Palm Sunday

Α). Palm Sunday Procession

On Palm Sunday we had in our Church of St. Panteleimon & St. Paraskevi the Divine Liturgy, in accordance with the Order of our Holy Orthodox Church.

A huge crowd of people had attended the Holy Service and we also had a great number of communicants, both young and old, from different nationalities.

At the end of the Church Service we had a Procession around the Church, in accordance with the Cypriot Liturgical Order.

The Altar Boys were holding the Holy Cross, the candles, the sacred icon of the glorious Entry of our Lord into the Holy City of Jerusalem.

They were followed by Chanters, the Priest, the Leaders of the Community and all the people. The faithful were holding olive branches, as it the custom in Cyprus.

When we came back to Church the Priest read the Gospel Reading and then he blessed the Palm Crosses. After that he distributed the Crosses to all people.

Β). Palm Sunday Lunch

On Palm Sunday we are allowed in the Orthodox Tradition to eat fish. Thus, after the completion of the Holy Services many people went for Lunch to the Golden Kitchen Fish Restaurant in North Harrow, which is owned by the Vice President of our Community Mr. Petros Christofi and his wife Anastasia. Their son Yiannakis was also there in order to assist them.

The Lunch was very generous and delicious and the hospitality could only be compared in Biblical terms with that of Patriarch Abraham himself.

The food was well cooked, the service was excellent, and everyone was very happy and joyful.

The President of our Community Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous thanked the welcoming Christofi family and offered them a present, with the assistance of the other Vice President Mr. Christos Orthodoxou and the Treasurer Mr. Soteris Constantinou, on behalf of the Community.

The Parish Priest Fr. Anastasios thanked the Christofi family and spoke briefly about the importance of the personal communication between people and God, and in particular the Bridegroom, whose icon was to be place at the centre of the Church in the evening of the same day. Also he referred to the relationship developed among people and underlined the significance of meeting like the Palm Sunday Lunch.

The money collected from this Lunch was £1300. This was offered towards the fund-raising of the newly built Church.

Holy Week at our Church

As we are about to start the Great and Holy Week, according to our Eastern Orthodox Tradition, we present below the Programme of Sacred Services at our Church of St. Panteleimon & St. Paraskevi, both in Greek and in English:

Collecting food for Cyprus

Our Community had been collecting for the last two weeks food for the people in need in Cyprus. The financial crisis has created a new problem on the crucified Island of the Saints and many families find it difficult to feed their members.

Thus our Greek Community in London is organising a collection of food, with the assistance of the Church Communities, and the food will be transferred to Cyprus in order to be distributed FREE Of CHARGE to those in need.

Many of our parishioners have offered various kinds of food and today those are taken to the premises of the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood in North London and from there will be transported to the island.

Apart from collecting food, we recently asked our parishioners to contribute money which will also be sent to Cyprus, via our Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, for the same reason. The amount raised was £1000.

Sponsored Walk

A Sponsored Walk was organised by our Community today, on the initiative of the President Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous.

The walkers were: Mr. Pantelis Demosthenous, Dr. Serafim Kiriakidis, Mr. Panayiotis Argyrou, Mr. George Kostopoulos and Dr Ferdinand Lali.

The Walk started from our Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mary in Wood Green, with the blessing of Bishop Athanasios of Tropaiou and finished in our Church about 4 hours later (a distance of 15,5 km.), where Fr. Anastasios held a short welcoming Service and offered each one of them a book gift.

The amount collected so far by the walkers is about £5000. They are still collecting.

Bishop of Kyanea

Last night we had at our Church the Service of the 4^th Salutations to our Lady Virgin Mary.

Bishop Chrysostomos of Kyanea visited our Church and presided over the Holy Service.

The Bishop sung the Salutations and delivered an excellent sermon, where he emphasised the importance of honouring the Holy Theotokos.

It was nice to see, as we were waiting for the Bishop outside the Church, a double rainbow up in the sky. We felt particularly blessed!

Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross

With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labour set before us becomes apparent. Therefore our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the divine struggle of the Fast.

Today we had in our Church the special Service of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. The Church was full and everyone participated joyfully.

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Third Tone

Let the heavens sing for joy, and let everything on earth be glad. * For with His Arm the Lord has worked power. * He trampled death under foot by means of death; * and He became the firstborn from the dead. * From the maw of Hades He delivered us; * and He granted the world His great mercy.

Apolytikion in the First Tone

Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting our rulers to prevail over adversaries, and protecting Your commonwealth by Your Cross.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city, dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials, that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"