Metropolitan’s Name Day and Ordination of Dmitry
On Sunday, 24th of September – the Feast of St. Thecla the Protomartyr and St Silouan the Athonite – our beloved Metropolitan, His Eminence Silouan, celebrated his name day at our Cathedral parish. During the Divine Liturgy, he ordained brother Dmitry Ismagilov to the holy diaconate. Concelebrating with His Eminence were Fr Samir, Fr Michel, Fr Boniface of our parish, and Fr. Jonathan Hemmings, the priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Parish of Holy Cross in Lancaster. The church was full of faithful, including guests from Lancaster, who came along with Fr Jonathan, to support brother Dmitry, who was a parishioner in their church before moving to London.
In his homily on the occasion of the ordination, Sayedna Silouan spoke of humility as the most important virtue which the newly ordained Father Deacon Dmitry needs to cultivate in his soul. The deacon should serve God, His Church and His people and, in this service, continually grow in humility. His ministry should not be founded on degrees, money or any other measure of earthly success but on the Grace of God, obtained through the sacrament of ordination. Our Lord and God Jesus Christ came to this world humbly, being born in a tiny cave among the animals. Thus, following His perfect example, the clergy should be humble servants of the people of God. It is not the people who serve the clergy, but the clergy who are called by God to serve for the salvation of all people. His Eminence thanked Father Deacon Dmitry’s parents and wife for accepting his decision to give himself to the diaconal ministry. He called on the newly ordained Fr Deacon Dmitry to live his ministry to the highest level of trust and expectation, which is contained in the phrase that we exclaim at the ordination: “He is Worthy!”
At the end of the service, Dr. Samir Hraiki – the Chairman of the Antiochian Orthodox Society of Britain – addressed His Eminence and congregation with a short speech, in which he congratulated Sayedna with the name day and Fr Deacon Dmitry with the ordination. On behalf of the whole parish, Dr Samir presented His Eminence with beautiful flowers, and Fr Dean Dmitry with a colourful book about all monasteries of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Divine Liturgy was followed by a festal lunch at as ever hospitable Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington. There was an abundance of tasty food, and an amazing cake presented jointly to His Eminence, Metropolitan Silouan and Fr Deacon Dmitry, all kindly made by our parishioners. The faithful enjoyed this continuation of the beautiful fellowship. Sayedna and Father Deacon thank all who took part in organising this lunch and, of course, everyone who came to share the joy of the Feast and ordination.
Please find the photos from the service in this online album: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YmThiQzlJH4TzyxqlaROTNlDcPCM65Ka?usp=share_link