No.

124
March2017

TheOrthodoxParish
oftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
Lancaster,U.K.

TheStavronian
amonthlymagazine&newsletterpublishedbythe'HolyCrossSynodia'

TheParishoftheHolyandLifeGivingCross,
belongstotheAntiochianOrthodoxChristianArchdioceseoftheBritishIslesandIreland.
ThePatriarchateofAntiochisthirdsenioroftheOrthodoxChurches.
ThePatriarchisHisBeatitudeJohnX.

ThediscipleswerefirstcalledChristiansinAntioch
(Acts11:26)
TIMEANDMOTION
Inthe50sanewscientificmanagement
process gained widespread acceptance
whichbecameknownasTimeandMotion
study which aimed to improve business
efficiency. It was a method to establish
employee productivity and to guarantee
optimal performance. The principle of
moreinlesstimehadbegun.
Today,performancetargetsandmo
nitoringarebuiltintothemodelsofmost
publicsectorandprivatebusinessopera
tions.
Irememberoneteacheronceputting
upasigninhisclassroomtoencourage
boysintheirearlypreparationofanexam
revision programme; it read Plan
Ahead. Planning ahead is all very well
butiftheplanningismadeonanuntried
model,atanunreasonablepaceorunrea
listic expectation then the outcome will
bedisappointing.
Thedemand formorework inless
timesyndromemakeslifemorehazard
ous, less thorough, more pressured and
stressful!Theworklifebalanceissuppo
sedly related to the idea of lifestyle
choice. The truth is that many people
have no choice about their contracts of
employments (zero hours or otherwise)
andhavetoworkonSundaysregardless
oftheirreligiousaffiliationanddevotion.
The much vaunted protestant work
ethicuponwhichtimeandmotionwas
based is deeply engrained into western
society,althoughtodayonecouldreplace
protestantwithsecular.
Yet built into Gods contract of em
ployment with His creation (The Ten
Commandments)isadayofrest.Proper
prioritizing between work, based on
moral obligations and "lifestyle" health,
pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual
developmentisanabsolutecorevalue.
The number of people working
excessive hours even over the past few
years has greatly increased with a
commensurate detrimental impact upon
physical, mental and spiritual health.
What some people face is often termed
Burnout!Therateatwhichsomething
can be processed (throughput) has
reached every facet of our modern life;
we get frustrated even to wait a few
seconds for responses, as exemplified
with the internet as we expect fast,
unlimited,immediateresults.Patienceit
seemsisnolongerseenasavirtue.
In the 1970s and 1980s we were
soldthemyththatmachines,robotsand
computers would give us more leisure
time! The pursuit ofprogress was aptly
described in Parkinson's law: "work
expandssoastofillthetimeavailablefor
itscompletion."
This principle of this bureaucratic
controlhasbeenharnessedbytheagency
of human resources (HR department)
management.Inthelastweekatvarious
places,IoverheardreferencestoHRused
threetimes.Sincemanypeoplespeakin
letters now rather thanwords, it prom
ptedmetofindoutafullerexplanation
astowhatthelettersmeant!?
Ihaveamajorconcernaboutconsi
deringpeopleasassetsorresources,obje
ctifying them ascommodities to bedis
posedoforcontractedtofitsomeecono
micdemand.Iamnotmakingapolitical
point here but a theological one. Gods
economyisquitedifferentittakesanall
inclusive view of human weaknesses,
faults and sins as well as virtues, skills
andtalents.Humanbeingsarenot"com
modities"or"resources",butarecreative
andsocialbeings,createdintheimageof
GodtogiveglorytotheirCreatorandto
loveourfellowcoworkersinHiscreati
on.Ifwemustspeakinletters,Iwantto
replace HR for DI. I am not a human
resource, I am a human being made in
the image of God (Divine Image). For
time and motion read eternity and
stillness!Thisisthetrueperspective!So
the DI department is ready to employ
yourtalentsandhealyourfaultsatyour
nearestOrthodoxChurch!!
So lets consider the DI corporate
(andpersonal)mandate!!
Genesis2:3;ThenGodblessedtheseventh
day and made it holy, because on it He
restedfromalltheworkofcreatingthatHe
haddone.
Jeremiah29:11;ForIknowtheplansI
haveforyou,declarestheLORD,plansto
prosperyouandnottoharmyou,plansto
giveyouhopeandafuture.
Proverbs16:3;CommittotheLORDwhat
ever you do, and He will establish your
plans.
Matthew6:33; Butseekyefirsttheking
domofGod,andHisrighteousness;andall
thesethingsshallbeaddeduntoyou.
Amen!
FrJonathan
NOWORRIES,COOL,
SWEET!
Matthew5:37; ButletyourYesbeYes,
andyourNo,No.Forwhateverismore
thantheseisfromtheevilone.
Onarecenttrainjourney,thepassenger
sitting next to me was speaking on his
mobilephone.Heendedhisfirstconver
sation with the words no worries,
cool,sweet!Nowthesecouldhavebeen
reassuring words about the result of a
summer dessert recipe, but I suspect it
wasawayofsayingeverythingiswell
then,goodbye!Languageismultilayered
andconstantlychanging.Thewordfant
astic many yearsago commonly meant
remotefromrealitybuttodayitusually
meansextraordinarilygood.
There is today a fashion for hyper
bole in adjectives; almost everything, it
seems, is awesome, unbelievable or
amazing!Theseandothersuperlatives
appeal to the emotions. Such appeal to
emotion is conveyed in the new post
truth world in which we live; a world
where alternative facts apparently exist.
Alieisnotfalsity,itismerelyanoption
orinterpretation.
We should not be surprised at this
development in a society which rejects
absolutesanddogmas.Iflanguageisset
within the context of personal know
ledge,fashionablefeelingsandoverriding
opinionthenonecaneasilyusetheword
wickedorsicktomeangood!
However, this language sometimes
has unintended consequences. The per
son sitting next to me again on his
mobile phone, after a stifled laugh was
obviously perplexed by the callers tone
and observation: What do you mean
reallybuzzing?Thensuddenrealization
setsin:Oh,youmeanabuzzingnoiseon
thephoneitmustbethesignal.
 Itremindsmeofthestoryoftwoold NAMESOFDEPARTED
universityfriendswhometupsomeyears
after studying together in the hippy LOVEDONESTOBE
cultureofthelate1960s.Theconversa REMEMBEREDTHISMONTH
tionwentlikethis:
Mar.12:Georgianna
Whereareyoulivingnow? Mar.18:Fr.ThomasHopko
NearLondon! Mar.19:MetropolitanPhilipofNorth
Farout! America,andFr.GeorgiosMyrou
Abouttenmiles!
MEMORYETERNAL!
What was a statement by the one, was
understood as a question by the other. Pleasesendusthenamesofyourdepar
Thetwofriendsitseemswereseparated tedloved onesanddateoftheirdepar
bylanguageaswellasbylocation. tureinorderforthemtoberemembered.
Language matters. Words give form
and expression to our character, values,
interests,ideas,attitudesandourbeliefs.
Weshouldweighourspokenandwritten
wordscarefully.Christdid!

Matthew 24:35; Heaven and earth will

passaway,butMywordswillbynomeans
passaway. PARISHNEWS
FrJonathan
OnSundayofForgiveness,Feb.26th,we
were blessed to welcome our spiritual
father, Metropolitan Silouan, to the
THOUGHTSFROMTHE ParishofHolyCross.Itwasajoytosee
CELTICFATHERS so many of the faithful attending the
Hierarchical Liturgy and then enjoy the
From the life of St Columba of Iona: fellowshipoverlunchatthechurch.This
When he was on the island of Iona, St wasthefirstvisitofourMetropolitanto
Columba had the ascetic habit to pray theParishand,byGodswill,wehopeit
during the night outside in the cold isnotthelast!Photostakenduringthe
winter weather, where the angels kept day are uploaded by Fr Gregory at the
himcompany. Antiochianwebsitehere.
ChristosVasilopoulos Wethank AidanWearingforsupply
Kozani,Greece ingthespandrelsandto TonyPlater for
fitting them to the Royal Gates and
Deacon Doors; we also thank Tony for
makingtheBishop'sstaff.MayGodgive
thereward!

OLDSTAVRONIANCORNER
We are so very grateful to those who
remember us in their prayers and show
theirloveasgenerousbenefactorsofour
Parish. We would like to thank Konsta
ntinosVoutzoulidisfromPatmos,Greece,
forsendingdarkbeeswaxcandles,which
wereusedduringtheHierarchicalLiturgy
presidedbyMetropolitanSilouan.
MAJORCELEBRATIONSTHIS
MONTH
st
1Mar:St.DavidofWales(589) oceseofAmerica:www.calendar.goarch.org
nd
2Mar:OurHolyfathersStNicholas
Planas&StJoachimofIthacaand
Vatopaedi
th
5Mar:SundayofOrthodoxy
th
17Mar:StPatrick,theEnlightenerof
Ireland(492)
th
20Mar:StCuthberttheWonderworker,
BishopofLindisfarne(687)
th
25Mar:TheAnnunciationofourHoly
TheotokosandEverVirginMary
th
30Mar:StJohnClimacustherighteous,
authoroftheDivineLadderofAscent
st
31Mar:St.Innocent,Enlightenerof
Siberia&Alaska
For the lives of Saints please visit the
CalendaroftheGreekOrthodoxArchdi

APOCALYPSIS
1Peter5:69;HumbleyourselvesthereforeunderthemightyhandofGodthatin
duetimehemayexaltyou.Castallyouranxietiesonhim,forhecaresaboutyou.
Besober,bewatchful.Youradversarythedevilprowlsaroundlikearoaringlion,
seekingsomeonetodevour.Resisthim,firminyourfaith.

Matthew24:3537; Heavenandearthwillpassaway,butMywordswillbyno
meanspassaway.Butofthatdayandhournooneknows,noteventheangelsof
heaven,butMyFatheronly.ButasthedaysofNoahwere,soalsowillthecoming
oftheSonofManbe.

KindlyLutpanofthegods,thethroneofmightyMotespied
WhenMotthroughscornanddeadlypassiondied;
Thelighterofthestarscreptdowntoearthinstealthbehindamask,
Toperformagreaterdeedofdarknessthanhisformertask.

Sowerethesporesofcycledmythstoredlongago,
Suchfoulseedgrownnowinmoreabundantsoil.
Littlegodsstillseektheirchancetoruletheworld,
AsoncedidAdamwiththeserpentstemptingspoil.

YetGodsfreedommakesfirmthefaithfulheartsinserviceborn,
Theirgracefilledchoice,Yourwill,OLord,mayitbedone;
Andgivesventtowrathoffallenmenwhosearroganceadorn
Theirownwarpedthrill,mywillismine,Iuseagun.

Andsothebattlesstart,soakedinboastfulwordsandshowninfearfuldeeds.
Youdoubtmypowersoshrieksthemindofhell;
SoIsentenceyoutosilenceinadark,dampprisoncell.
ButtheWordofGod,whomadethesunandstarsbeforehisMotherswomb,
WhotrulylittheheavenswithHisownmostgloriousLight,
willinvadethattomb!

Therearesomemilestogobeforethiscloseofage
Suchrageofscornandpridehasnotyetplumbedthedepths;
Buttimemarchesnearer,alikeforyoungandoldersage.

Bewaretheroadsignwarnsofaccidentahead!
When:Theloveofmanyshallgrowcold.
Butinthefrozendustofearth,snowdropsoffaithappear
Inspiringgrowthoffutureblooms,tomakethembold;
Confirmingthatforetoldbyapostle,priestandseer,
Whichsatanandhisfranticmobdeplore.

Butofthatdayandhour,nooneknows,
Providence,ahandlessclockfacechose;
ThehandsbelongtoHimwhomoldedspaceandtime.
Suchknowledgenoteventheangelsofheavenown,
northeSon,
buttheFatheralone!

Sohastenottoventurethought,forthattimewillsurelybe
Wrappedineasycomfortswherefearisclothedwithmisery.
SoofthatdayWewatchandpray.
Thewise,awakeatnight,willguardtheirdoorsandtrimtheirlamps,
Fromthosesleepwalkingtothatfoolsparadisewheredeathencamps.
Watchthenforthatprowling,roaringlion
Seeksthosewhomhemaydevour,
Everyminute,everyhour
resist,andthroughrepentanttears
raiseyoureyestoZionsMount
Forthere,theLambofGodappears!

Evilspiritsdispersedintheuniverse,willawakenageneral,inflatedopinionabout
theAntichristinman,ageneralenthusiasmandanirresistibleattractionforhim.
StEphraimtheSyrian.

Werelivinginthelasttimes,taughtFatherSeraphimRose;Antichristisclose,
andwhathappensinRussiaandothercountrieslikeitisthenormalexperienceof
ourtimes.HereintheWestwerelivinginafoolsparadisewhichcanandprobably
willsoonbelost.Letsstarttopreparenotbystoringfoodorsuchoutward
thingsthatsomearealreadydoinginAmerica,butwiththeinwardpreparationof
OrthodoxChristians.
 ServicesatStMartin'sinMarch*
Fri.3rd 18:30 AkathisttotheTheotokos(FirstChairetismoi)
Sat.4th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.5th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Fri.10th 18:30 AkathisttotheTheotokos(SecondChairetismoi)
Sat.11th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.12th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Fri.17th 18:30 AkathisttotheTheotokos(ThirdChairetismoi)
Sat.18th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.19th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgy
Fri.24th 18:30 AkathisttotheTheotokos(FourthChairetismoi)
Sat.25th 13:00 Memorial,Confessions,SynaxarionandGreatVespers
Sun.26th 10:00 HoursandHolyLiturgyfollowedbyParishlunch
Fri.31st 18:30 AkathisttotheTheotokos
*Helpsettingupthechurchisgreatlyappreciatedandstartsfrom9.30a.m.

Godcaresforeveryone.Despairisineffectalackoffaith
St.GeorgeKarslides

Forfurtherinformationpleasecontact:
FatherJonathanHemmings
67SibseyStr.,Fairfield,Lancaster,LA15DQ
Tel:+441524840759,+441524580600
Email:frjah@yahoo.co.uk
www.orthodoxlancaster.org.uk
www.antiochianorthodox.co.uk
ThefollowingblogsofOldStavroniansareavailableinRomanian,ConstiintaOrtodoxa,in
English,Orthodoxcityhermit,andinGreek,Orthodoxyrainbow.

TopandbottomsketchesarecreatedattheHolyMonasteryofTheAnnunciationoftheTheotokosChios,Greece,courtesyofFrTheodosiosDendrinos,Ithaca,Greece.
ThesketchofChristbyPhotisKontoglouwasscannedfromtheOrthodoxcalendaroftheApostolikiDiakoniaoftheChurchofGreece.