Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 7th October 2023
Abbot Paul • October 6, 2023
Among other things, yesterday included a visit to a number of ancient churches in Thessaloniki, a city that has buildings from each period of its long history. Among these are a number of famous Byzantine churches, some small, others monumental. The martyr St Demetrius is the patron saint of the city. His church is an important pilgrimage centre for devout Christians from all over Greece and the Balkans. The present church dates from the seventh century, replacing an earlier fourth century building, which itself replaced Roman baths. St Demetrius was born in Thessaloniki in the year 270 and martyred for his faith in the year 306. I joined a group of pilgrims from Serbia to visit the magnificent basilica and was privileged to have five minutes alone with the martyr at his tomb. I will post some photographs. Then I visited the church of Our Lady not Made by Hand, in which is revered an icon of the Mother of God believed to have been written by St Luke. It is yet another Roman basilica, but below current street level. I also visited the famous city landmark, the Arch of Galerius, commissioned by the fourth century Roman Emperor. There are substantial Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman monuments in Thessaloniki, as well as Ancient Greek and Macedonian.
Today in the West we keep the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. We ask Our Lady to pray for and guide those taking part in the Synod, that we may all walk in the footsteps of Jesus and that we may all, as Jesus said to his disciples in today’s Gospel, “rejoice for our names are written in heaven.”
Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Honesty and Love Before God: Pharisee and Tax Collector; Pope and King - a homily by Abbot Brendan for the 30th Sunday of the Year.
We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
With honoured guests we were delighted to open our doors again of our new guesthouse and conference centre: The Chapterhouse.
"A hymn to the human body." Abbot Brendan's Homily at the annual Mass celebrated at Rotherwas Chapel in Hereford that dates from the 1580s on the feast of the Assumption.
From Francis to Leo: A special event with Christopher Lamb of CNN in conversation with Austin Ivereigh who commentated for the BBC on the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
