesday 1st August!

Name Days10th Alexander Joy; Alix Meek
12th Veronica Irene Dobson
18th Dara Elizabeth Davidchack; Elizabeth Nash
20th Fr Elias; Elias Ghassan Ayoub; Matushka Olga (OS)
22nd Magdalen
24th Anca Bostan

Reposed20th Archimandrite Athanasios (2011)
23rd Tameena Ayoub (2011)
26th Arthur James Carter (2008)
31st Tsinara (2008)

Patronal Feasts17th Saint Marina’s – Grimsby and Longton

Saint Alban – “First Martyr of these Islands” (celebrated 22nd June)

Saint Alban’s Abbey in Hertfordshire is a fascinating building with architectural styles from the Norman through to the 20th Century. The most recent bit of building work has been the splendid reconstruction of the shrine of Saint Alban. The medieval gallery is original and is where the monks of the abbey would keep watch and vigil at the shrine. Alban was a pagan living at Verulamium (now St Albans) who was converted to Christianity by the fugitive Christian priest he was sheltering. The exact date of his death is unknown with some sources listing 209 and some (including Bede) placing his martyrdom as late as 304.
The circumstances however are that Alban put on the priest’s garments and delivered himself up to be killed in place of the Priest. He was arrested, brought before the magistrate and condemned to death. He was taken to a nearby hill and beheaded on the site which was later where the first shrine was constructed and later, the Abbey. The relics of Saint Alban were somehow translated to the Church of St Panteleon in Cologne – probably for safe-keeping at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries - and in 2002 a shoulder blade of the saint was presented to St Albans Abbey and placed inside the newly restored shrine.
Holy Martyr Alban pray to God for us!