St Andrew’s Church (see photo) in Moscow is part of the Diocese in Europe, serving a large international congregation situated just a 10min walk from the Kremlin. Their chaplain (ie vicar), the Rev Canon Malcolm Rogers – in a zoom conversation on Friday – shared how he’d been reflecting on the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79) for the past two months: "It speaks of the Mighty Saviour who saves his people – not by blood taken but by blood given. It speaks of how Christ will bring a new dawn, a new hope, and peace. But just at the moment it is the central bit that really speaks to me: ‘to set us free to worship him without fear’. “Fear here is so paralysing. It is going to take a couple of months to untangle all the knots in my stomach. And yet both Russia and Ukraine gave us the examples of women and men, church leaders and members, who had discovered this Mighty Saviour, and who chose to worship and seek His kingdom in the face of terrible persecution. They had discovered that if we worship Him and put Him at the centre of all that we are and do, then we need have no fear – because even though our life can be taken from us, He can never be taken from us. “Pray for Ukraine – but also pray for us in Russia, for believers in Russia – and our community of St Andrew’s, almost certainly soon to be priest-less. Pray for courage not just to survive, but to speak for what is right and true. Don’t condemn the hierarchs, or church leaders, but do pray for them. They could be the ones who can stop the war."Bishop Jo
In a letter to The Times, Rowan Williams raises the question of how the Russian Orthodox Church can best engage with the Russian nation over the invasion of Ukraine.Sir, Last weekend Orthodox Christians in many countries celebrated “Forgiveness Sunday”, the day before Great Lent begins. Many will have hoped to hear from the Orthodox Church in Russia some acknowledgement of the shocking — not to say blasphemous — absurdity of Orthodox Christians engaging, at this season of all seasons, in indiscriminate killing of the innocent, insanely reckless attacks on nuclear facilities (endangering their own homeland as well as the wider environment), the unashamed breach of ceasefire agreements, and an attack on one of the most significant Holocaust memorials in Europe.It is not too late for the leadership of the Church in Russia to call for (at the very least) a credible ceasefire as Lent begins. Those of us who owe a lasting debt to the thought and witness of Christian Russia through the centuries find it hard to believe that all the moral norms of warfare painstakingly explored by Christians in both East and West from the earliest ages onwards have been forgotten. The Right Rev Lord Williams of OystermouthArchbishop of Canterbury 2002-12; Cardiff
The Revd Sylvia Cortez-Masyuk will remember all those caught up in war and facing separation, fear and bereavement, in prayer as part of a service to be broadcast across 39 local radio stations in England. She will also be joined by her husband Volodymyr Masyuk, reading the Lord’s Prayer in Ukrainian. The service is being led by the Church of England’s Diocese in Diocese in Europe, which has churches both in Kyiv and Moscow. Alison Rogers, a member of the congregation of St Andrew's Anglican Church Moscow, will give a reading from John 14: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”. Other contributors will include Fr Bohdan Matwijczuk, a priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Great Britain. Kyiv, and other cities in Ukraine have been facing bombardment by Russian forces who invaded last week. In her prayer recorded from a bomb shelter in the city, the Revd Cortez-Masyuk will say: “God of peace and justice, we pray for all caught up in conflicts not of their making. “We pray for those separated from those they love, anxious for the safety of others more than themselves. “We pray for those in the simple human needs that are overwhelmed in our crisis – for those in sickness, hunger, or without shelter. “And we pray for those who have died and for those who mourn.” In his sermon, the Church of England’s Bishop in Europe, Robert Innes, will reflect on the words of the Revd Canon Malcolm Rogers, Chaplain of St Andrew's Moscow. “He feels a sense of darkness is falling in Russia,” Bishop Robert will say. “This is partly a matter of things being more difficult to get in the shops, no access to foreign currency, the closing down of airspace meaning you can get start to feel trapped. In England, churches have been combining prayer for Ukraine with practical help for refugees and others suffering because of the Russian invasion.The Archbishops of Canterbury and York last week issued a pastoral letter to the clergy and people of the Church of England, calling on them to pray for peace in Ukraine.
On Sunday there will be a joint parish Holy Communion service at St Mary and All Saints' Church at 10am. Our celebrant will be Reverend Rutton Viccajee.<br>If you can't be with us at church you can join remotely by clicking on this link:<a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5253921788?pwd=MC9kNmpldmFrRSsrV1pkc1k5aU1vZz09">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5253921788?pwd=MC9kNmpldmFrRSsrV1pkc1k5aU1vZz09</a>
