Corpus Christi Processional and Benediction

1. Laud, O Sion, thy salvation, Laud with hymns of exultation

Christ, thy King and Shepherd true:

Spend thyself, his honour raising,

Who surpasseth all thy praising;

Never canst thou reach his due.

Blessed and praised be Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament!

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in Excelsis

2.Sing today, the mystery showing Of the living, life bestowing

Bread from heaven before thee set;

E’en the same of old provided,

Where the Twelve, divinely guided,

At the holy Table met

3.  Full and clear ring out thy chanting,

Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting

To thy heart and soul today:

When we gather up the measure Of that Supper and its treasure,

Keeping feast in glad array.

4. Lo, the new King’s Table gracing,

This new Passover of blessing Hath fulfilled the elder rite:

Now the new the old effaceth,

Truth revealed the shadow chaseth,

Day is breaking on the night.

5. What he did at Supper seated, Christ ordained to be repeated,

His memorial ne’er to cease:

And, his word for guidance taking,

Bread and wine we hallow,

making Thus our Sacrifice of peace.

6. This the truth to Christians given

Bread becomes his Flesh from heaven, Wine becomes his holy Blood.

Doth it pass thy comprehending?

Yet by faith, thy sight transcending,

Wondrous things are understood.

7. Yea, beneath these signs are hidden

Glorious things to sight forbidden:

Look not on the outward sign.

Wine is poured and Bread is broken,

But in either sacred token

Christ is here by power divine

8. Who so of this Food partaketh,

Christ divideth not nor breaketh:

He is whole to all that taste.

Whether one this bread receiveth,

Or a thousand, still he giveth

One same Food that cannot waste.

9. Good and evil men are sharing

One repast, an end preparing

Varied as the heart of man:

Life or death shall be awarded,

As their days shall be recorded

Which from one beginning ran

10. When the Sacrament is broken,

Doubt not in each severed token,

Resteth all the true content:

Nought the precious Gift divideth,

Breaking but the sign betideth,

Nothing of his fullness spent.

Tantum ergo (tune: Pange Lingua)

Therefore we, before him bending, This great sacrament revere:

Types and shadows have their ending, For the newer rite is here;

Faith, our outward sense befriending, Makes the inward vision clear.

Glory let us give and blessing To the Father and the Son,

Honour, might and praise addressing, While eternal ages run;

Ever too his love confessing,

Who, from both, with both is one. Amen.

V: Thou gavest them bread from heaven, Alleluia:

Response: Containing within itself all sweetness, Alleluia.

The priest then chants the Collect of the Feast to which all respond: Amen.

The priest then approaches the Altar to take up the mon-

strance. He then proceeds to solemnly bless the congregation. The Divine Praises are then repeated after the priest:

Blessed be God.

Blessed be His Holy Name.

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man: Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.

Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.

Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.

Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy. Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.

Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints

Service Sheet for Sunday 22nd June – Corpus Christi

Celebrant: Fr Benjamin Drury

Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)

Processional: 52 (Was Lebet) O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 110

Gradual: 280 (Schmucke Dich) Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness

Offertory: 352 (Diademata) Crown him with many crowns

Communion: 307 (Divine Mysteries) Sweet sacrament divine

Communion II: 295 (Picardy) Let all mortal flesh keep silent

For the Processional hymns, refer to this sheet, and the additional sheet.

Recessional: 296 (St. Helen) Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the

liturgy

A reading from the Book of Genesis (14: 18-20)

Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing:

‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.’ And Abram gave him a tithe of everything.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 110: You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.

The Lord’s revelation to my Master: ‘Sit on my right:

your foes I will put beneath your feet.’ (Response)

The Lord will wield from Zion your sceptre of power:

rule in the midst of all your foes. (Response)

A prince from the day of your birth on the holy mountains;

from the womb before the dawn I begot you. (Response) The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.

‘You are a priest for ever,

a priest like Melchizedek of old.’ (Response)

A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (11: 23-26)

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took

some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the

same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’  Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven, says the Lord. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever. Alleluia!

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (9: 11-17)

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the king- dom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing.

It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said,

‘Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here.’ He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people.’ For there were

about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.’ They did so and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd. They

all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, O Christ

The text and setting of the Nicene Creed is at page 562 in the New English Hymnal.

O salutaris hostia (for the Procession) (tune: Wareham): O saving Victim, opening wide

The gate of heaven to man below; Our foes press hard on every side,

Thine aid supply, thy strength bestow.

All praise and thanks to thee ascend For evermore, blest One in Three;

O grant us life that shall not end,

In our true native land with thee. Amen.

O GOD, the strength of all them that put their trust in thee,

mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping of thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP Collect: First Sunday after Trinity)

Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments

Weds. 25th June: 10 a.m.; Low Mass

Sun. 29th June: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass (SS. Peter & Paul)

Study group & pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin

The church choir are always seeking to increase their membership.

Those who are interested, and are able to read music to even a small degree of competence, should speak to Oliver Knight.

Any interested in joining the serving team (as acolyte, thurifer, or crucifer) should speak to Father Benjamin.

Donate electronically by scanning the QR code; 

the Church does not receive any

funding from the Church of England

or the British Government and is reliant

on the goodwill of congregants and visitors. We thank you for your support.

Priest Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury frbenjamindrury@gmail.com;

Home tel.: 210 72 14 906

anglican@otenet.gr (Church email address)

Deacon Christine Saccali : (Day Off: Friday)          697 737 7655

Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling  694 6072428

Facebook @AnglicanAthens                    www.anglicanchurchathens.gr

Service Sheet for Sunday 15th June 2025 – Trinity Sunday

Celebrant: Fr Benjamin Drury

Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)

Processional: 466 (Moscow) Thou whose almighty word

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 8

Gradual: 149 (Coelites Plaudant) Father, we praise thee, now the night is over

Offertory: 148 (Leoni) The God of Abraham Praise

Post-Communion: 146 (Nicaea) Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God almighty

Recessional: 159 (St. Patrick’s Breastplate) I bind unto myself this day [between verses 5 and 6, the choir shall sing 278 (Gartan) Christ be with me]

All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.

Please remember that the chaplaincy in Athens neither receives funding from the British Government nor from the Church of

England. All donations are, therefore, very gratefully received.

A reading from the Book of Proverbs (8: 22-31)

The Wisdom of God cries aloud:

The Lord created me when his purpose first unfolded,

before the oldest of his works.

From everlasting I was firmly set,

from the beginning, before earth came into being.

The deep was not, when I was born,

there were no springs to gush with water.

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I came to birth;

before he made the earth, the countryside,

or the first grains of the world’s dust.

When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there,

when he drew a ring on the surface of the deep, when he thickened the clouds above,

when he fixed fast the springs of the deep,

when he assigned the sea its boundaries

– and the waters will not invade the shore – when he laid down the foundations of the earth,

I was by his side, a master craftsman,

delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in his world,

delighting to be with the sons of men.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; the God who is, who was, and who is to come. Alleluia!

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (16: 12-15)

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, O Christ

The text and setting of the Nicene Creed is at page 562 in the New English Hymnal.

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Service Sheet for Sunday 8th June – Pentecost Sunday

Celebrant Fr. Benjamin Drury

Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)

Processional: 139 (Veni Sancte Spiritus) Come, thou Holy Spirit, come

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 104

Gradual: 138 (Veni Creator) Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire

Offertory: 355 (Song I) Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round

Post-Communion: 342 (Dominica) Breathe on me, Breath of God

Recessional: 137 (Down Ampney) Come down, O Love divine

All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.

Please remember that the chaplaincy in Athens neither receives funding from the British Government nor from the Church of

England. All donations are, therefore, very gratefully received.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2: 1-11)

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign lan- guages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 104: Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth (text at 537 in the New English Hymnal)

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans (8: 8-17)

People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritu- al, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our un-

spiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.

Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of

God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia! The Lord be with you. And also with you.

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (14: 15-16, 23-26)

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.

I shall ask the Father,

and he will give you another Advocate to be with you for ever.

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own:

it is the word of the one who sent me.

I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The text and setting of the Nicene Creed is at page 562 in the New English Hymnal.

God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer Collect: Whitsunday)

Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments

Weds. 11th June: 10 a.m.; Low Mass

Sun. 15th June: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass (Trinity Sunday)

Coffee Morning: 12th June, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; church garden.

Study group & pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin

Donate electronically by scanning the QR code; 

the Church does not receive any

funding from the Church of England

or the British Government and is reliant

on the goodwill of congregants and visitors. We thank you for your support.

Priest Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury frbenjamindrury@gmail.com;

Home tel.: 210 72 14 906

anglican@otenet.gr (Church email address)

Deacon Christine Saccali : (Day Off: Friday)          697 737 7655

Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling  694 6072428

Facebook @AnglicanAthens                    www.anglicanchurchathens.gr

Audio Sermon for Sunday 1st June 2025, 7th Sunday of Easter

Rev Canon Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

Sermon for the 7th Sunday of Easter, 1st June 2025: Readings: Acts 7, 55-6-; Rev 22, 12-14, 16-17, 20; John 17, 20-end.

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

At this time of year, where would we be without the evangelist, St. Luke? If we did not have his account of the days
after the Resurrection of Christ we would probably not invent the forty day period from the Day of Resurrection
until the Ascension of our Lord into heaven, not the period of a full fifty days until the promised coming of the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost. We are all the richer as Christians for St. Luke’s artistic and pictorial descriptions of these
mysteries.
Before the eyes of the apostles the risen Jesus disappears into a cloud and they stand there gazing upwards –
speechless, no doubt as this event happens before their eyes. Maybe they are thinking – ‘take me with you. I want
to go with you!’
Rather abruptly a divine messenger drags them back to earth. What are you gazing at up there? You will
experience him again here. What did he tell you? He said the Holy Spirit will be sent. He promised you this.
And so they waited. It is a strange period this, between Ascension until Pentecost. I would suggest that it is a sort
of parallel to the season of Advent. We find ourselves in the epoch of expectation and anticipation – almost like
the Apostles are back in that time when the ‘people walked in darkness’ waiting for the light of the Messiah. We
place ourselves again as participants of those parables Jesus told about the arrival of the Bridegroom – get
yourselves ready! Be prepared! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, as we say in our Liturgy.

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Service Sheet for Sunday 1st June 2025 Seventh Sunday of Easter, Sunday after Ascension

Celebrant: Fr Leonard Doolan

Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)

Processional: 271 (Hyfrydol) Alleluya, sing to Jesus

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 97

Gradual: 483 (Capel) The Church of God a kingdom is

Offertory: 349 (Nativity) Come, let us join our cheerful songs

Communion: 131 (Ach Gott und Herr) O King most high of earth and sky

Communion II: 286 (Sheen) From glory to glory advancing

Final: 332 (Miles Lane) All hail the power of Jesu’s name

All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.

Please remember that the chaplaincy in Athens neither receives funding from the British Government nor from the Church of England. All donations are, therefore, very gratefully received.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (7: 55-60)

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heav- en thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 97: The Lord is King, most high above all the earth

The Lord is king, let earth rejoice, the many coastlands be glad.

His throne is justice and right. (Response)

The skies proclaim his justice;

all peoples see his glory.

All you spirits, worship him. (Response)

For you indeed are the Lord

most high above all the earth,

exalted far above all spirits. (Response)

A reading from the Apocalypse of John the Theologian (22: 12-14, 16-17, 20)

I, John, heard a voice speaking to me: ‘Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man ac- cording to what he deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Happy are those who will have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates into the city.

‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to make these revelations to you for the sake of the churches. I am of David’s line, the root of David and the bright star of the morning.’

The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ Let everyone who listens an- swer, ‘Come.’ Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free.

The one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord; I will come back to you, and your hearts will be full of joy. Alleluia!

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (17: 20-26)

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me.

May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us,as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me. Father,

I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Righteous One,

the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known,so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The text and setting of the Nicene Creed is at page 562 in the New English Hymnal.

O God the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven: We

beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer Collect: Sunday after Ascension Day)

Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments

Weds. 4th June: 10 a.m.; Low Mass

Sun. 8th June: 11 a.m.; Sung Mass (Whitsunday-Pentecost)

Please mark that next Sunday’s Sung Mass for Pentecost (Whitsun- day) shall commence at eleven o’ clock (11 a.m.) and not at ten o ‘ clock (10 a.m.)

Study group & pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin

Donate electronically by scanning the QR code:

The : Church does not receive any

funding from the Church of England

or the British Government and is reliant

on the goodwill of congregants and visitors.

We thank you for your support.

Priest Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury

frbenjamindrury@gmail.com;

Home tel.: 210 72 14 906

anglican@otenet.gr (Church e-mail address)

Deacon Christine Saccali : (Day Off: Friday)          697 737 7655

Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling  694 6072428

Facebook @AnglicanAthens   www.anglicanchurchathens.gr

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter – 25th May 2025 -Readings: Acts 15, 1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21, 10-14, 22-26; John 14, 23-29.

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

Let’s start with a little imagination game – a little more difficult if you have never visited Athens, but close your eyes and join in if you can. It is May 25^th 2025. You are in Athens standing in Adrianou (street) with the Roman Agora behind you – Roman, okay, but not everything modern is bad! You are walking in the direction of an area named after a far more ancient monument, Thisseio. Some African guys are harassing passers-by, especially young female tourists, to buy their bangles and beads. This is Plaka district of Athens, so not surprisingly you are met by shops and little street stalls selling everything tourists seem to want – from necklaces that spell your name in Greek, to key-rings in the shape of something you certainly wouldn’t take home to your elderly grand-parents as a holiday souvenir.

There are restaurants galore, all setting out before us the very best of Greek tourist menus with a designated staff member whose job it is to entice us to check the menu and chose this restaurant – oddly it is the ones with rather attractive young female staff that are the busiest. I am wondering if there is a marketing strategy here?

All along the right hand side is a seemingly endless chain of bars and tavernas and bistros.

Look to your left towards the Acropolis soaring majestically above you. What do you see? Well, rather surprisingly, first there is the Line 1 Metro line which runs from Kifissia to Piraeus. It cuts right through the edge of this ancient site. It is the first and oldest of the Metro lines. The rolling stock is old and ‘tinny’ looking and covered with graffiti – sorry, political art, as it is called. Next, the wall that separates the railway line from the original Greek agora, the ancient market place of classical Athens. Where you are standing is a major tourist viewpoint. The modern wall separating the Metro line from the Agora is one vast marble canvas of metropolitan art – that’s the graffiti again – sprayed on the wall to support every type of cultural, social and anarchist ideology.

Next is the agora iself, with is peaceful atmosphere – except when the old train goes past – with the American School reconstruction of a classical stoa to elicit from us something of the image of ancient Greek philosophers and sophists gathering to discuss the meaning of life, Epicureans, the transmigration of the soul, Platonists, and Pythagoreans, and every imaginable ancient school of thought.

Rising up beyond it stands the magnificent and impressive Acropolis, with its Parthenon first built as a temple to the Virgin Goddess Athena, in later centuries becoming a holy temple of the Panaghia for Byzantine worship. It is an iconic global icon, though I have to say it is not as old as the Temple of Aphea in my island of Aegina! That’s a little bit of local promotion.

In Ottoman times the Parthenon of Athens was used to store ammunition. It was because of this that an explosion created the ruin that we now see. I often wonder what the poor Ottoman guardsman thought when he accidentally  threw down his cigarette butt. ‘Oops!’  ‘Πω, Πω’ if he had a bit of demotic Greek.

Between where you are standing and the Acropolis, there is a small hill. It is crawling with people, who look the size of little ants – but it is busy. It is, of course, the Areopagus hill, where once stood the building where the Athenian Council would meet. It is here that St. Paul spoke to the ‘men of Athens’ in his famous speech – I see you are a religious people…I saw a tomb to the ‘unknown god’…let me tell you about him; A stunning moment of Christian evangelization.

This was a long time ago, and much has changed. However much has not. Man is still polytheistic as he was when the Parthenon was erected, and he sets up shrines to his own gods. If you stand there there in Adrianou, the street named after the Emperor Hadrian, whose magnificent library is at the start of this street, you will witness some of those modern day deities. Travel, commercialism, globalization, pollution, environmental usually seek to worship what challenges us, what makes us look face-to-face with ourselves, face up to what we do to each other and to God’s creation.

So as we look towards this rather barren little hill, with the little ants crawling over it, we are drawn to think that St. Paul’s message to the Athenians, now universally available through the writing of St. Luke in his Acts of the Apostles, which we read Sunday by Sunday in the season of Easter is as relevant now as it has ever been.

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Service Sheet for Sunday 25th May – Sixth Sunday of Easter

Celebrant: Fr. Leonard Doolan

Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)

Processional: 346 (Richmond) City of God, how broad and far

Congregational Psalm: 366 (Heathlands) God of mercy, God of grace (Ps. 67)

Gradual: 421 (Temple) O King enthroned on high

Offertory: 353 (Repton) Dear Lord and Father of mankind

Communion: 298 (Waltham) May the grace of Christ our Saviour

Final: 401 (Regent Square) Light’s abode, celestial Salem

All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.

Please remember that the chaplaincy in Athens neither receives funding from the British Government nor from the Church of England. All donations are, therefore, very gratefully received

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (15: 1-2, 22-29)

Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.

Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:

‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Congregational Psalm: (Ps. 67) (366 in the New English Hymnal)

A reading from the Apocalypse of John the Theologian (21: 10-14, 22-23)

In the spirit, the angel took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of

the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw that there was no temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple, and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.’ Alleluia! The Lord be with you. And also with you.

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (14: 23-29)

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.

Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me. I have said these things to you while still with you;

but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace

the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me say: I am going away, and shall return. If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The text and setting of the Nicene Creed is at number 542 in the

New English Hymnal.

O Lord, from whom all good things do come: Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think

those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may per- form the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer Collect: Fifth Sunday after Easter)

Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments

Weds. 28th May: 10 a.m.; Low Mass

Sun. 1st June: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass (Easter VII; Sunday after Ascension

Spring Bazaar: 31st May, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the church garden.The church is open from Monday (26th) until Friday (30th), from 10 am  until 1:45pm, to receive donations.

Donations of books, plants, clothes, household items &c. are gratefully received, as are donations of money towards, for instance, refreshments.  Volunteers to help on the day are encouraged to apply to Lynn Stavrou.

Study group & pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin

Donations are sought for the cost of dry-cleaning the church’s col- lection of flags; further details from Oliver Knight.

Donate electronically by scanning the QR code;

the Church does not receive any

funding from the Church of England

or the British Government and is reliant

on the goodwill of congregants and visitors. We thank you for your support

Priest Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury frbenjamindrury@gmail.com;

Home tel.: 210 72 14 906

anglican@otenet.gr (Church e-mail address)

Deacon Christine Saccali : (Day Off: Friday)          697 737 7655

Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling  694 6072428

Facebook @AnglicanAthens                    www.anglicanchurchathens.gr

Service Sheet for Sunday 18th May 2025 – Fifth Sunday of Easter

Celebrant: Fr. Benjamin Drury

Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)

Processional: 388 (Truro) Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Responsorial Psalm: 540 in the New English Hymnal (Ps. 145)

Gradual: 124 (St Fulbert) Ye choirs of new Jerusalem

Offertory: 100 (Herongate) The day draws on with golden light

Communion: 345 (Vulpius) Christ is the King, O friends rejoice!

Final: 439 (Billing) Praise to the holiest in the height

All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.

Please remember that the chaplaincy in Athens neither receives funding from the British Government nor from the Church of

England. All donations are, therefore, very gratefully received.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (14: 21-27)

Paul and Barnabas went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to perse- vere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.

The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm: I will bless your name for ever, my God and King (540 in the New English Hymnal)

A reading from the Apocalypse of John the Theologian (21: 1-5)

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband.

Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them;

they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God- with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will

be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new.’

The word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment:

love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord. Alleluia!

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (13: 31-33, 34-35)

Glory to you, O Lord.

When Judas had gone Jesus said:

‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified.

If God has been glorified in him,

God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.

‘My little children,

I shall not be with you much longer. I give you a new commandment:

love one another;

just as I have loved you,

you also must love one another.

By this love you have for one another,

everyone will know that you are my disciples.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Communion Antiphon: I am the true vine and you are the branches, says the Lord. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, bears fruit in plenty, alleluia.

O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and

affections of sinful men; Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of

the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Com-mon Prayer Collect: Fourth Sunday after Easter)

Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments

Weds. 21st May: 10 a.m.; Low Mass

Sun. 25th May: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass (Easter VI)

Spring Bazaar: 31st May, church garden, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., donations of books, plants, clothes, household articles &c. can be brought to church from Monday 26th until Friday 30th; details from Lynn Stavrou.

Study group & pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin

Donate electronically by scanning the QR code;

the Church does not receive any

funding from the Church of England

or the British Government and is reliant

on the goodwill of congregants and visitors. We thank you for your support

Priest Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury frbenjamindrury@gmail.com;

Home tel.: 210 72 14 906

anglican@otenet.gr (Church e-mail address)

Deacon Christine Saccali : (Day Off: Friday)     697 737 7655

Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling  694 6072428

Facebook @AnglicanAthens                    www.anglicanchurchathens.gr