xarchat uillet de l Germany - Scotland - Finland - Belgium Germany The Orthodox Youth Camp in Königsheim October 2012 n 49

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1 F E de l uillet xarchat October 2012 n 49 Germany - Scotland - Finland - Belgium Germany The Orthodox Youth Camp in Königsheim Summer camps are fashionable again in our ever rushing society, so mass media have been telling us for the last 3-4 years. Within our Exarchate, Orthodox camps are organized every year, in France, the UK, etc. Children and grown-ups gather to share prayers and games. In the South of Germany, not far from Tübingen, a small group led by father Michael Buk has been endeavouring for two years, with much ardour and enthusiasm, to gather children for a fortnight at the end of the summer. For the children it is an important event, which we relate below. Was it too good to be true, to see happy children in school? It most certainly was true in Königsheim, for it was here in this charming village of 450 souls where the Orthodox Youth camp took place. The former school building is now called «St. Francis» and is very closely situated to Heuberg. It is a short walk from the forest and therefore ideal for treasure hunts or walks. Even before the official beginning of the holidays, preparations were well under way. Father Michael and his wife Marina and father Athanasius organized the camp. This year, the number of participants increased and there were 21 children, 11 girls and 10 boys. They were taken care of by the «old» camp goers from the previous year (Athanasius Buk, Fjodor Kassberger and Martha Kufr). In the kitchen was esteemed chef Thomas Zmija-Horjanyj, helped by Snejana Schönleber. The children arrived on August 23rd. After the blessing of the camp, they returned to their rooms and then found their way to the evening meal, as most of them were present last year and knew their way around. The meal was followed by evening prayers, as every evening. In the morning, prayers were recited after sunrise. Afterwards, mornings were generally devoted to services unpopular with the children, such as washing and cleaning. But most of the time a game followed, then a quiet moment to listen carefully to the catechism taught by Father Michael and Matoushka Marina. After an excellent lunch came naptime, during which children rested in bed or engaged in peaceful occupations. During the afternoon, we practiced the chants for Vespers or the Liturgy as everyone sang during liturgical services, Exarchate of Orthodox Parish of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, ecumenical patriarchate 12, rue Daru F Paris tel. : +33 (0) feuillet@exarchat. eu - exarchat. eu/ editor : Mgr Gabriel translation : C. Lossky, E. Toutounov, J. Guillon, A. van Dinteren. 1

2 yielding beautiful results. This year the topic of catechism was the feasts of the liturgical year. Father Michael instructed children 11 and older, and Matoushka Marina the youngest. Matoushka Marina also gave craft lessons this year. Thus, at the beginning of camp, each child made a cup. For this purpose, special crayons were used and placed in an oven so that the drawings were resistant to washing. There was also the opportunity to create an icon, which was met with great interest. During the day a variety of games were organized like football or game trades and much more. The most successful included a treasure hunt to find the lost recipe of the magic drink, or the awesome game of Asterix and Obelix, which led to the composition of a drink by Miraculix that the children tasted later on. Another episode was the Olympic Games which were just held in England. It should be noted that the goal of these games was not only sport but also team spirit. The games included the potato sac race, fishing for apples with ones mouth, spray cans, wheelbarrows race, etc. And there were other events quite as the conventional lighting of the Olympic fire fire, the opening of the games by the Queen and the distribution of medals. That evening, everyone was exhausted but happy. On Tuesday we walked to the Schäferquelle (source Schäfer). The entertainment was scheduled and everyone received a splash of cold water, whether he liked it or not! At noon we made a fire and roasted marshmallows and sausages. The weather began to cool off, and we returned to camp singing and laughing! At the end of camp, there was an evening of «all colours.» This Saturday night, the cook and Snejana were outnumbered, and the children and adolescents were the stars in the kitchen. Skits, songs, magic and acrobatic presentations followed, with great applause. Especially amusing this evening was Father Athanasius, in particular his speech. The blessing of the Orthodox chapel in Banneux - Belgium Sunday, September 30, Bishop Archbishop Gabriel spent the altar of the chapel of the Mother of God of all protection, built on the site of the Shrine Catholic Banneux, Belgium. Before presiding over the Divine Liturgy, heas ordonnaid the reader Servant of God John-Baptist Bonhomme. What was experienced by many as the inauguration of this place of prayer and celebration was announced and hailed by all as a sign ecumenical strong and there were many who, like orthodox Catholic, wanted to participate in this event that s is attended by Monsignor Aloys Jousten, bishop of Liège. Much emotion in speeches and especially hope that this chapel into a place of prayer and sharing mutual knowledge. 2

3 Finland destination of the summer! Scotland to discover of Karelia Karelian Pilgrimage, July 2012 Father Christopher Wallace is Priest of the Orthodox Community of Saint Finnan and Saint Nicolas in Scotland. The Community is situated in the remote and rugged West Coast of Scotland about 4 hours North and West of Glasgow. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated at least once a month and the faithful come here in small numbers from all over Scotland. Saint Finnan is our local Apostle of the area who died in 661 after living in a small Monastery on an island in the local Loch. A Moleiben is celebrated on the island to him on March 16th each year. Father Christopher works full time in the veterinary Team of the world s largest salmon farming company. Matoushka Elizabeth is the choir, church cleaner, bed maker and prosfora baker. L église de Kotka avec père Alexander Our love of Finland dates back to Fr Christopher s first visit to Valaamo and Archbishop Paul in the 1970 s. We met Irene Usano 8 years ago at a city map on the board outside Helsinki Railway station. You know the type of maps the street you need has been eroded by millions of fingers pointing to you are here! The simple recognition of a baptismal cross was the beginning of a close and loving friendship continually strengthened through this great church of Christ. Matushka Elizabeth and I were guests of the Usano family in Finland during July It would be impossible to summarise the hospitality of Irene, Jori, Lea, Kati, Aleksi, Eugen and Aila Annale but we shall remain grateful for this experience in Finland always. We felt very honoured and blessed to be with this family who showed us so much of Karelia and who took so much care of us throughout our stay. May God bless them all, always. With the blessing of our Archbishop Gabriel and the welcome from Archbishop Leo of Finland and Metropolitan Ambrosios of Helsinki we journeyed from Tampere to Joensuu, Lintula, Ilomansti, Hamina, Kotka, Lahti and all points Orthodox on the way. There were many highlights including the visit to Lintula where we were escorted by mother Kristodouli and we prayed, at the grave for the soul of the recently tragically departed Igumena Marina whose name day it was that day, the Festival of Saint Elias at Ilomansti, the Liturgy at Kotka and the very moving pannikhida at the Usano gravesides in Hamina with the family and Father Jukka. There is a gentle charm embedded in Finnish Orthodoxy but its struggle for survival amidst the upheaval of enforced population resettlement into a Lutheran society has made for very strong identity indeed. Architecturally there is obvious Tsarist influence in older church designs, the magnificent ikons and the style of worship and yet deacons and priests all wear kalimafi and exo-rassa, the church is financed by the state ( as is the Lutheran church ) the clergy are paid, autocephaly within the Ecumenical Patriarch and yet has accommodated the western calendar date of Easter to fit the church to the state. The language used in services is the same as that which is spoken in everyday life by Finns. If this is Orthodoxy then it is surely a model for us all to work towards. And it is fun! It is wonderful to see people enjoying themselves and smiling. One priest who should maybe remain nameless during the procession back to church in Ilomansti after the Blessing of the waters, decided to pour holy water down the neck of the priest in front who was blessing the crowds. Father Alexander in Kotka asked me to bless the congregation with the hand blessing cross after the Litany of Supplication he said take our youngest cross from Catherine the Great. We are fairly certain of a few things; we will be going back to beloved Finland soon, we have never eaten so many strawberries and bilberries and we are the very very proud owners of Finnish Sauna Diplomas and we love our Finnish family F. Christopher Pastoral Assembly - jeudi 1 er novembre 2012 All clergy are invited to gather around Bishop Gabriel at the Pastoral Assembly be held on November 1st at the Institut Saint-Serge in Paris. Bénédiction de l eau à Ilomansti 3

4 Pilgrimage in honour of Saint Tryphon, In Finland and Norway, August 2012 Last summer we had the opportunity to take part in the pilgrimage, organized by the Orthodox Church of Finland and of Norway. This is a very ancient pilgrimage dedicated to saint Tryphon, the apostle of Lapps in the 16th century. We arrive in the small city of Ivalo, situated beyond the Arctic polar circle. There we are greeted by our friend father Rauno Pietarinen, a priest who serves the huge parish of the Northern Finland. We go through a few minutes of bewilderment: water everywhere, forest all around, a city which looks so different from ours, a road sign indicating Mourmansk 300 km and ready to start the pilgrimage with the first moleben. Arch Pantaleimon The wooden chapel, dedicated to saints Boris and Gleb, seems to be planted in a bed of blueberries and cranberries. It stands inside a forest of pines and birches, which are the main source of wealth of Finland, together with the numerous lakes stocked with fish. Around 50 people stay in prayer, surrounding their Bishop Panteleimon and Bishop Ambrose from the New Valamo monastery. Both bishops and a number of priests will accompany the pilgrims up to Norway. We get into cars to go and celebrate a panykhida in the middle of the forest, in remembrance of refugees from the region of Petsamo annexed by the USSR in Today there remains nothing of their modest houses, only a huge wooden cross which reminds us how brave these Christian Lapp families, living here in very harsh conditions were. After a year of starving, all reindeers had been eaten; so women came to the idea of using the inner side of the birches bark to cook a paste looking like bread dough. cdcdcdcdcd cdcdcd ORDINATIONS w Archbishop Gabriel was: : w ordained deacon the hypodeacon Gérard Delemme 1th august He is attached to parish of St Seraphin of Sarov (Paris-F). w tonsured reader and ordained deacon the servant of God Davis Davis 4th august then priest 5th august. He is attached to parish of Transfiguration (Walsingham UK). w ordained hypodeacon the reader Ian Randall 4th august (UK). w ordained hypodeacon then deacon the reader Constantin Popa 16th september. He is made available to the Dean of Italy. w appointed the priester Paolo Perletti to parish of saints John aud Servais (Maastricht Netherlands). w leberated from his position as dean of the parishes in Germany archpriest Peter Sonntag. He was replaced by Archpriest Michael Buk. w awarded archpriest André Fortounatto the right to wear the miter June 21, w awarded archpriest Theodor Van der Voort the right to wear the cross with. w blessed the foundation of a new community in Angers (France) Annunciation. Archimandrite Symeon was appointed priest in charge of the new community. 4

5 We return to Nellim, where we celebrate vespers in a splendid wooden church. The community and locals had the great idea to organize a meal on the shore of the Lake Inari (3000 km around, 97 m deep ), with wood fires, an accordion playing, melancholy songs, and never ending daylight. On Saturday morning a huge crowd assembles for the Holy Liturgy in the white church of Seventijarvi. It is followed by an acathist, celebrated in the afternoon. Around the church white crosses are scattered among trees on tombs covered with lichen. They are surrounded by a wooden fence to prevent reindeers from entering, as they seem to like this plant very much. On Sunday, August 26th, we travel 150 km by road and arrive in Neiden, Norway. Here we are greeted by father Johan Johanssen, the Scandinavian dean of our Archdiocese. In the middle of fields of grass, freshly cut and spread on wooden stands to dry out, we find the tiny sankt Georges kapell, so small that it looks more like an oratory. It is said that this very antic chapel was built by saint Tryphon himself in An altar has been erected outdoors and the Liturgy is celebrated by the clergy under a blazing sun. After the liturgy we celebrate a panykhida, in remembrance of a hundred Sami, whose remains had been given back to Norway after lying for years in Oslo museums. Sami, whose cult of the dead is of great significance for them, have acknowledged this action as recognition of their specificity. For several years, the native community, which we know as Lapps, have struggled to find and impose on the Finn government, their roots, their culture and their name. Sami in the Northern Finland bear the name of Skolt Sami, and they speak their own tongue. They proudly wear their highly coloured costumes, men in embroidered tunics and belts, women in flowered skirts and impressively high headgears. To close the pilgrimage, all faithful form a procession to go down to the river for the ceremony of water blessing. Some are brave enough even to take a bath, under the astonished eyes of salmon anglers. The diversity of the world, and in particular of the Orthodox world, is ever amazing. This short Orthodox bath on the Finn soil revealed to us the infinite love of God, who imposes no standard, but always leaves man free. B. Sollogoub Archimandrite Johannes, dean of scandinavie Blessing of the water by Bishop Ambrose Saint Tryphon of Petchenga Born around 1495 in the Novgorod region, he left his family early to move in the northern regions and to follow the Gospel. It is in the Kola Peninsula he continues his travels. He evangelizes the Pechenga River Lapps, but may not baptized because he was not hieromonk. In 1433 he went to Novgorod Macarius gives him permission to build his church he built the Trinity River, 150 km from the town of Kola. Then to found his monastery, he went to Moscow and received the support of Tsar. He died December 15, 1583 or