Orthodox Study Circle
Every Friday
St. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene Greek Orthodox Church
708 Hertford. Road,
Enfield, Middx.
EN3 6NR
Starts 7.30pm Closed for Advent Break - Starts again in the New Year. Check here for details.After a short break in our talks we start again on the 27th November at St. Raphael’s with a guest speaker.
Fr. Alexander Tefft comes to St. Raphael’s to speak on “Blessed are the Persecuted…”
On the back of a century with the highest number of Christian martyrs since the beginnings of the Church the dynamic, and always interesting speaker Father Alexander Tefft, comes to St. Raphael’s to explain the Beatitude: “Blessed are the persecuted…”
Everybody welcome.
The last time he came everybody complained … “Why didn’t we record that?” We won’t be recording … you’ll have to come along live.
Date: Friday 27th November
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: St. Raphael’s Orthodox Church, within St. George’s,
708 Hertford Road,
Enfield
Nearest train: Turkey Street (Liverpool St. Line – change at Seven Sisters from tube). Bus: 279 stops outside.
Use http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/ for full options
Tea/Coffee and refreshments provided.
Father Alexander is Chaplain for the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies , Cambridge University and serves at St. Botolph’s Church, in London
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Again … just the powerpoint… notes to be added soon
We raised £135 for Kenya with a very poor turnout, by the way!
Powerpoint presentation … full talk to follow
Thank you to everyone who came last night, it was a pleasant evening despite the autumnal chill in the air.
The theme was “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit”. The session was a very interactive one, so there is no written talk online. I’m afraid you won’t get the full flavour of the session, this time. which was built around communication and discussion.
There is an adapted video of the edited Powerpoint, and the whole Powerpoint as .pdf (portable document file) document, which might hint at what was said.
Leave a comment if there are any difficulties – or if you like it!
Download Poverty in Spirit Document
There was some homework this week too!
- What can you do this week to have Poverty of Spirit? To put others first?
- How can you start to see yourself as you truly are?
The Elder Paisios video we watched (along with the other parts that we didn’t watch) is here
During the pre-talk coffee we got into a discussion about Creation and Orthodox viewpoints, which we may well leave to another session with a guest speaker.
I refer you to this post by Fr. Gregory Hallam
Part of the problem is an attack by atheists on the Watchmaker view of God and Creation. Although based on an old philosophical viewpoint, this has not been the way Orthodox Christians traditionally view God’s relationship with the Universe (although the attached flash file is quite sweet).
God did not set the ball rolling and disappear; He actively sustains the Universe. This is explained by Fr. Stephen Freeman in his blog post here.
There was also a discussion afterwards about relics due to the fact that the relics of Therese of Lisieux have been brought to the UK.
I wrote about this on my test blog last week:
In two weeks time Lazarus Jalonen will be coming to talk to us about the Orthodox Church in Kenya and the St. George’s Empowerment Action Trust.
As you might know there is a terrible drought in Kenya at the moment and 10 million Kenyans face starvation.
We are also trying to help the members of the Orthodox Church in Kenya, especially two girls Wanjiru (Anne) and Mumbi (Lucy) who are working very hard at the Orthodox Teacher’s College, but are also are under great suffering and hardship. I believe they are learning social work as well. They will be a great asset to their community in the future. We are trying to raise money for their school fees which are about £200 a year. You can help by contacting Lazarus at the Trust or coming along on Friday 16th and showing your support.
Also available as Video talk now online (large MP4 download)
Soon available for in download in iTunes
or other podcast feeder
Please leave a comment below if you liked this.
Are you stressed or blessed? New course on being ‘blessed’ looking at the Beatitudes… started last Friday and continues every Friday till Christmas.
Good to see so many people for the last session despite the downpour! I’m looking for feedback and topic suggestions for next year.
Last night’s talks are available.
The Sanctification of Time (pdf with notes)
The Sanctification of Time (interactive Powerpoint)
Tonight we were treated to a comprehensive talk by Fr. Demetrianos Melekis of 12 Apostles Church on the Priesthood and Ordination. Fr. Demetrianos gave a well-researched, informative and solid presentation on the Mystery of Ordination – looking at its roots in the Bible and the early Church.
Download the whole Powerpoint presentation here: Ordination.ppt or in pdf format: Ordination.pdf
Links
Explanation of Call no man father
Presbyter Magazine: pdf document containing the following
- What does it mean to be a Spiritual Father? by Rev. Steven P. Tsichlis
- St. Gregory the Theologian: Three Principles of Spiritual Direction by Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald
- The Spiritual Father in the Pachomian Tradition by Rev. Steven P. Tsichlis
- The Spiritual Father in Orthodox Christianity by Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia
- The Priesthood: Contemporary and Classic Exerpts: Spritual Fatherhood
- Pastors, Spiritual Fatherhood and Spiritual Life by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom
