Chronicle - 2010
January 17
On Sunday January the 17th, there was a lecture 'Orthodox Belgian Mission (1963-1987)' given for our parishioners by Fr. Serge Model who is an expert in Western Orthodoxy. On this day Fr. Serge also celebrated the Divine Liturgy instead of Fr. Alexander who was on vacation.
January 31
On Sunday January the 31st, there was a lecture 'Catholic and orthodox Churches: a meetingpoint' given by Fr Thadée Barnas from the Benedictin Monastery in Chevetogne. The lecture was organized by 'Kerk in Nood', a Catholic organization that helps Christian communities all over the world. The lecture was held in honor of the prayer week for Christian unity. Several our parishioners took part in this event.
February 7
On Sunday February the 7th, after the Divine Liturgy, there was a Mardigras table at the parish refectory. All the income will go to support an Orthodox parish on Haiti, which suffered during the earthquake.
February 14
On Sunday February the 14th, Victor Yudin and Judith Hermans gave a lecture about the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete.
February 21
February the 21st, The Sunday of Orthodoxy in Brussels.
April 3
April the 3rd. Holy Saturday.
April 4
April the 4th. EASTER.
April 5
5th April. According to a now well-established tradition, the clergy of our Eparchy gathered in the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Brussels on Bright Monday. After the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Simon elevated our Dean, Fr. Alexander Yavarouski to the rank of Archpriest.
April 10
On April 10th, Victor Yudin participated in a meeting with people living in the Refugee Camp of Halle, where he introduced our parish. This meeting was organized in the framework of the Integration Programme of the Flemish Community.
April 11
April the 11th was the name day of Archimandrite Thomas, Hegumen of the Monastery “Mother of God Comforter of the Afflicted” in Pervijze. On this occasion, the Monastery welcomed numerous guests, amongst which a large group of pilgrims from our parish with, at its head, Archpriest Alexander Yavarousky. At the end of the Divine Liturgy the Paschal Artos was distributed. After the celebration, a puppet show was performed in the Monastery’s reception room where a festive meal was offered to the all the participants. After this, our bus drove us to the seashore where we enjoyed a snack and a pleasant stroll on the beach.
April 18
On Sunday 18th April we commemorated the Myrrh-bearing Women. This day is also known as 'the Orthodox Day of Women'. On this occasion, Fr. Alexander Yavarouski offered a rose to each our female parishioners. After the Liturgy a picnic was held in their honour in the church garden. Moreover, that very same day, the parishioners, celebrating the appointment of Fr. Alexander as Archpriest, handed him an icon of our patron Saint, the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew.
May 8
On May 8th Fr. Alexander Yavarouski celebrated a requiem service at the Leuven main cemetery (Hoofdbegraafplaats) commemorating 5 Russian soldiers who were buried there during WW2: Alexandre Homenko (+25.09.1944), Ivan Hodykov (1899-25.09.1944), Gabie Charcamoulin, Michael Barachov and Dimitri Sywiew. Another requiem service was subsequently celebrated in Linden on the grave of Wassily Jurovlov, a Soviet mariner who escaped from a German camp before joining the Belgian Resistance group A34 and who fell in action in October 1943. Eternal memory!
May 30
On May 30th Matias D'huyvetter (Brussels, St.Silouan parish) gave a lecture about the Tourin's relics.
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Juli 24-31
July 24 to 31, the annual Orthodox Summer Camp was held at the campsite “De Abbert” near Dronten in The Netherlands. This annual event is traditionally organized by the Orthodox Youth Fellowships in The Netherlands (OJN) and Belgium (OJB-JOB).
The camp counted 50 participants (including several children of our parish) and 15 staff. The head of the camp was Elisabeth van Duijn-Bruning. The pastoral team consisted of Fr. Alexander Yavarouski, Fr. Hildo Bos (Amsterdam) and Deacon Dimitry Yatsun (Antwerp).
This year the camp theme was “Resurrection of Christ”, which was studied through catechism, drama, and games. Every day was started and closed with prayer in the church tent. In addition, Divine Liturgies were celebrated twice, with children doing all the singing and reading.
www.archiepiskopia.be
August 22
On Sunday August the 22nd, Fr Serge Model (Brussels) headed the Divine liturgy in our church, and after this gave a talk about the recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
September 21-25
From September 21 to 25, Luc Osseel and Nicolas-Jan Simons visited the monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England, to see the almost ready icons ordered for the iconostasis of our church.
September 26
On Sunday September the 26th, Fr.Alexander Yavarouski baptized Polina, daughter of Artem and Ekaterina Klyachkin. For the first time in the history of our parish, this sacrament was performed during the Liturgy of Baptism.
September
Starting from September, the Sunday catechism for children is reactivated in our parish. The lessons are given by Judith Hermans and Igor Luchko.
November
Early November new icons were installed in our iconostasis. The icons were painted in the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England.
November 14
On Saturday November the 14th, our parish celebrated its main feast - the day of St. Apostle and Evangelist Matthew. By tradition, the Divine Liturgy was presided by Mgr Simon, archbishop of Brussels and Belgium. Many priests and deacons from other Orthodox parishes of Belgium and The Netherlands concelebrated to him. This day many other good things happened. First, archpriest Silouan Osseel presented us a part of the relics of St Silouan the Athonite. Second, the new icons of our iconostasis were consecrated. The last but not the least event was the ordination of Igor Luchko as deacon, and Victor Yudin - as reader.
As usual, the parish feast was complemented by a meal and a little concert prepared by the parishioners.
November 22-24
November 22-24, the Orthodox Youth in Belgium celebrated its 14th Youth Weekend. The Meeting took place in "De Kluis" youth residence in Sint-Joris-Weert. The meeting theme was "The Holy Trinity in Our Life". The key-note speaker was Dr. Konstantinos Kenanidis, head of the Orthodox Academy of Crete.
More about OJB-JOB: ojb-job.blogspot.com.
December 12
On December 12 a requiem service was held in Aarschot, in memory of Ekaterina Voronkina who passed away a year ago.
December 25
On December 25, on Christmas day, Mgr Simon presided the Divine Liturgy in our parish. He also ordained Victor Yudin as deacon. This event gathered many guests, amongst others priests and deacons from other Orthodox parishes in Belgium.
