The Ordination of Fr Deacon Christopher Bennigsen to the Priesthood

Report on the Pastoral Visit of His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan to the Parish of St Constantine the Great in York.

Sayendna Silouan visited St Constantine’s on Saturday 21st March for the service of great vespers for the Sunday of St John Climacus.

Following the service, Sayedna spoke to the faithful about the importance of preparing for the Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion, and also on preparing ourselves for heaven, through the tools and gifts of the Church, given to us particularly during Great Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. After his address, the community had a small Lenten meal altogether.

The next day, March 22nd, the Sunday of St John Climacus, Sayedna served the Divine Liturgy with Fr Michael Alexander, Fr Dn David Hoskin and Fr Dn Christopher Bennigsen from the Community of St Constantine, alongside Fr Stavros Bozos from St Aidan’s in Manchester.

During the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence ordained Fr Dn Christopher to the holy priesthood. Sayedna gave an address to the community, focusing on the Church as family. He spoke about how we carry each other’s burdens and grow together in faith. He exhorted Fr Christopher to be a servant of the parish in humility but also to remember that he does not serve alone but with Fr Michael, the parish priest, teaching that the beauty of the Church is in co-operation and harmony, not in competition and division.

After the Divine Liturgy, tea and coffee were served in the chapel followed by a bring-and-share agape meal in the parish hall of the nearby Anglican church, for which we were very grateful to be able to use. In the evening, members of the clergy and their families enjoyed a smaller meal with Sayedna.

We were very blessed to be joined on the day by faithful from across the Archdiocese from our sister parishes and missions in Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Halifax. Here is an album version of the photography.