January 2021

At Audley ( ST7 8EN)  NO SERVICES

At Dresden (ST3 4PD) NO SERVICES

 

Name-days

2^nd Seraphim

3^rd Genevieve

7^th Ioana; Jan; Afaf

12^th Tatiana

14^th Nino

17^th Antony; Antonis

27^th Nina (os)

Reposed

1^st Samuel Carter (1979)

6^th Fr. Michael Harper (2010)

14^th Mary Carter (2005)

18^th Fr. John (2001)

24^th Peter Higgs (2016)

Parish Feasts

13^th Doncaster, St Kentigern (Mungo)

16^th St. Furseys, Norfolk

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From our father, Metropolitan Silouan, to all our parishes. 

Please note the call to pray the Paraclesis to the Mother of God every Wednesday evening at 7pm in our homes.

We are in Tier 4.

As you know from the newspapers, deaths are now running at nearly 1,000 a day with almost 56,000 cases in the last 24 hours. Over the next seven days, this may get much worse because of all the gatherings that took place here over Christmas and New Year. The government is now changing its policy about opening all the schools next week, and the vaccinations have only just started. The scientists tell us that we will probably be in full lockdown until April at the earliest. Two-thirds of the country is already in this level of lockdown, and the remaining third will almost certainly follow in the next two weeks.

With all these severe factors in mind it is vitally essential, please, that the Churches remain closed until the rates of infection, hospitalisations and deaths are significantly reduced. The new strain of the virus, which is much more contagious, is responsible for this worsening situation. "Let us commend ourselves and each other to Christ our God that our souls may be saved".

I direct for all parishes and communities throughout our Archdiocese:

 

1. If the church is in Tier 1 or Tier 2, you may open the church for the public but take the usual precautions.
2. If the church is in Tier 3 or Tier 4, you must not open the church for the public, but you may privately serve the Liturgy with only one server and only one chanter and stream it online if possible.
3. Anything above Tier 4, you must not open the church, but you may serve the Liturgy from your home and stream it online if possible.

This directive from me remains in force for the entirety of January 2021.  I will announce our Archdiocese's policy for February in due time.

I know that you are praying for this pandemic to end, but I would like to organise something for the whole Archdiocese. We shall, altogether, pray a Paraklesis Service to the Mother of God: I suggest once a week on Wednesdays at 7 pm London time. You could pray alone or with the parishioners online. So altogether in the Archdiocese we will pray to God, like the three Holy Youths as though from one mouth, to end this pandemic.

You can see, attached to this email, a Paraklesis service in traditional English.

Your prayers!

I remain your father in Christ,

+Silouan

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