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Antiocian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland The Orthodox Community of St Anne and All Saints of Worcestershire meeting at St John the Baptist Chapel Chapel Lane, Bransford Worcestershire WR6 5JQ Archbishop: Metropolitan SILOUAN. Come and See! No 31 April 2020 followers being hidden away for fear of the Jews, despite the Roman authorities being in control, despite most people not believing He is the Messiah. He is risen whether we are in Church or at home under restrictions. The Good News is still the Good News because He has trampled down death by death! There is a full set of streamed services planned for Holy Week and Pascha, but here are some additional ideas taken from Elissa Bjeletich on Ancient Faith Radio for ways in which to celebrate Holy We have, as they say, entered Week and Pascha in these unusual unprecedented times, at least in our circumstances: lifetime. This means that we must support each other and worship in Lazarus Saturday: different ways from before. It also Bake Lazarakia, sweet bread buns gives us an opportunity to deepen our which look like Lazarus all bundled in relationships and our spiritual lives if his graveclothes. They are a wonderful we take the right approach. Greek tradition for Lazarus Saturday. The recipe comes later in the Later in this month we will be saying newsletter. “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!” Read John 11:1–44 and enjoy your His resurrection happened despite His Lazarakia. 1 Palm Sunday: olive oil. We’re going to need palms or https://www.ehow.com/how_4488816_make- pussywillows, or something like them. scented-oils.html What grows in your area? Holy Thursday: If you can find something like long, On this day, we commemorate the thin palm leaves (perhaps even a institution of the Holy Eucharist. wide, tall blade of grass) you Perhaps we could bake prosphora could fold Palm Crosses! with our families to mark it, and to https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Palm- enjoy the familiar taste of church Frond-Cross (without the sacrament, of course). In Bridegroom Services: addition to flour, salt, yeast and water, The story of the ten virgins waiting you will want a prosphora seal (if that’s with oil lamps is a beautiful focus point possible. It’s ok if it’s not.) of the Bridegroom Services that open https://myocn.net/recipe-prosforo-church- Holy Week. Each person must supply bread/ their own oil (signifying loving deeds Foot Washing and merciful actions — I can’t give you Very often, on Holy Thursday a priest my oil, because I cannot give you my will wash his altar boys’ feet in experiences, my history of behaving in remembrance of how Christ washed a Christian way) so why not make oil the feet of His apostles. What if the lamps? These can burn throughout family washes one another’s feet? Holy Week and Pascha and become the source or the repository for the Service of the Twelve Gospels “Holy Light” with which we light our From this service through the Descent candles on Pascha! Here’s how: from the Cross, display a cross https://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Oil-Lamp prominently in your icon corner or where you are doing services Holy Wednesday: together. You might use a cross you The sacrament of Holy Unction cannot have on hand, or you might consider be performed at home, but anyone building a larger one yourself. Think of can anoint another person with holy oil the large cross at church on which an and say a prayer for their good health! icon of Christ can be hung — what if After your services on Holy you mounted or positioned an icon of Wednesday, consider anointing your Extreme Humility or of Christ Crucified family before your icon corner. You’ll on that cross? (You could print one need holy oil — if you don’t have any, from online or find one in an old you can order it from any monastery or calendar, perhaps.) You could place church with a healing icon or relics. this icon on your cross when (in the Alternately, you could make your own gospel readings) Christ is hung on the sweet-smelling oil by adding a scent to 2 cross, and then remove it when He Place (the icon of) Christ in His descends, placing it in His tomb — just decorated tomb. like we do in church. Lamentations You’ll want candles for everyone on Holy Friday evening, if possible. If you still have some of the wax catchers you’ve used in the past, you could reuse them, but if not, consider making some by cutting an X in the As you pray this service yourself or base of a disposable cup or small alongside a live-stream, consider paper circle and pushing a candle doing something to mark each through. reading, whether lighting a candle as On Holy Friday evening, we process we do in Church, or laying a flower at with Christ in His tomb (rather like the foot of the cross, or both. pallbearers at a funeral), heading outside with our candles. Consider Holy Friday: carrying the tomb and singing the On Holy Friday, we decorate a tomb hymns around your home, whether with flowers and then place the icon of outdoors or indoors. Christ inside it, marking the time He spent in the tomb. What if we were to Holy Saturday: cut large windows in the sides of a To celebrate the harrowing of Hades, cardboard box (leaving the corners as why not throw bay leaves around your pillars to hold its shape), creating a house as you sing Arise O God! If you cardboard tomb? We could decorate it cannot get bay leaves, any leaves will with flowers that we have collected do, as the leaves are intended to outside, or with flowers that we’ve signify life, as Christ tramples down made from tissue paper or death by death. construction paper. Then we can use Dye your eggs! If you have saved up the tomb throughout the weekend, just your onion skins, you can make as we do in church. the traditional red eggs, but if you have no onion skins, using an artificial Descent from the Cross red dye is fine too. If you have Christ’s icon on a cross, Prepare your family’s traditional you’ll want to take Him down during Pascha foods. this service, and wrap Him in white Arise O God: linens, as Joseph of Arimathea and http://ww1.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/Ar Nicodemus did. A white sheet or ise_O_God.HSat_.T7.pdf pillowcase would work well for this. 3 Red eggs: Sing Christ is risen! in various https://www.thespruceeats.com/dye-red- languages. eggs-greek-easter-1705690 Pascha: The midnight services Be ready with candles for everyone. If you still have some of the wax catchers you’ve used in the past, you could reuse them, but if not, consider making some by cutting an X in the base of a disposable cup or small paper circle and pushing a candle through. For the following forty days, be sure to When you light the candles, let one sing “Christ is risen!” at mealtimes and person light theirs first and then pass prayer times, and all the time, so that the light to one another, as we do in you can truly feel the resurrection in church. your home throughout the Paschal Head outside with your candles and season. announce that Christ is risen! Make large crosses the air with your candles This is another helpful resource: and call it out many times, as you http://www.whithershalligo.com/wp- would do at the Paschal church content/uploads/2020/04/Holy-Week-and- service. Pascha-Resource-Guide.pdf. Feast with all of your family’s favourite foods for breaking the fast, and crack your red eggs! DO YOU WANT PRAYERS SAID? Phone, TEXT or email Fr Philip (if you don’t know how to do that, contact me.) Melangell. 4 saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Practical ways to help in our communities on and off-line: COVID-19 Mutual Aid UK https://covidmutualaid.org/local-groups/ We have been deployed into our local West Worcester: Covid-19 Support communities and our homes. Now is West Worcester when we are needed most for the Malvern, Worcestershire: Malvern spiritual and practical welfare of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support ourselves, our families and our Group communities. Battenhall, Worcester: Battenhall How to help during the lockdown: Coronavirus Volunteers 1. Obey the safety rules. Worcestershire: Worcestershire - 2. Get into your icon corners and Coronavirus Support - Helping Each pray, follow the livestream Other services, say Morning Prayers, say Akathists to the Mother of Syria and the Missing Bishops: God and St Xenia, read your daily scripture readings. 3. Post uplifting items on social media 4. Avoid sharing scaremongering and conspiracy theories 5. Start a vlog and share the things you find helpful with others 6. Teach a skill you might have. + His Eminence Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo, and Archbishop John Philippians 4:8 kidnapped and still missing in Syria. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are Keep praying for them and for all the true, whatever things are noble, missing people, for their captors and whatever things are just, whatever for their homes and families. It is now things are pure, whatever six years and eleven months since things are lovely, whatever Metropolitan PAUL and Archbishop things are of good report, if there is any JOHN were kidnapped.

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