St Gwenn s News 64 FEBRUARY 2018

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1 Parish of St Gwenn, Wessex Father Leonard Hollands Yew Tree Cottage, Marshwood, Dorset DT6 5QF Tel: St Gwenn s News 64 FEBRUARY 2018 Services at St Gwenn s Thurs 1 Feb St Brigid of Kildare Matins with Communion 9.00am Fri 2 Feb PRESENTATION/MEETING Divine Liturgy 9.00am Sun 4 Feb THEOPHANY 5 Sun 11 Feb THEOPHANY 6 Last before LENT Wed 14 Feb ASH WEDNESDAY Sun 18 Jan LENT 1 Sunday of Orthodoxy Sun 25 Jan LENT 2

2 From your Parish Priest Greetings to you all! With a pretty short post-theophany period this year, mid-february brings LENT and we begin our prayerful and abstemious preparation for the great feast of the Resurrection. Being Western Orthodox we observe Ash Wednesday as the start of the Lenten fast and thereby add five days to the length of Lent observed by our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters. They, on the other hand, observe six days of pre-lenten fasting, abstaining from meat, by way of easing into the full fast. But, what separates both Eastern and Western Orthodox from the Latin Western Lenten fasting is that in the latter the fasting is the subject of personal choice, whereas the fast is clearly set out for the Orthodox (see info below). That doesn t mean that Orthodox Christians can t make their own additional sacrifices maybe a particular fruit is your absolute favourite food, so whilst fruit is allowed in Lent, you may choose to abstain from this particular one. You should never fast from anything that is needed for health reasons. There are no crowns for martyrs who give up things against medical advice, nor that put the elderly or frail at risk. ing, however, is not just a discipline we are obliged to accept, it must lead us to an awareness of why we are doing it. It must lead us to prayer, to a deeper consciousness of God. If this doesn t happen then our fasting is purposeless. The things we add to our daily routine are just as important as the things we fast from: extra prayer time, more spiritual reading, etc. And during the course of Lent we are to be preparing our souls for the great joy and unimaginable gift of Pascha. Part of that preparation should include some deep soul-searching and making confession of our sins, for, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [1 Jn 1.9] May God grant us the grace to use Lent well and to find our way closer to Him Who ever calls us. Blessings Fr Leonard+ Celtic Revival Down Under There used to be a Celtic Orthodox bishop, Fr Peter Green, in Australia, but he passed away some while ago. Recently, however, Father Paul Zimmerman from Sellick s Hill, South Australia, an experienced Orthodox priest, joined the Celtic Orthodox Church under the at a distance - care of Bishop Paul, and, of course, our Primate. Fr Paul is an avid poster of all things Celtic and you can find his Facebook Group at CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH AUSTRALIA ( Welcome to you, Fr Paul! Perhaps you could send us a brief introduction to yourself for our March St Gwenn s News? Fr Paul Zimmerman The Celtic Saints an occasional series This month I m looking at our own Patron Saint, Gwenn Teirbron. Again, much of the material is taken from various sources but I am particularly indebted to Brian Daniel Starr s Ascent of the Saints Fr Leonard +

3 St Gwenn Teirbron Gwenn, born around AD499, was one of the daughters of King Budic II of Brittany. She was twice married. To her first husband, Fracan, cousin to King Cado of Dumnonia (the South West of England), she bore three children, all of whom became saints Wethnoc, Iacob and Winwaloe. This, apart from being the source of the legend, one assumes, that she was graced with three mammary glands, gives rise to her Orthodox title of Saint-bearer. Her icon depicts her cradling these three children, although she later bore another child destined to become a saint. Her appellation Gwenn Teirbron is Welsh for Gwenn [of the] three breasts. In Latin this became Alba Trimammis. To escape grave pestilence rife in Dumnonia, Gwenn and Fracan settled at PlouFracan in Domnonée (France) where she later bore Fracan a daughter, Chreirbia. After Fracan died, Gwenn married a Breton, Eneas Ledewig, to whom she bore another son, St Cadfan. Twice, however, Gwen was kidnapped by Anglo-Saxon pirates and carried off to England, but on both occasions she escaped, walking across the Channel back to Brittany. Often to this day a shimmering band can be seen on the sea known to Breton fishermen as St Gwenn s Way. Towards the end of her life Gwenn settled in the Marshwood Vale in Dorset at Whitchurch Canonicorum, then in Eastern Dumnonia. She lived there for many years in her small hermitage, until, in the mid-6th century, the Saxons wreaked their revenge, ransacking her home and slaughtering her. This makes St Gwenn, to say the least, an extremely probable contender for the identity of the mysterious female saint whose bones lie in the shrine at the parish church of Whitchurch Canonicorum. In fact, the coincidence of a such high profile holy hermit living and being martyred locally as Gwenn was, not being the saint in the shrine seems to me very unlikely. I am personally entirely decided that St Gwenn and St Wite are one and the same. The shrine within the church has for centuries been a focus of healing miracles. The church there bears the dedication St Candida and Holy Cross. It is also traditionally known as the Church of St Witta or St Wite which may or may not mean white in Early English. But Gwenn is certainly Welsh for white, as is Candida white in Latin. And in Brittany Gwenn is known as Blanche also meaning white. May the prayers of St Gwenn aid us in re-establishing the Celtic Church in Wessex and wider. _ Prayer Requests If there is something or someone you would like us to pray for at St Gwenn s do please contact Fr Leonard. The way we pray is not by telling God what solutions He should provide, but rather commending people and situations to Him. And we always add, Your will be done. If sometimes we are tempted to think that God doesn t listen, just remember that God does listen, but the answer to our prayers might be, yes, no, or not yet. And the answer might be quite different from what we expect or hope for. ing Information The strict fasting rule of the Celtic Orthodox Church is to abstain from meat, fish, dairy products, and alcohol. Wine (alcohol) is permitted on certain days, and fish is allowed on two occasions. These relaxations this year are as follows:

4 FEB W 14 ASH WED Th 15 F 16 Sa 17 wine Su 18 wine LENT 1 Sunday of Orthodoxy M 19 Tu 20 W 21 Th 22 F 23 Sa 24 wine Su 25 - wine LENT 2 S Gregory Palamas M 26 Tu 27 W 28 MAR Th 1 wine S David F 2 Sa 3 wine Su 4 wine LENT 3 Veneration of the Cross, M 5 wine S Piran Tu 6 W 7 Th 8 F 9 Sa 10 wine Su 11 wine LENT 4 S John Climacus M 12 Tu 13 W 14 Th 15 wine S Aristobúlus F 16 Sa 17 wine S Patrick

5 Su 18 wine LENT 5 Raising of Lazarus M 19 Tu 20 wine S Cuthbert W 21 wine S Benedict Th 22 F 23 Sa 24 fish, wine ANNUNCIATION (transferred from 25th) Su 25 fish, wine PALM SUN M 26 Great and Holy Monday Tu 27 Great and Holy Tuesday W 28 Great and Holy Wednesday Th 29 wine Great and Holy Thursday Commemoration of the Last Supper F 30 Strict Great and Holy Friday Sa 31 wine Great and Holy Saturday APR Su 1 FAST FREE Until Ascension Paschal Vigil PASCHA For our Prayers For our Primate Metropolitan Marc, Bishop Paul and all our monastics, clergy and people, and for the future of the Celtic Orthodox Church, and the Western Orthodox Communion. For the Unity of Christ s Church; for a greater willingness for Christians to rejoice in what they share, not remain entrenched in what they don t. For an end to the escalating tensions and hatreds associated with differing religions. For harmony among people of all religions and none. For PEACE in our troubled world; that the love of God may be allowed into the hearts of all. For all in sickness, sorrow or distress; for those devastated by conflict; for the persecuted; for the starving; for refugees; for the homeless; for those affected by storms, flooding, earthquake or fire. For the departed Stuart, Alan, Henry, Clifford, Joy, Joyce, Sylvia, Pauline, Olga, Rose, whose anniversaries of reposing fall this month. Memory Eternal. We commend these and all our concerns to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit the Holy Three in One.