St Francis

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4th 2020) Service to give thanks for our pets.

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time. On the Feast Day of St. Francis it is good to give thanks to God for the love, affection and companionship so many people receive from their pets. At this short service YOU are responsible for the best control of your own pet, and for any cleaning up that may be required. Don’t worry about pet noises! 

There is a Thanksgiving Envelope for everyone for your church collection today, and 20% of your donation will go to an animal charity in Athens. 

We are still under Government COVID 19 restrictions. Masks must be worn at all times in the church and in the garden we must keep a 1.5metre distance from each other OR wear a mask. People from the same household can sit normally together.

The presiding priest and preacher is Fr. Leonard Doolan, the Senior Anglican Priest in Greece.

 

Entrance Hymn:  237  Morning has broken

 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1,1)

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.  (Genesis 1,31)

O Lord, you save both humans and animals  (Psalm 36,6)

The righteous care for their animals, but the wicked are cruel (Proverbs 12,10)

 

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

All:         And also with you

Priest: Holy creator, we come together to thank you for the fellowship of other creatures, to celebrate their God-given lives, and to pray for compassionate hearts so we may care for them and for all your creation. But, first of all, we pray for your forgiveness because of our human part in sins of thoughtlessness and cruelty towards animal life.  There will be a short period of silence.

 

All:  Almighty God you have given us temporary lordship of your beautiful creation; but we have misused your power, turned away from our responsibility and marred your image in us.

Forgive us, true Lord, especially for our callousness and cruelty to animals. Help us to follow the way of your Son Jesus Christ, who expressed power in humility and lordship in loving service. Enable us, by your Spirit, to walk in newness of life, healing injury, avoiding wrong and making peace with all your creatures.

Priest:   God of everlasting love, who is eternally forgiving; pardon and restore us, and make us one with you in your creation.

All:        Amen

Priest:   Let us rejoice with the Creator at the wonderful creation around us

All:        Let us sing to the Lord a new song: a song of all the creatures of the earth

Priest:   Let us rejoice in the goodness of God shown in the beauty of little things

All:        Let us marvel at the little creatures who are innocent in God’s sight

Priest:   Let us sing to the Lord a new song

All:        A song of all the creatures of the earth

 

Hymn:  263   All creatures of our God and King  (omit verses 5 & 6)

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Picture Trinity 17

17th Sunday after Trinity (Oct 4th Feast Of St. Francis of Assisi)

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here

for the first time or visiting Athens. Masks must be worn at all times in the church and in the garden. We must keep a 1.5metre distance from each other. People from the same household can sit normally together. One of the sidespeople will direct you forward for Holy Communion. Your collection should be placed in the envelope provided and placed in one of the offering bags as you leave. There are individualized worksheets for children – please ask. There is coffee after the Liturgy (€1,00 to help church funds!)  

 The presiding priest and preacher is Fr. Leonard.

 

Entrance Hymn:  381

 

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

All:         And also with you

 

The priest then welcomes the people of God and leads us into Confession.

Silence and stillness follows

 

Priest:  Consider the birds of the air; they do not sow or gather into barns, yet your

heavenly Father feeds them. Kyrie eleison

All:        Kyrie eleison

Priest:   Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not toil or spin, yet even

Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Christe eleison

All:         Christe eleison

Priest:   How little faith we have. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

               Kyrie eleison.

 All:        Kyrie eleison

Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all those  who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

Gloria:  Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God, the glory of God the Father. Amen.

 

Collect:  Let us pray    (remain standing as the priest prays the Collect of the Day)

O God, you ever delight to reveal yourself to the child-like and lowly of heart: grant that, following the example of the blessèd Francis, we may count the wisdom of this world as foolishness
and know only Jesus Christ and him crucified, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.Amen.

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sermon news

Sermon Preached on 27th September 2020 – Creationtide

Deacon Chris Saccali

 

MAY I SPEAK IN THE NAME OF THE LIVING GOD, FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT.

I had just brought the washing in and was settling down for a siesta when my husband came in holding a photo on his phone. Our granddaughter’s latest escapade, I thought but no it was a picture of a snake basking in the sun on the flagstones! It turned out it was an Ottoman adder after consultation with Google. Now it is a long time since we have found or seen snakes on our property.

Creation and nature seem to be making a come back even though we are told species are dwindling. This is the season of creation from beginning of September through to 4th October St Francis feast day instituted by Patriarch Dimitrios in 1989. This year is entitled Jubilee for the Earth which combines ecological and economic justice. It reveals the truth that our redemption from financial indebtedness and material poverty is inextricably intertwined with the redemption of the land from wanton extraction and pursuit of profit. We are encouraged as Christians to hold a climate Sunday service during this year.

This past week has been international climate week. Prince Charles, a friend to this church and a staunch activist on Climate said this week at the virtual opening: COVID 19 offered a window of opportunity to reset the economy for a more sustainable and inclusive future. He added the pandemic was a wake up call we cannot ignore.Remember Prince Charles suffered himself from COVID earlier in the year.

At the end of August I preached on a lockdown psalm and today it seems appropriate to use another psalm, so relevant in these times when the world seems to be facing a second wave and CO20 summit due to take place later this year has been held over until 2021. This piece is written by Rev Dr David Pickering based on psalm13:

‘How long?’ cries the psalmist, facing seeming abandonment in the face of affliction.

‘How long? ‘Cries the psalmist, expressing as enemies assail.

3,000 years on we too may cry, ‘How long will the shadow of illness surround me or a loved one?

How long shall lockdown separate me from my loved ones?’

‘How long, cries Greta , on behalf of the world’s youth, will we ignore the house on fire?’

‘How long?’ speaks Sir David on behalf of the scientific community, will policy fall short of evidence?’

‘How long, Extinction rebellion prophetically protest, must we wait for a zero –carbon, just and green new normal?’

By articulating their concern the psalmist starts the transforming journey from their hurting hungry, heart.

Their next cry, ‘give light that i may see your light.’

Opens way to a renewed faith and trust in God.

The psalmist’s journey from a problem stated

To action taken, is one of engagement and hope.

It is so in our lives, for the way of healing

Is lined with with care of body, mind and soul,

And the loneliness of lockdown

May  be overcome with phone call, post and messaging.

Liewise, the Greta, Sir David and rebellious prophet within us all being concerned for the well being on earth, know of the imperative that policy follows science,

That personal rights shouldn’t trump community wellbeing. Today’s choices should be mindful of tomorrow’s generations.

We stand as Moses once did overlooking the river to the promised land beyond.

In a post lockdown world do we just gaze over a fictitious land of hope and dreams?

Or do we choose life, setting off to a just and green new normal to which we are called and ultimately born to run?

As heart cries, How long may eyes’ light see through darkness and hope lead the way.

We need to hold on to the Christian promise of hope in these times more than ever and be a beacon of Christ’s light to others and for the world. To this end on 18th September our Diocese in Europe held a service for Creation. You can follow this service on youtube if you missed it. On the very same day I followed it, Greece was watching the progress and path of Ianos the medicane Mediterranean storm. This is a rare weather phenomenon in this part of the world, parts of the plain of Thessaly, a rich normally productive and fertile land will see no harvest this year and maybe for many more. We have also been observing fires across the world and the pandemic , the root of this word meaning pan dimos all population in Greek, has affected us all.

How can scripture connect with this? We declare that Christ is the new creation when we use the words of Philippians as a creed. What we are saying is that only Christ, Son of God, can bring fullness out of emptiness life out of death. This is the meaning of kenotic.

Jesus is not always sweetness and light. Increasingly we have had readings in Matthew’s gospel of justice and fairness and how this applies to all with no exceptions, like the pandemic. In this parable which is told just after Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He has overturned the money lenders tables outside the temple and his behaviour is challenging the Jewish norms.

 

We have not been promised an easy life or one without challenges to embrace. Creation is groaning and we are still crying how long O Lord? Mankind and creation is facing several challenges at this time. However, we are called as Christians in these times and that means we have to grapple with them. James Baldwin, the American author says: ‘We cannot change everything we face but we have to face it in order to bring change.’

As Christians in the year of our Lord 2020 what does justice across the board look like for mankind and the planet we live on and have been put in charge of by our Maker?

AMEN

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APPEAL FOR DONATIONS FROM FR LEONARD DOOLAN – CHAPLAIN OF ST PAUL’S.

These have been challenging times for all of us and particularly so for organisations such as ourselves who are self-financing and have no income save from the generosity of those who worship here.  During Lockdown we had to lock our doors – our services were suspended, and all the concerts were cancelled – 90% of our income has gone.   We are open again but with restrictions. So our situation is pretty dismal.

If you feel you could support us you can send us a donation either in Greece or the UK.

Our online banking details are on our website – Click here to take you to our Donations page . If you are a UK Taxpayer you will find details there, of how to increase the worth of your donation to the Chaplaincy with no extra cost to yourself through “Gift Aid”.

There has been an Anglican presence in Greece since 1843, but like any organisation we need funds to survive and ensure our future.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and God Bless you.

16th Sunday after Trinity – 27th September 2020

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here

for the first time or visiting Athens. Mmasks must be worn at all times in the church and in the garden we must keep a 1.5metre distance from each other OR wear a mask. People from the same household can sit normally together. One of the sidespeople will direct you forward for Holy Communion. Your collection should be placed in the envelope provided and placed in one of the offering bags as you leave. There are individualized worksheets for children – please ask. There is coffee after the Liturgy (€1,00 to help church funds!)

The presiding priest is Fr. Leonard. The preacher is Deacon Christine.

 

Entrance Hymn:  336

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

All:         And also with you

The priest then welcomes the people of God and the deacon leads us into Confession.

Silence and stillness follows

All:  Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

 Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all those  who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

Gloria:  Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God, the glory of God the Father. Amen.

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Bread of Life

15th Sunday after Trinity – 20th September 2020

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here

for the first time or visiting Athens. Masks must be worn at all times in the church and in the garden we must keep a 1.5metre distance from each other OR wear a mask. People from the same household can sit normally together. One of the sidespeople will direct you forward for Holy Communion. Your collection should be placed in the envelope provided and placed in one of the offering bags as you leave. There are individualized worksheets for children – please ask. There is coffee after the Liturgy (€1,00 to help church funds!)

 

The presiding priest and preacher is Fr. Leonard. The deacon is Deacon Christine Saccali.

 

Entrance Hymn:  234 (2nd tune)

 

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

All:         And also with you

 

The priest then welcomes the people of God and the deacon leads us into Confession.

Silence and stillness follows

 

All:  Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

 Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all those  who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

Gloria:  Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God, the glory of God the Father. Amen.

 

Collect:  Let us pray    (remain standing as the priest prays the Collect of the Day) 

Lord God, defend your Church from all false teaching and give to your people knowledge of your truth, that we may enjoy eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reading                                                                                        Philippians 1, 21-end

It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

 Reader:  This is the word of the Lord

All:          Thanks be to God

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sermon news

Holy Cross Sunday – 13th September 2020: Philippians 2, 6-11; John 3, 13-17

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

 

There was nothing remarkable about the day when Jesus from the town of Nazareth was crucified on a hill outside the city wall of Jerusalem.

City life was going on as usual – hustle bustle, trading, noise, the shout of haggling. It was probably a bit manic that day in the street markets because not only was it the day that Sabbath would begin, but that particular year it was also the day before Passover. The residents of Jerusalem were actually occupied with their own dometic concerns. The fact that the Romans were crucifying some criminals and trouble makers was not important enough to detract them from their priorities. Of course, the families and friends of those being crucified would have gathered at Golgotha. Remember, this was not yet ‘Good Friday’ nor a public holiday.

There was nothing remarkable that Jesus of Nazareth was being crucified. His was not a unique punishment. Indeed the gospel narratives tell us of at least 2 others, who were robbers, being crucified alongside him. That doesn’t mean there were not others also. Crucifixion was commonplace. The main road that ran south from the city of Rome was the Via Appia. This Appian Way was the nearest the Roman civilization had to an autobahn, an autostrada, motorway, αυτοκινητόδρομος.

The Appian Way was busy with traffic, merchants, businessmen, traders, in carriages, horseback and on foot. It was normal to see crucified criminals either side of this main road.

 

Crucifixion was one of the normal methods of punishment inflicted by the Roman authorities. It was a horrible death, yes, but the most important feature is that it was very public. It was an overt display of what happened to those who both committed crimes, but also those who threatened the Roman state, either in Italy, or in a vassal state. This state was neurotic about insurrection – nothing must be allowed that threatened what they considered to be the Pax Romana.

The followers of Jesus had a different perspective, of course. Those who gathered there at Golgotha were witnessing the public punishment, and slow death, of the man they loved as a preacher and teacher; a man at whose hands miracles had happened; a man they had become convinced was God’s Messiah, the harbinger who would bring in the Kingdom of God on earth.

Their grief would have been palpable as they wept, swooned, and supported each other. St. John tells us (John 19, 25) that Mary, the mother of Jesus was one of them, along with Mary wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. The disciple John was also there, but plenty of the closest friends of Jesus are not recorded as being there to see the death of their ‘master’. Yet, so many had seen this man’s works – his signs and wonders.

Disappointment and grief is shared. Grief will be transformed to joy, but they are ignorant of this as yet on an unremarkable, normal day just outside Jerusalem.

 

With hindsight St. Paul can write about this same man, and the cross he died on, in a different way. Paul personally experiences and shares the joy and the light which is the flip of the shadow side of the cross – the Risen Lord. When he writes to the Christians in Philippi he speaks of God and the cross is an entirely new and radical way. Jesus is none other than the form of God, equal to God – God emptied in Jesus (kenosis); Jesus is as a slave is, humbled, obedient, crucified. Yet at the same time in this terrible self-sacrificial act, he is exalted, has pre-eminence; every knee will bow before him and all confess him as Lord to the glory of God the Father. The cross of shame is the throne of glory, and in this man Jesus we see the fullness of the God in whom we believe, and in whom we are being saved.

When the Empress St. Helena, mother of Emperor St. Constantine, decides to make a pilgrimage to the homeland of this man Jesus, whom she accepts as Lord and God, she asks for the blessing of the Pope in Rome. In Evelyn Waugh’s lovely novel called Helena the conversation goes like this.

‘Where is the cross anyway?’ She asked. ‘What cross, my dear?’ ‘The only one, the real one’. ‘I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. I don’t think anyone has ever asked before.’ Pope Sylvester goes on to say, ‘You’ll tell me, won’t you? – if you are successful.’ ‘I’ll tell the world.’

In Jerusalem at Golgotha Helena is guided to search in an area covered with basil bushes – of course, the plant of ‘the King’. Just as I said earlier the hill was covered in bits of wood – the tradition is that when the right bits were put together a dead man was placed on it and came alive again.

Helena was as good as her word, and the whole world now knows of her ‘invention’, her discovery. We too are commanded to tell the whole world about the mystery of the cross, and the man Jesus, crucified for us to guide us home to the Father, the man Jesus raised by God from the dead, the man whom the early disciples, Mary, Paul, Helena, and billions of people since, have worshipped, bent the knee, and confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ Go, and baptise all the nations’ he tells us.’ (Matt 28, 19)

Philippians 2, 6-11 expresses for us superbly, in St. Paul’s words, a paradigm – THE paradigm – of God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. St. John (John 3, 16), expresses it in this way, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life’.

In our own day the paradigm of God has much to teach us – the paradigm (παράδειγμα) is our example of Godly living, and at its heart is the mystery of the cross, humility, self -emptying, obedience. It is when we accept this that we can share in the mystery of our faith.

This paradigm turns upside down and inside out everything that we assume God will be. We assume that God is, in our human understanding of these words, all-powerful, almighty, omnipotent, yet Paul’s words in Philippians bring us to kneel at the feet of the one whose power and might rested in him not exercising this. I have used before the phrase, ‘the power of power not exercised.’

In Jesus, the man who died unnoticed by most people at a place where hundreds were put to death, by a method that was common-place, God chose to dwell fully, and show forth his glory in a manger in a stable, and on a cross on a little hill. As people of faith, we need to look at everything we do, everything we see, everything we assume, everything we collude with, everything we tacitly support, and apply to it the paradigm of the cross – a sign that in God’s kingdom nothing is what we expect.

In Greece this week, on the island of Lesbos, something tragic happened – we all know about it. Each of us will have a variety of views and reactions to what happened at the Moria Refugee camp. Those views might be coloured by where you live – suppose you live in Mytilene or one of the villages around it. Your view might be coloured by how the presence of this vast blight of a refugee camp has affected tourism, with the knock on effect on your hotel, your restaurant, your livelihood, the school where your children attend.

Your view might be coloured by what you think about refugees and migrants and their impact on Greece and Europe generally, and why does the EU not do more to help Greece; why should refugees be given cash cards to buy groceries when elderly Greek women, citizens, our mother or grand-mother’s age have to open the big street pedal bins to try and find something to eat or wear, or sell on for a few cents? You might be angry because your taxes are paying for the camp that was burned down by those it was built for; your taxes now pay for 900 police officers on one small Aegean island.

Your view might be one of exasperation that we allow such refugee camps to exist at all; that they are inhumane, undignified, soul destroying, a sign of our failure and the failure of the nations.

These views and many others will colour the way we respond and react to complex situations of human challenge and misery. Whatever our view, we must return again and again to the Philippian’s paradigm of Paul to rediscover what our faith says to us, and how we understand ourselves and our world, in relation to the kenotic God, who emptied himself for the sake of his love for us.

 

It is extraordinary, is it not, that this man who died on a fairly normal busy day, with just a handful of friends around him, in a way that common criminals were punished, on a little hill outside Jerusalem, should have such a powerful hold on our lives and in the shaping of our world – the mystery of that cross.

‘You’ll tell me, won’t you?-if you are successful.’ ‘I’ll tell the world.’

Bible Study Blog

Fr Leonards Sermons, virtual and viral, for Lent, Holy Week & Easter 2020

The Anglican Church in Greece (Church of England)

The Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

Karneadou 6, Athens 10675 Greece

Tel (0030) 210 721 4906                                                    August 2020

 

During the worst weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown thousands of faithful priests and pastors were preparing to preach Sunday by Sunday, or day by day, seeking to keep Christ’s people engaged with the mysteries of the holy season of Lent, Holy Week, and the ‘Great Weeks’ of Easter.

These were challenging days – not yet behind us by any means – for preachers to address the scriptures set for this season, but at the same time to acknowledge the realities of the global pandemic that prevented most, if not all social and human public activity, including worship. Suddenly we had to be creative and make use of different media platforms in our attempts to ‘keep together in isolation’.

In Athens I did my best to wrestle with new technology that took me way beyond my normal comfort zone ‘blending’ the ancient art of preaching with the contemporary possibilities of Zoom. I have to admit that it was not like oil and water, as my initial skepticism might have concluded. The blend of printed copies of sermons sent by email, texts placed on the website, pre-recorded versions emailed out, ‘virtually’ live preaching on Zoom, and then sermons delivered on Zoom and in St. Paul’s church respecting local restrictions, all of these somehow seem to have worked, with considerable appreciation from our congregation and ‘para’ congregation.

I was delightfully encouraged when a couple of people suggested that my sermons prepared over this period should be brought together and published in a small booklet. That initial suggestion, much to my surprise, has come about.

There is no delusion in publishing these sermons, by the way. They are not the best sermons you will ever read, and so much could have been better said, and has been, in the hands of other fine preachers. However, I think the interest lies in the nature of the background of the sermons. Never before have we preached in Lent, Holy Week and Easter with a pandemic raging away, devastating so many lives and disrupting global and local economies; shutting down work patterns and adding to our already existing anxieties in the relationship between humanity and the Creation.

This little booklet of sermons may have some lasting interest simply because in the future someone might be interested to observe how one preacher went about his business during the COVID-19 experience.

To order a copy email: anglican@otenet.gr  Cost €5,00 (all proceeds to St. Paul’s Church)  p&p  €2.50 within Greece; €5,00 outside Greece.