THE VISIT OF ARCHBISHOP ELISEY TO GLASGOW

Christ is Risen!

On 10 April, Bright Saturday, the Russian Orthodox Glasgow parish of St Kentigern celebrated a significant event – a pastoral visit of Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh. The Archbishop arrived in Glasgow as part of his visit to Scotland. It was dedicated to the celebration of Holy Pascha (other Russian Orthodox communities visited by Archbishop Elisey were in Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen).

The Archbishop celebrated the Divine Liturgy, together with Archpriest Gennadiy Andreev, who is in charge of the Glasgow parish of St Kentigern and other Orthodox communities in Scotland and Northern England, and Protodeacon Dimitry Nedostupenko, clergyman of the London Dormition Cathedral.

Besides, the Glasgow Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Elisey together with clergy of the Glasgow parishes of the Constantinople and Romanian Patriarchates: Priest Fr Constantine Papageorgiou, Priest Fr Marcel Oprisan and Reverend Deacon Mark Mitchell. Subdeacons who arrived from London and Oxford especially for the occasion also took part in the celebrations.

Sergey Konstantinovich Krutikov, Consul-General of Russian Federation in Edinburgh and his wife Tatyana were among those who prayed at the Liturgy in Glasgow. Archbishop Elisey was greeted at the entrance to the church with the traditional Russian welcome, symbolizing hospitality: a loaf of bread and salt, and flowers from the children.

The sounds of solemn Russian Episcopal celebration of the Divine Liturgy filled the enormous space of the ancient church. The sonorous bass of the cathedral protodeacon soared up to its lofty roof.

The choir which consisted mostly of local parishioners – women and children sounded clear and harmonious. The choir was directed by the choirmaster Svetlana Arkhipova, who came to Glasgow from St Andrews. During the Paschal Procession, which followed the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Elisey asperged the parishioners and the church with Holy water. 

On the occasion of the visit of Archbishop Elisey the church was festively decorated. With the help of the parishioners a new iconostas and protective veils for icon stands were made. Icons were temporarily made available by the Romanian church with the blessing of Fr Marcel. The interior decoration of the church was completed by bouquets of flowers. It is hard to express the feeling of common joy and unity which filled the church. Sobornost’ (meaning a sense of community or togetherness) – must be that significant word that best of all describes the feeling of unity familiar to all Orthodox believers.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy Archbishop Elisey congratulated all the parishioners on the greatest and most joyous Orthodox festival of all – Holy Pascha. He gave his good wishes for the parish to get well settled in the new place. The Archbishop expressed the hope that spiritual bonds would be strengthened within the parish and links between the Russian parish and other Orthodox parishes in Glasgow enhanced. The Archbishop’s visit took place in a warm and joyful atmosphere. An unusually warm and sunny weather added to the general good mood.

The parishioners expressed their profound gratitude to the Archbishop for the opportunity of communal prayer during Bright Week. A big thank you to all who took part in preparations for the celebration: to those who supplied furnishings, decorated the church, sang and read at the service. Separate thanks to the sisters who helped prepare an amazingly tasty banquet, which took place after the service.

Christ is Risen Indeed!

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX SCHOOL IN GLASGOW HAS MOVED TO A NEW BUILDING

This year Easter week was marked with a very important and a long-awaited event for the Russian School in Glasgow. The school has moved to a new building! It now occupies the premises of Glasgow Steiner School. B-class listed building (dating 1876, designed by John Burnet) attracts your attention with Gothic sharp shapes and typically Scottish captivating modesty. The school playground, which provides safe shelter from the outside noise and strangers, was at once appreciated by the children. The well-heated, light and comfortable classes are ideal for all age groups. The school is situated in the central part of Glasgow. It is easily accessible by public transport. It can be reached from Partick and SECC railway stations as well as Kelvinhall underground station. The nearest bus stops are outside Kelvingrove Art Gallery on Dumbarton Road. There is convenient parking outside the school for the owners of private transport. We hope you will manage to get to the classes on time.

The move was celebrated by the children’s Easter concert. The boys and girls of all ages took part in it. A good addition to the concert was shared tea afterwards.        

We wish our children, teachers and parents to succeed in achieving our mutual purpose –preserving Russian culture and education.

May God bless us!

SERVICES IN THE PARISH OF ST KENTIGERN: HOLY WEEK AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

The period of the Great Fast came to an end with the services of Holy Week.  On Tuesday, 30 March at the service of Vespers Fr Gennadiy Andreev and the priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church Fr Marcel Oprisan held a sacrament of anointing (See the photo gallery).

The Vesper service on Holy Thursday was dedicated to the remembrance of the holy saving Passions of our Lord Jesus Christ. The episodes in the four Gospels about the events starting from Christ’s last talk to his disciples in the Gethsemane garden and finishing with the burial of Jesus Christ in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb  were read at the service.

The taking-down of Christ’s body from the Cross and his burial were at the heart of Good Friday Vespers.  To the singing of the troparion ‘Blessed Joseph’ Fr Gennadiy  lifted the shroud from the altar (Golgotha) and put it on the table (the tomb). The worshippers venerated to the shroud.

At the Matins of Holy Saturday, after the Great Doxology, Lamentations over the Shroud and the burial procession were held. The Shroud was carried round the perimeter of the church as the remembrance of Christ’s descent into Hell and his victory over evil and death. With lit candles in their hands the worshippers sang “Holy God”.

The Liturgy of  Holy Saturday (3 April) was celebrated by Fr Gennadiy on the premises of the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh. The diplomatic corps and Orthodox parishioners from Edinburgh prayed at the service. Many of them received Holy Communion.

Easter worship took place in Govan Old. The huge church had drawn together about 150 worshippers from different parts of Scotland. It was a vivid and unforgettable celebration!  Both adults and children were gripped by a mood of joyful animation and exultation.  The service was attended by people of other faiths, who were deeply impressed by Russian Orthodox Easter celebrations. The Easter troparion was sung a number of times in Church Slavonic, English, Greek, Latin and Chinese. The texts of the Liturgy were read and sung in Church Slavonic and English. The service was accompanied by the parish choir headed by the choirmaster Svetlana Arkhipova and members of Russkaya Cappella headed by Svetlana Zvereva.  Beautiful festal coverings for the lecterns had been skilfully sewn by Tatiana Yakovchuk.

At the end of the service the Paschal Message of his Holiness Patriarch Kiril to the Pastors and all Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church was read in Russian and English.

The final chord of the service was the blessing of Easter Bread and a shared meal. (See the photo gallery)

PALM SUNDAY HAS BEEN CELEBRATED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE PARISH OF ST KENTIGERN

The Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) is one of the twelve major holidays in the church calendar. 

This holiday allows us to better understand the events of the last days of the life of our Savior, who soon after His triumphant arrival into Jerusalem had to drink the cup of suffering, culminating in a painful death on the Cross.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, people came and placed palm leaves in his path. Following the Russian tradition, we commemorated this Holy event by consecrating willow branches which were given out to the congregation after the  liturgy. 

The service was both joyful and solemn. Due to the increasing number of British people joining our services, an increased proportion of the liturgical texts are read in English. On Sunday the role of Apostles readerwas taken by our parishioner Ambrose Kolmorgen. The Parish choir was led for the first time by regent Svetlana Arkhipova.

THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX COMMUNITY IN GLASGOW CELEBRATES THE MEMORY OF ST CONSTANTIN

On Tuesday 23rd of March 2010, a special polyeleos service dedicated to St. Constantine, the first Scottish Martyr, was held by the Russian Orthodox parish of St. Kentigern in Glasgow. Once the king of Cornwall, he founded a monastery in Glasgow, on the spot where  Govan Old Church now stands. The Russian Orthodox parish has been conducting Liturgies and prayer services there since February 2010. 

Govan Old Church was built in 1888 by the renowned Scottish architect Robert Rowand Anderson. The ancient Christian tombstones found during archaeological excavations were placed inside the church. The main relic of the church is a stone sarcophagus in which, according to  legend, the relics of St. Constantine reposed. St. Constantine has been accepted in martyrdom around 576 year. The feast of St. Constantine is celebrated on 11/24 March.

A day earlier, March 10/23, is the date when another local champion of Christianity is honoured - St. Kessog, killed by pagans in 520. A native of Ireland, he arrived in Scotland as a missionary bishop, and founded a  monastery on an island in Loch Lomond. Until the middle of the 10th century St. Kessog was regarded as the heavenly patron of Scotland prior to the establishment of the Apostle St. Andrew in that role. 

To Russian Orthodox people living in Scotland, commemorating the ancient Christian saints of the undivided Church is of great importance. It is a source of joy to them to know that they are praying on the same soil where many centuries ago their brethren in the faith prayed as well and where they have found heavenly intercessors among local Saints. Modern Orthodox believers believe it is their sacred duty to revive the forgotten memory of the pioneers of Christianity in Scotland. 

NOTE
In 2007 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established a local commemoration of the company of those saints whose light shone in the lands of Britain and Ireland, which occurs in the third week of the Holy Pentecost. The search for forgotten names and evidence of hagiographical and historical progress is continuing.