News and Events
January 23rd, 2012 - C-OORF Book Launch
Father Peter is the secretary of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum, an ecumenical body which draws together bishops and representative priests of the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox communions.
He had been tasked with producing a small book containing all of the joint statements and agreements which have been produced over the last decades between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches. This book was launched at the Catholic Bishops Conference in London in the presence of many bishops including Archbishop Bernard Longley, Archbishop Emeritus Kevin McDonald and Bishop Paul Hendricks for the Catholics, and Metropolitan Seraphim, Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian and Bishop Angaelos for the Oriental Orthodox.
January 22nd, 2012 - Father Peter preaches at Anglican Church
On Sunday, Father Peter attended St Michael and All Angels Church of England, where he was invited to preach during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was at St Michael's that the first beginnings of Orthodox worship in this part of Kent took shape, and Father Peter and Subdeacon Michael Kennedy, with Michael Simmons, met in the chapel there to pray the Agpeya each Sunday after they were received into the Orthodox Church.
The lections for the day addressed the subject of repentance and Father Peter linked this with the theme of this year's Week of Prayer, which was 'change for the better'. He expressed the view that our lives as Christians must be given over to repentance and faith as the essence of the Christian spiritual way.
January 21st, 2012 - Congregation visits King's Lynn Church
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity the British Orthodox Parish of St. Mary & St. Felix at Babingley has traditionally invited a guest speaker to give an address and this year, during the service of the Raising of Evening Incense, Dr. Michael Kennedy spoke on “Change for the Better: Ecumenism and the Orthodox Concept of Salvation.” In introducing him Abba Seraphim noted that he not only served as a Subdeacon at the BOC Chatham Church and had a distinguished secular career as a university lecturer, but was still an active artist and artists were capable of viewing the world in a way which gave prominence to spirituality.
Father Peter, Subdeacon Roman and Marina Hammond, drove up together to support Subdeacon Michael Kennedy, and to share in fellowship and worship with the congregation at Babingley. It proved to be a blessing to all those who shared in the event.
January 8th, 2012 - A new Reader ordained for St Albans
On 8 January Abba Seraphim ordained Roman Ivanovich Benchak to serve as a Reader at St. Athanasios & St. Alban Parish at Chatham. Roman is a Russian who has been worshipping for some time with the British Orthodox and during his homily Abba Seraphim commented that although the Russian Orthodox Church was a relative ‘newcomer’ to Orthodoxy it had made an amazing contribution to the world, with its profound spirituality and great catalogue of saints and martyrs, especially those who had struggled to keep the Orthodox faith alive during a difficult history, from the Tartar Yoke to more recently, the darkness of atheistic communism. What a rich schoolmaster it had proved to bring Roman to Christ. In entering into service in the British Orthodox Church within the Coptic Patriarchate, Roman becomes the ‘firstfruits’ of the full reunion we all long to see between the two families of Orthodoxy and a witness to our common faith and adherence to the same Apostolic Tradition.
December 10th, 2011 - Father Peter visits Portsmouth Parish
Father Peter Farrington visited the British Orthodox Church of Saint Mary the Mother of God and Saint Moses the Black on Saturday 10th December. He led the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, assisted by Father Simon and Reader Antony-Paul Holland. Father Peter demonstrated in a sermon replete with quotations from the Fathers across several centuries that Saint Mary had always held a special place at the heart of the Church. The Church had always honoured and venerated her and sought her intercessions and it was right that this was so.
The sermon was much appreciated with more than one member of the congregation asking for a copy. Father Peter hopes to visit the Portsmouth congregation again next year and the possibility of a reciprocal visit by Father Simon to Chatham in the early months of 2012 was also discussed.
May 26th, 2011 - Meeting with Armenian Orthodox Primate
Father Peter was invited to meet the Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the UK, Father Vahan Hovhanessian. After a discussion at the Armenian Vicarage in Kensington, Father Peter and Father Vahan were able to continue discussing matters of joint concern and interest over lunch in a local restaurant. The Armenian Apostolic community are organising an Armenian Festival on 12th June and Father Peter hopes to be able to attend.
May 24th, 2011 - Catholic - Oriental Orthodox Forum
Father Peter Farrington is the Co-Secretary of the Catholic - Oriental Orthodox Forum. This organisation draws together bishops of the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox communions, with their representatives, to discuss and develop programmes to explore the areas of common ground which we share, and to respond to areas of joint concern.
At this latest meeting a strategy for the future work of the Forum was adopted and Father Peter was tasked with producing a booklet containing all of the joint statements and agreements between the two communions which will be presented and discussed at the next meeting.
May 14th, 2011 - Oriental Orthodox Festival 2011
On Saturday, 14th May, clergy and laity from all of the Oriental Orthodox churches gathered together for the 4th annual Oriental Orthodox Festival. The festival provides an opportunity for the members of the various Orthodox communities to meet together and share in the celebration of the Liturgy, and then have an opportunity for fellowship over a varied buffet lunch provided by the different Orthodox traditions and ethnicities represented.
The latest festival took place at St Michael’s Eritrean Orthodox Church in Camberwell, London. Participating bishops included His Grace Bishop Angaelos and His Eminence Archbishop Athanasius in the presence of His Grace Bishop Markos. The attending priests represented the British Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Indian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches. There were many deacons from the various Churches and the sanctuary was filled with a wonderful fraternal spirit. As Father Youhannes began the prayers of the Liturgy a spiritual atmosphere descended upon the crowded Church.
Many British Orthodox clergy and faithful had travelled to Camberwell to participate in the Festival. They included Father Sergius, Father Simon and Father Peter, together with Deacon Theodore from the French Coptic Orthodox Church, and servants and laity from the South Coast congregations. Many other friends of the British Orthodox Church were present in the congregation, including Father Deacon Richard Downer and Dr Carol Downer.
The Liturgy was conducted with the participation of the various clergy, and the congregation was marked by enthusiastic singing of the hymns and chants of the Eritrean tradition. It always makes a great impression to see so many of the faithful dressed in their traditional white clothes. It is important that this concelebrated liturgy takes place each year so that we provide a visible manifestation of our unity as Orthodox Christians.
After the Liturgy the choir of the Eritrean Orthodox church sang many of their traditional songs with the accompaniment of drums. It was a great blessing to see such devotion and seriousness in the young Eritrean Christians who sang and performed their liturgical dance, but also to see the joy and spiritual delight in the faces of the many members of the congregation who joined in. His Grace Bishop Angaelos addressed the congregation, as did His Grace Bishop Markos, whose message of welcome was translated by Father Youhannes.
But the Festival is more than the concelebrated Liturgy, and we were invited to the basement of the Church where the various churches represented had laid out diverse foods from their own cultural traditions. After a great deal of warm conversation it seemed that most people had a plate of food in front of them. I certainly enjoyed the Eritrean food I was offered, and the opportunity to talk with some of the other clergy. Father Youhannes was tireless in his hospitality and hardly had time to sit down himself.
To conclude our Festival the choir of the Indian Orthodox church had arranged to share some of their musical repetoire with us. As they started their first song the church filled up with clergy and laity. The choir sang enthusiastically, and the choir director even managed to urge the Eritrean Orthodox choir to join in with their drums. The congregation were given an opportunity to try and sing one of the Indian Orthodox songs, but I am not sure that we all managed to pronounce the Malayalam words properly.
After a final prayer Father Youhannes dismissed the congregation. It had been a most successful event, and already I have received messages from those who had been able to attend and who had enjoyed the Festival.
March 31st, 2011 - Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches
Father Peter Farrington is the secretary of the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK, and attended the quarterly meeting of the Council held on this occasion at St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, Kensington. The council draws together clergy and representatives from all of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK and is an opportunity for the various communities to work together and experience a close sense of fraternal fellowship. Subdeacon Michael Kennedy, together with Abba Seraphim our bishop, are also members of the council.
February 26th, 2011 - Friends and Family Liturgy
On the Sunday before Great Lent begins we are holding another Friends and Family liturgy. This is a service to which we particularly invite the people we know who have shown an interest in Orthodoxy, or who enjoy worshipping with us from time to time. If you live within travelling distance of St Alban's then this invitation is warmly extended to you, and if you have friends and family yourself who would be interested in spending a few hours in Orthodox worship with us then do let them know that they are most welcome as well.
The Liturgy itself begins at 10:30 am. We will be providing refreshments after the Liturgy.
January 24th, 2011 - AOORF Meeting
Father Peter participated in the meeting of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum, a St Thomas's Syrian Orthodox Cathedral. Father Peter is the Orthodox Secretary of the Forum.
A number of important matters were discussed, including the Aims and Objectives of the Forum, and the situation in Egypt after the recent murder of 22 Orthodox Christians.
Other Orthodox clergy in attendance were His Grace Bishop Angaelos, His Grace Archbishop Athanasios, Father Antonious Shenouda, Father Shnork Bagdassarian and Father Deacon Aphrem.
December 3rd, 2010 - New book being prepared
Father Peter's great love for the English and British Christian heritage has caused him to spend time over the last years in compiling and writing a book of Orthodox British Saints, that is, those Christian figures who lived roughly before the Norman Conquest.
He has written other things before, and published them, but this volume will be self-published through a local company called Getting Yourself Published, (they provide a self publishing guide) so that it will be available on Amazon and other online retailers. He has decided to call it, Holy People, Holy Places of the British Isles, since it will also describe many of those places associated with these saints which can still be visited.
It is hoped that the manuscript will be completed in the new year, and then work its way through the publishing process to be ready for Pascha 2011.
November 12th, 2010 - Healing Service
We had never held the complete Coptic Orthodox service of prayers for healing before, but most of the congregation gathered on Friday evening to ask for healing for themselves and those in the Church family who had particular needs, as well as to mark the beginning of the season of fasting before the Feast of the Nativity.
Reader Seraphim assisted Father Peter, and the cycle of seven sets of prayers and Scripture readings prepared the hearts of all those present to receive the grace of God when they were anointed with the blessed oil.
Everyone found this a moving service, one that will certainly be repeated on a regular basis, and came away from Church with a heightened awareness of God's loving care.
November 11th, 2010 - Visit to Coptic Centre
Father Peter was blessed to visit the Coptic Centre in Stevenage and meet with His Grace Bishop Angaelos. They were able to discuss matters concerning the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK, of which His Grace is the President, and Father Peter is the Secretary.
November 6th, 2010 - House Blessing
After our monthly Raising of Evening Incense on Saturday evening, those of us who had gathered for prayer were able to join together in blessing the home of Mario and Jean. This was a very moving occasion, and it was a privilege to be able to seek God's blessing on Mario, Jean and their home.
October 20th, 2010 - Monthly Bible Study
On the evening of October 20th the first in a continuing series of Bible Studies took place at St Alban's Orthodox Church. We will be studying the Gospel of St Luke, and in this first meeting together we considered the first 25 verses of chapter one, which describes the annunciation of the birth of St John the Baptist.
Father Peter gave a presentation on the passage, drawing on the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and then there was opportunity for those present to share their reflections on the verses.
All those present enjoyed the evening and we look forward to this being a regular aspect of our life together as an Orthodox community.
October 9th, 2010 - Orthodox Education Day
The first Oriental Orthodox Education Day took place on Saturday, October 9th at St Sarkis Church, Kensington, London. It took place under the sponsorship of the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK, and had been organised by Father Vahan Hovhanessian, the primate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in the UK, and Father Peter Farrington, the Secretary of the Council, and a priest of the British Orthodox Church within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate.
The day began with Armenian morning prayers led by Father Vahan, and Father Shnork Bagdassarian, and then those attending the day were invited to the Nevart Gulbenkian Hall where a light breakfast had been prepared. After breakfast a message of introduction and welcome by His Grace Bishop Angaelos was read and then two presentation were given during the morning in the St Sarkis Church.
The first was concerned with the Septuagint in the Orthodox Tradition and was presented by His Eminence Abba Seraphim of the British Orthodox Church. This interesting lecture began with a consideration of the origin of the Septuagint, and then explored its use as the version of the Old Testament used by the early Church. Abba Seraphim produced and spoke about several editions of the Septuagint in English.
The second presentation was given by Father Vahan and considered the role of the Bible in the Armenian Church. It was very illuminating to hear so many passages from the Armenian spiritual tradition read in English. Father Vahan explained how the Armenian people had taken the Bible to themselves when it was translated into their own language, and he provided many moving examples of Armenian prayers in which the author placed himself into the narrative of many Biblical passages as though he were participating in them himself.
There were only a few minutes for questions before lunch in the Nevart Gulbenkian Hall. The participants were very pleased to be able to sample authentic Armenian food and it was difficult to call everyone away from the warm fellowship which was enjoyed.
The final presentation of the day was given by Father Peter, and he spoke on the Bible as the source of Christology in the Orthodox Church. He described how the Bible was essentially a Christological document itself, and needed to be received as authoritative before it could be explained. Then he used several examples from the Fathers to show how they relied entirely on the Bible for their Christological insights. Father Peter stressed the need for such study to be conducted in the context of prayer, rather than as an intellectual exercise.
Father Vahan closed the day asking those who had attended if they had enjoyed the day, and would come to another, and then called on Abba Seraphim to dismiss everyone with prayer and a blessing. Afterwards many retired to the Nevart Gulbenkian Hall again for tea and coffee and to continue conversations.
There was a wide variety of attendance from many different Church backgrounds. Over 30 people had gathered together for the event. During the various breaks for refreshment many new friendships and contacts were made. It is planned to hold the next Orthodox Education Day in January, and then on a regular basis afterwards.
October 2nd, 2010 - Baptism and Chrismation
On Saturday 2nd October Tina Hammond was baptised and chrismated at Chatham. The service was celebrated by Father Peter Farrington assisted by Reader Seraphim Mark and was well attended by regular Chatham parishioners as well as visitors invited by Tina.
Tina has taken the baptismal name Marina. The occasion ended with a buffet including some home-made cake made by Father Peter’s wife Janet. It was a very joyous occasion and a very great blessing to all who attended. Sunday was a further blessing for Marina, as well as Father Peter when she received her first communion. Please pray for Marina and for the congregation at Chatham, that we will continue to experience a time of growth in numbers.
September 7th, 2010 - Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches
Father Peter Farrington will be attending the meeting of the COOC as Secretary. The meeting will take place at the Syrian Orthodox Cathedral of St Thomas, Acton, London.
August 31st, 2010 - Franciscan International Study Centre
Father Peter Farrington visted the FISC and met with the Director, Brother Phillipe Yates. Brother Philippe showed Father Peter around the centre and generously gave up several hours of his time in conversation with Father Peter about the history and ethos of the Franciscan movement. Father Peter was invited to become a member of the library at the Centre and will be making much use of it in the future,
June 1st, 2010 - Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches
Father Peter Farrington attended the meeting of the COOC as Secretary. The meeting was hosted by Father Vahan Hovhanessian of the Armenian Orthodox Church at St Sarkis Church, Kensington.
May 19th, 2010 - Ecumenical Prayer and Reception - Lambeth Palace
Father Peter accompanied Abba Seraphim to an ecumenical Evening Prayers at Lambeth Palace as Secretary of the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Archbishop of Canterbury preached a short homily.
May 8th, 2010 - Oriental Orthodox Festival
Several hundred Oriental Orthodox bishops, priests, clergy and laity, together with many friend, gathered at the Coptic Centre in Stevenage to celebrate the Annual Pan-Orthodox Liturgy and enjoy fellowship with members of the variety of Oriental Orthodox Churches.
The Liturgy was celebrated very beautifully and with a strong sense of God's presence. The Ethiopian and Eritrean communities performed their liturgical chant and dance, while afterwards an Indian Orthodox choir performed a selection of songs and hymns from their tradition.
The selection of food at the buffet was as diverse as the cultures and churches represented.
April 28th, 2010 - Baptism and Marriage at St Albans
It was a great blessing to be able to baptise the catechumens Neil and Sue, and then to celebrate the sacrament of marriage for them. Neil has taken the name Seraphim, and Sue that of Susanna.
This was our first adult baptism in the church, and it was a most beautful and spiritual occasion. We welcome Seraphim and Susanna into the membership of the Church and wish them many blessings in this new stage of their Christian lives.
Many years!
March 3rd, 2010 - Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches
Father Peter Farrington attended the meeting of the COOC as Secretary. The meeting was hosted by Father Antonios of the Coptic Orthodox Church at St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, Kensington.
October 24th, 2009 - St John the Evangelist Coptic Orthodox Church
Father Peter Farrington met Father Antonios, the priest of the Coptic Orthodox community in Bromley, a few weeks ago. Father Antonios invited him to preach and lead the Bible Study at St John's on Saturday 24th October.
October 10th, 2009 - Monos
Monos is an ecumenical organisation which promotes the study and experience of monastic spirituality by all Christians. Father Peter Farrington has been producing some study materials for a Distance Learning course which Monos will be launching on October 10th. Father Peter will be attending the launch and will be giving a presentation on Orthodox Monasticism.
October 7th, 2009 - Anglican/Oriental Orthodox Forum
Father Peter Farrington will be attending the meeting of the Anglican/Oriental Orthodox Forum at St Magnus the Great Church in London.
October 1st, 2009 - AGM of Society of St John Chrysostom
Father Peter Farrington accompanied Abba Seraphim to a celebration of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom held at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile in London. This liturgy was followed by the AGM of the Society of St John Chrysostom, and by an interesting lecture by Father Ephrem Lash on the Englishing of Byzantium.
July 27th, 2009 - Jesus Film Evangelism Project
Throughout August and September we are seeking to share our faith in Jesus Christ by offering a professionally produced film of the Gospel of St Luke to our friends, neighbours and the people of the Medway Towns. We will be distributing leaflets about this film, and then delivering copies of the DVD to those who indicate an interest in learning about Jesus Christ, and who are not already members of a local Church.
June 2nd, 2009 - Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches
Father Peter Farrington has been elected as Secretary to the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Council draws together representatives from all of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the UK, and serves as a means of developing closer relations between our communities. At the Council meeting H.G. Bishop Angaelos was re-elected to the office of President of the Council, H.G. Mathews Mar Thimotheos was elected as Chairman, and Father Shnork Baghdassarian was elected as Treasurer.
February 22nd, 2009 - Ordination of Father Peter Farrington
On the 22nd February, 2009, Abba Seraphim ordained Deacon Peter Theodore Farrington to the Priesthood within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. Father Peter has served as a Reader and Subdeacon, and then as Deacon for many years within the community of St Alban and St Athanasius in Maidstone and now Chatham.
He will now serve as a priest with Father Michael Robson.
Axios, Axios, Axios!
Report by Subdeacon Michael Kennedy
On Sunday 22nd February at the beautiful little church of St Felix at Babingley on the Sandringham estate Deacon Peter Farrington was ordained to the sacred order of the priesthood at the hands of His Eminence Abba Seraphim. Many church members were present with every community represented, some of whom had travelled long distances to be there. Abba Seraphim in his homily emphasised the importance of thanksgiving and reminded us that in spite of the unremitting bad news in the media every day we still have much to be thankful for. Not only were we giving thanks on this occasion for the ordination of Father Peter but at in the same service Father Simon was being raised to the order of hegumenous, Abba Seraphim’s mother Joyce had celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday the previous day and Abba Seraphim himself would mark thirty years in the episcopate the following Saturday. In spite of the chilly weather it was possible to take a group photograph outside the church before everybody left for a buffet reception at Kings Lynn golf club just a couple of miles away.
Fr Peter is to serve at the parish of St Alban and St Athanasios, Chatham, Kent. He will assist the parish priest Fr Michael Robson who has been ill for some time and who was sadly unable to be present at the ordination service.
Please remember Fr Michael in your prayers and Fr Peter as he begins his ministry with the traditional period of forty days preparation.
An Icon of the Virgin Mary in the Coptic style
Many of our icons have been created by the internationally renowned iconographer, Deacon Stephane Rene. Visit the Icon Gallery to see more.