Message of Abbot Paul - Trinity Sunday 4th June 2023
Abbot Paul • June 3, 2023
Although in Britain today it’s the feast of the Holy Trinity, in Greece we are celebrating Pentecost, although I have a sneaking suspicion that many Greeks are probably unaware of this, just as most Brits are unaware that it’s Trinity Sunday. I’m given to understand that 16% of Greeks go to church for part or all of the Divine Liturgy on a Sunday, whereas 91% of the population is Orthodox. The Catholic Church is a very small minority, enlarged in recent years by the influx of Poles, Filipinos, Albanians, Ukrainians, and others. They number around 70,000 are are classified as a religious and not ethnic minority. I mention this as yesterday I visited the Catholic cemetery, which borders on one of the British war cemeteries on the western edge of the city of Thessaloniki. I wanted to visit the graves of priests I had known. It’s a fascinating cemetery with monumental graves commemorating a large variety of nationalities as well as Catholic Greeks from Constantinople, Asia Minor and the Islands. The history of the city and of Macedonia in general must be one of the most fascinating in Europe, all part of my obsessive love for Greece and the Balkans.
Before visiting the cemetery, we had lunch at a favourite old fashioned Greek restaurant, one we frequented in the old days, where the chef-owner has been cooking daily for over 50 years. It’s the sort of restaurant where you go into the kitchen, look at everything and choose what you want. Everything is as delicious as it looks and more so. I love resinated wine and there’s a wide variety to choose from. Did you know that Pope St Gregory the Great, who was Papal Ambassador to the imperial court of Byzantium before his election as Bishop of Rome, imported retsina from Constantinople as it was the only thing that could help him digest his food? It’s heavenly eating Greek food again, not to mention the abundance of fresh fruit. As I write, I’m enjoying a bowl of cherries, apricots and watermelon, a foretaste of heaven.
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Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.
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