Another First

Over the last few months at Leeds Trinity & All Saints College there has been a series of public lectures and special talks as part of the inaugural Eastern Christian Studies Seminar series. It began last October with His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, and most recently continued with the Rev. Professor Andrew Louth from the University of Durham. A feature of these seminars is that they are preceded with Vespers in the college chapel. Last Wednesday, for the first time, we had Orthodox Vespers [slightly edited for time!]. This was the first time that they had ever been celebrated here. Another first last summer was Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at which I provided the Schola!

Celebrating Vespers was my good friend Fr David Carnelly. The Deacon was Rev. Professor Matthew Steenberg, who besides being Professor of Theology and Head of Theology & Religious Studies at the college, is also a Deacon in the Russian Orthodox Church.

What made this event extra special was the fact it was the day after the election of the new Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, formerly Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

Here are some photos.