Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. (Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi)
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Saints of the British Isles and the "new evangelisation"
"The Church in the British Isles will only begin to grow when she begins to venerate her own saints again."
Arsenios of Cappadocia (thanks to Anagnostis for the correction).
It fascinates me that a poor pastor of a hard-pressed parish in Asia Minor was so concerned about waning devotion to ancient British saints. It's certainly a rebuke to those who accuse Orthodoxy of indifference to the condition of non-"ethnically Orthodox" Christianity.
I seem to remember hearing that the bishops of all the jurisdictions here have adopted this as a priority and that a common Synaxarion for all the Orthodox in Great Britain is being developed.
4 comments:
Wrong St Arsenios! This quote is in fact attributed to St Arsenios of Cappodocia, his near contemporary.
http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/11/st-arsenios-righteous-of-cappadocia.html
It fascinates me that a poor pastor of a hard-pressed parish in Asia Minor was so concerned about waning devotion to ancient British saints. It's certainly a rebuke to those who accuse Orthodoxy of indifference to the condition of non-"ethnically Orthodox" Christianity.
Thanks for the correction. I get the impression that some ROC and ROCOR parishes are pretty keen to promote devotion to ancient Britisd saints.
Mark
I seem to remember hearing that the bishops of all the jurisdictions here have adopted this as a priority and that a common Synaxarion for all the Orthodox in Great Britain is being developed.
PS: the east wall in our parish is soon to be painted. I'm lobbying hard to have St Wilfrid and St Cuthman either side of the Theotokos.
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