Pastoral Greeting from our bishop on the Reception of the Halifax Community into the Orthodox Church
- Reverend Fr Gregory Hallam
- Sep 2
- 4 min read
Pastoral Greeting
On
the Reception of the Halifax Community into the Orthodox Church
Beloved in Christ,
With great joy in the Lord, I greet you on this blessed occasion and rejoice with the angels and all the saints in heaven, for God has brought you, dear brothers and sisters, from Hope Church, Halifax, into the embrace of St Hilda’s Orthodox Church, and thereby into the fullness of the life of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
Your journey has been guided by the Holy Spirit, who, as the hymn of Pentecost proclaims, “called all to unity.” You have sought not your own will, but the truth of Christ handed down through the Apostles, the Fathers, and the living tradition of the Church. This is a blessed pilgrimage, one that does not end today, but rather begins anew in the harbour of salvation.
The Holy Church is often described as a ship sailing through the waves of this world. She is the Ark of Noah, in which humanity is saved from the flood of sin and death. She is also the ship of the Apostles, upon which the Lord Himself calms the storms and brings His disciples safely to shore. Today you board this canonical ship of the Orthodox Church, under the protection of the Patriarchate of Antioch, that ancient Apostolic See where the disciples of Christ were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
On this day, we must give thanks for the faithful witness of your pastor, Doug Clark. Through his prayer, teaching, and love for Christ, he has sought not his own glory, but only that you, his flock, may walk in the truth. Like the Apostle Paul, he can say: “I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). By his courage and humility, the Lord has brought this whole community into the embrace of His Holy Church.
Your pastor, Doug Clark, together with you as a community, has shown courage and humility in taking this step. Like the fishermen who left their nets when the Lord said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19), you have left behind familiar ways, trusting that in Christ you shall find the pearl of great price.
The Holy Church receives you today not as strangers, but as her very own children. You are grafted fully into the Body of Christ, nourished henceforth by the Holy Mysteries, strengthened by the prayers of the saints, and guided by the unbroken witness of the Apostles.
This day marks not an end, but a beginning: the beginning of your life in the fulness of the Orthodox Church. With humility, perseverance, and joy, continue in prayer, in fasting, in love for one another, and in the worship of the Holy Trinity. Remember always the words of our Lord: “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4).
I say this clearly: I, together with all the clergy of this God-protected Archdiocese, welcome you as a living part of the Body of Christ. You are not merely joining a parish but are being embraced as family into the fullness of our Archdiocese and of the Orthodox Church.
I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Father Gregory Hallam, who with joy undertook the responsibility of catechising and teaching each of you in this new community. He will continue to guide you until, in due time, you are blessed with your own priest. Nor must we forget those who have stood beside him in this holy labour: the priests, deacons, chanters, and servers of our Manchester parish of St Aidan, who have offered themselves in love and service to you. Their example reminds us that the life of the Church is never an individual effort, but always a work of communion.
We are also deeply grateful to our brethren in the Roman Catholic Church, and in particular to Monsignor Father Michael McQuinn and to his bishop, the Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Catholic Bishop of Leeds, for their generous and warm hospitality in sharing with us their magnificent and beautiful church of St Malachy. Their kindness is a true expression of Christian fellowship and of the commandment of our Lord: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
We, the faithful of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in these Isles, welcome you not as strangers but as family, “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19). St Hilda, the patroness of this holy place, herself gathered communities around her in holiness, guiding them to unity in Christ. She now stands with you in prayer as you begin this new chapter of your journey.
May your faith be strengthened, your love for one another increased, and your witness shine brightly in Halifax and beyond. For Orthodoxy is not a treasure to be hidden, but the light of Christ to be shared, that all may taste and see that the Lord is good.
Let us give thanks to God, who has led you home, and let us walk together the narrow way that leads to life, aboard the ship of salvation, until we all reach the safe haven of the Kingdom.
With paternal love, I bless this new community, and I invite all the faithful of our Archdiocese to keep them in their prayers as we journey together on the narrow way that leads to life in Christ.
To Him be glory, with His eternal Father and the All-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Your Father in Christ,
+Silouan
Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
of the British Isles and Ireland
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