Fader Jonathan Cowleys besøk

Vi hadde den store glede å få fader Jonathan Cowleys og hustru på besøk under Maria og Gautes vielse i kirken lørdag 11.november. Han sendte deretter ut en beretning om besøket på sitt ukentlige menighetsbrev som ligger vedlagt her. Det var spesielt hyggelig å få besøk av en prest fra vårt eget bispedømme. Vi ser fram til videre kontakt.

Det britiske prostiets hjemmeside: archdiocesegbi.com

St Hallvard’s Orthodox Church, Oslo (11th November 2023)

This past weekend, my wife and I visited Oslo for the wedding of Gaute and Maria at the Orthodox church of St Hallvard. Maria is a friend of a number of us, as she briefly studied at Sheffield University a number of years ago. Returning to her home in Norway, she has since met and now married Gaute and we of course wish them many years in their marriage. It was a great honour to serve at the marriage service with the rector of the parish, Fr Olav Lerseth

It was very interesting to hear the hymns, litanies and scripture readings in Norwegian, which to my ear sounded not dissimilar to Old English when it is read aloud.

The parish of St Hallvard is a community within our own Archdiocese under Metropolitan Jean. The priest-in-charge Fr Olav has served there since the parish’s beginnings in 2012 when the community was established by Archbishop Gabriel of blessed memory. The services are almost entirely in Norwegian and the choir is led by Fr Olav’s wife, Matushka Mari. Currently, the church uses an old “prayer house,” which is a Protestant chapel originally intended for use by small communities without clergy. The prayer house has been beautifully converted with large icons commissioned and then flown over from Georgia. Among the icons are those of Norway’s three Orthodox saints: Hallvard the martyr, King Olav, and Sunniva – an Irish princess who settled in Western Norway.

Fr Olav and matushka Mari were very welcoming to Catalina and I at the service and also at the wedding reception afterwards and our prayers are with their community as it continues to grow.

Fader Jonathan Cowley