Audio Sermon for Coronation Sunday, 5th Sunday after Easter – 7th May 2023

Service for the 5th Sunday of Easter – in celebration of the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla – 7th May 2023

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens. Our prayers are very much with King Charles III and Queen Camilla following the Coronation service in Westminster Abbey yesterday. To celebrate locally there is our own form of Street Party immediately after the Liturgy. Please do stay if you can and celebrate the lives and reign of the new King and Queen.

The presiding priest this morning is Fr. Leonard, and the deacon is Deacon Christine. We are pleased that His Excellency Matthew Lodge, UK Ambassador is one of the lesson readers today. All the hymns and the psalm reflect the different countries of the United Kingdom.

Hymn:  368  Guide me, O thou great Redeemer  Tune:Cwm Rhonddha     (Rhondda Valley)

Priest:    Alleluia! Christ is risen

 All:        He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Priest:   The Lord be with you

All:         and also with you

National Anthem         

God save our gracious King!
Long live our noble King!

God save the King!
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the King.

Thy choicest gifts in store
On him be pleased to pour,
Long may he reign.
May he defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the King.

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

Silence

Deacon: Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life.

Kyrie eleison

All:          Kyrie eleison

Deacon: Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins.

Christe eleison

All:          Christe eleison

Deacon: Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread.

Kyrie eleison

All:          Kyrie eleison

Absolution: May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.   Amen.

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Service for the 4th Sunday of Easter – 30th April 2023

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.  Please stay for refreshments in the church garden after the Liturgy. A particular welcome to the Revd. Dimitris Boukis and his family. Dimitris is Pastor of the Greek Evangelical Church in Pevki, and Secretary of the Synod of the Greek Evangelical Church. He has been a good colleague over these years.

The presiding priest this morning is Fr. Leonard, and the deacon is Deacon Christine.

Entrance Hymn    237 Morning has broken

Priest:    Alleluia! Christ is risen

 All:        He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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

Deacon: Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life.

Kyrie eleison

All:          Kyrie eleison

Deacon: Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins.

Christe eleison

All:          Christe eleison

Deacon: Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread.

Kyrie eleison

All:          Kyrie eleison

Absolution: May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.   Amen.

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Audio Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter – 23rd April 2023

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter – 23rd April 2023: Luke 24, 13-35

Of all the stories in the Easter Narrative collection it is perhaps the St. Luke inclusion of the Journey to Emmaus, with its famous supper details that capture the popular imagination most of all.

Beyond the context, the text, and the story itself, perhaps the most memorable reminder of the Supper at Emmaus is the set of ‘Suppers’ painted by the outstanding Italian Renaissance artist Caravaggio. There are two painting that I am aware of. Art historians among you will be able inform us if there are more.

I am passing around a postcard of the more famous Caravaggio Supper just to remind you, or in case you have never experienced Carravaggio’s art.

There are two lines from St. Luke’s narrative that I would like to focus on today.

The first is ‘Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.’

Secondly ‘Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.’

It is a very common feature in Anglican Church life to have parish bible studies. The purpose of such bible studies is to look at a book from scripture, or a set of themed texts, and study them more closely, not just so that we can apply some textual criticism to them, but so that our reading of such texts brings a more life-enriching understanding of scripture.

Of course we have to be careful how we understand the word ‘criticism’ in our modern context, because usually we associate criticism as a negative activity. In our sense it is about getting into and under the text – trying to see a particular passage or story in its wider context, so that we can be informed by what is written; formed by how the understanding of scripture shapes us and our lives; transformed by how the scripture is a ‘light to our path and a lantern to our feet’. Informed, formed, and transformed.

In a good bible study we learn not just from a leader or teacher of scripture, but also from sharing ideas, experiences, and interpretations of the text, so it is not a ‘bookish exercise’ but one way of building each other up in the faith, and helping us to bind together as the Body of Christ – especially as the scriptures are the possession of Christ’s Church and they are best heard, studied and applied as a corporate activity, working against individualized and ec-centric understandings of the Christian experience

In our time together we have studied – largely through ‘online’ methods – St. Mark’s gospel, Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, the 1^st Letter of Peter, various passages in the Book of Revelation, Prophecies of the coming Messiah in the Book of Isaiah, among other things. These have always been profitable times, albeit virtually. I hope participants would agree.

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Service Sheet for the Third Sunday of Easter – 23rd April 2023

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.  We continue to wish you a very happy Easter. Please stay for refreshments in the garden. Today is also the day we celebrate the Feast of St. George – so Χρονιά Πολλά to all those named George. We have a POS so you can make your donation by card. Follow the service sheet online – wifi password gu5uX8mmtgb8egak

The presiding priest and preacher this morning is The Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan, and the deacon is Deacon Christine Saccali.

Entrance Hymn   234  Christ whose glory (2^nd tune)

Priest: Alleluia! Christ is risen

 All:     He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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

Silence

Deacon:        Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life.

Kyrie eleison

All:                 Kyrie eleison

Deacon:        Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins.

Christe eleison

All:                Christe eleison

Deacon:       Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread.

Kyrie eleison

All:                Kyrie eleison

Absolution: May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in 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, 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. Amen

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Audio Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Easter – 16th April 2023

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

Service for the 2nd Sunday of Easter – 16th April 2023

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.  We continue to wish you a very happy Easter. Today we welcome 33 visitors from Malaysia. Today is Orthodox Easter – Καλό Πάσχα.

The presiding priest and preacher this morning is The Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan, Senior Chaplain.

Entrance Hymn    106    Come, ye faithful, raise the strain

Priest: Alleluia! Christ is risen

 All:     He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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

Silence

Assistant:     Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life.

Kyrie eleison

All:                 Kyrie eleison

Assistant:     Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins.

Christe eleison

All:                Christe eleison

Assistant:     Lord Jesus, you feed us with the living bread.

Kyrie eleison

All:                Kyrie eleison

Absolution: May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.   Amen.

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Audio Sermon for Easter Sunday – 9th April 2023

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

Sermon for Easter Sunday 2023 – 9th April 2023

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

 Alleluia! Christ is risen!   He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today is Alleluia day – in fact the beginning of 50 Alleluia days leading through to Pentecost. The church has real stamina. We keep going. Most people think Easter is one day – the church keeps Easter officially for 50 days.

In fact it is more than 50 days – every Sunday is a day when we celebrate the resurrection, the Lord’s day. Every time we celebrate a baptism we celebrate the resurrection.  Every person baptized is an Alleluia person. Just think of that – each one of you here today is an Alleluia person. I’m so pleased that there are so many alleluias in church this morning.

However – You and I are also Good Friday people. Baptism is about the mystery of the cross as well as the mystery of the resurrection. We can’t have one without the other.

Think on this – so many of us here today, people of the cross and people of the empty tomb. We are God’s resurrection community, but also God’s crucified community.

You have come here today and God already knows every one of you by name. You are already familiar. You are his family, we are his family together here in this place – and in every place throughout the world where Christians meet to be the cross and empty tomb people. He is with his daughters and sons where they are persecuted or prejudiced against for their faith. He knows us all by name.

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb where Jesus has been placed. He is not there. She panics and runs to tell Peter and John. They come to corroborate the evidence of the empty tomb. What has happened to him? Mary asks a stranger and the stranger doesn’t have to give a long and complex explanation. What does he say? How does he explain the empty tomb? Simple! All he says is ‘Mary’. The risen Jesus only has to say her name, and she knows he is risen.

My friends, the risen Jesus knows you by name. By saying your name, you are family; you are the evidence of the Easter faith. As you come forward today to receive the bread and wine of the Easter table.

It is a simple Easter message – it is the gospel, the good news. The risen Christ knows you by name. When you share the Peace today, also share your name with your neighbour. There is a brunch after the Liturgy this morning – speak with someone you have not spoken to before – and say your name.

By the time you leave this church today to live as Christians in the community, you will feel different, because you are different. The risen Christ knows you by name.  Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!