Easter Candles

Handmade Easter Candles for men and women for boys and girls you can be found in our church entrance for the Resurrection!!

Thank you

Missing Person

Beloved in the Lord,


The Archdiocese has been approached by Police Officers of the Met. Police [Missing Persons Department] with regards to a male by the name of Ioannis OIKONOMOPOULOS who is currently missing from the Ilford area, London since February 2020. He is a Greek national and his family remain in Greece desperately seeking answers into his disappearance.


If you have any information, please contact PC Rebecca Coster who is handling the case:

PC Rebecca Coster 4659EA
Missing Persons
East Area BCU (Redbridge, Havering, Barking & Dagenham)
T: 0203 2761066
M: 07827663716
A: Romford Police Station, 19 Main Road, Romford, RM1 3BJ
Email:EAMailbox-.PublicProtectionMISPER@met.police.uk

With prayerful wishes and thanks for your gracious cooperation,
Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain

Two Diocesan Events

Orthodox Youth Festival 2023

Would you like to explore your faith with other like-minded young Orthodox people?

Every year the Orthodox Fellowship of St John the Baptist (OFSJB) organises a festival to bring together young Orthodox people (ages 18 - 40 approx) from all over the world to explore the Orthodox faith in a fun and relaxing environment.
You can look forward to engaging lectures, discussions, prayer, fellowship, great food, and incredible memories with friends new and old!
The theme of this year's Festival is "Scripture under an Orthodox lens" and will take place on 26-29 May at the Othona Community, on the beautiful Essex coast near Bradwell-on-Sea.


We have some great speakers lined up, including Father Andrew Stephen Damick from Ancient Faith radio! In addition to the talks, you can expect daily morning and evening prayers, nice strolls by the seaside, a beach campfire, a Divine Liturgy on Sunday, and other social activities you can take part of if you would like, but also plenty of free time to just enjoy the surroundings and relax or sit around and talk to others attendees.


You do not need to have a deep understanding of the Orthodox faith, but we hope you have an open mind and are curious to learn more about it.
If you're interested in coming, please click 'going' on the Facebook event and sign up using this form here.
https://fb.me/e/2IZmMqLWu
The application form can be found here:
https://www.cognitoforms.com/OFSJBYouth/OrthodoxYouthFestival2023ScriptureUnderAnOrthodoxLens
Please contact ofsjbyouthuk@gmail.com with any queries and to stay updated about future events, and we hope to see you there!


With love in Christ,
The OFSJB Festival Committee
Anastaziia, Maria,Nicole, Andreas and Daniel

Patriarchal Catechetical Homily

Beloved in the Lord,

Please find attached the Patriarchal Catechetical Homily at the Opening of Holy and Great Lent, in English and Greek.

Wishing you a blessed Holy and Great Lent,
The Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain

Carnival Party 2023

This year's Carnival party will take place in Peppard War Memorial Hall (Gallowstree Rd, Peppard Common, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 5JA) on 18th February 2023 at 16:30-19:30 and you are all invited!
The tickets are £15.45 for Adults and £10.45 for children. Entry is FREE for children under the age of of 5 years old.
The tickets include:

• Entry to the event
• A dish with 1 souvlaki, 1 sausage, bread, salad and tzatziki
• A glass of wine for the adults (white or red) and a glass of fruit juice for the children.
• Kids portions available for the free tickets

Music, DJ, fun activities for everyone, and a raffle with many and big prizes!
There will be a best costume competition for both adults and children so please start planning for your costumes!
The tickets are available to buy via Paypal and will be on first come first serve basis.
All profits will go towards buying a new building to house our church and Greek school. We are looking forward to seeing you all there!
From the church committee.

Dearly Beloved,
We are delighted to invite you to the Feast of the 3 Hierarchs, Greek Letters Day celebration, on Monday 30th January 2023, at the Greek Orthodox Community of the Holy Cross and St Michael in Golders Green, NW11 8HL at 19.00.
From the Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain

Christmas Tree Decoration

The Christmas Tree Festival that was organised by St Mark's church last Saturday the 17th was very successful. The readings were inspiring, the choirs sang beautifully and the choice of carols was popular. Our tree won second prize and Sonia was thanked for the joke she told and the message implied in it and in her reading of 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Thanks to Katerina Skoulatou, Fay and Sonia for their efforts.

Christmas Service

Dear all, This year's Christmas service will take place on Saturday 24th December at 21:00. After the service a small buffet will follow in the church with finger food and a drink. If anyone would like to contribute towards this small buffet, please let us know. We are looking forward seeing you all on Saturday and to celebrate Christmas together!
Everyone is welcome!

(Please note that the next Service will be on Sunday 1st January 2023 at 10:30 as per usual.)

Note

Please note that some of our printed programmes are out of date. The service on the 25th Dec is a Serbian one. There will be a Greek service on the evening of the 24th. For more details, please see the up-to-date programme linked from our "Services" page.

St. Andrew's Day celebration — Surrey

End of Year Party 2022 - Reading

The Greek Community of Reading and the Greek Orthodox Church of Prophet Elias, Reading, after a successful series of events in the years 2021 and 2022, and as part of our continuous effort to bring the Greeks or Reading together and strengthen our community, is inviting you to our Annual Christmas Party on Friday, 30th of December at 19:00 in The Chequers Hotel, Newbury (6-8 Oxford Street, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1JB).

More details here

Buy Tickets:

Councelling for Greek students

Christmas Bazaar 2022

Dear all,
After last year's success and after popular demand we are organising another exciting Christmas Bazaar! Our aim is to buy in the near future a church that we can own instead of renting as well as a permanent building for the Greek school. Therefore we would like to invite everyone to join and help us achieve this! Our first fundraising event for this year will be on Sunday 20th November 2022 after the service where for approx. 2 hours (13:00-15:00) we will be hosting a Christmas bazaar at the church's hall. We are looking for both donations for stock (excluding electrical appliances and bedding) to sell and for people to visit and help us raise funds. If you would like to help our church and Greek school, please contact us either on our FB page or by email to president@propheteliasreading.com .
Thank you very much and we are looking forward seeing you all there!

Patriarchal Visit

St Sophrony Summer Camp

Beloved in the Lord,

Christ is Risen!

With great joy we announce to you the opening of enrolment to the Archdiocesan "St. Sophrony Camp". Camp Saint Sophrony is part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain children and youth ministries. The purpose of the camp is to bring children from across the Archdiocese together for a fun-filled week of outdoor activity in an Orthodox Christian setting.

For more information and to register, please click here.

With many thanks for your assistance in promoting our summer ministry for our youth,
From the office of the Sacred Archdiocese

Patronal feast of the Prophet Elias

Dear all,

On 17th July 2022 we celebrated our Patronal Feast (Prophet Elias) and we had the honour of having with us His Grace Bishop of Ilion Raphael and Madam Mayoress of Reading, Cllr Rachel Eden, for which we are grateful.

On behalf of the Committee of Prophet Elias of Reading, we wish to thank you all most sincerely for supporting us with your kind contributions and help on the day.

Please note that our church will remain closed until 4th September.

Thank you everyone for your continuous help and support towards our community, church and Greek school and we are looking forward seeing you all again in September!

Have a lovely summer holiday everyone!

From the Committee

Triathlon Sponsorship

Dear all,

Mr. George Papadopoulos will be competing at Staffordshire’s Ironman 70.3 triathlon race on 12 July 2022, in order to raise money to support the Greek Orthodox community of Reading, which strives to support the continuation of the Greek and Orthodox heritage and values! Please donate and circulate, for this noble cause. We would like to thank George from the bottom of our hearts and wish him good luck on his triathlon!!!

From the Committee

Click Here to Sponsor George!

Paschal services

• Wednesday 20th April at 19:00 — Holy Unction, Bridegroom
• Thursday 21st April at 10:30 — Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil (The Last Supper)
• Thursday 21st April at 19:00 — Passion Matins (The 12 Gospels)
• Friday 22nd April at 10:30 — Royal Hours, The Taking down from the Cross
• Friday 22nd April at 19:00 — Lamentations
• Saturday 23rd April at 10:30 — Vesperal Liturgy (First Resurrection)
• Saturday 23rd April at 23:00 — Resurrection Matins, Divine Liturgy
• Sunday 24rd April at 13:00 — Vespers of Love

Reading Half-Marathon

Dear all,

please note that the Reading half marathon is on next Sunday 3rd April,
which might cause delays on your way to the service, so you might need
to find alternative routes.

You can find more information about the Reading marathon route and road
closures here:

https://www.reading.gov.uk/leisure/things-to-do/events/reading-half-marathon/

The Church service will be run as normal, commencing at 10:30.

Additional services

Dear all,
Leading to Easter the following evening services will take place, so please add them in your diaries:

- Wednesday 16th March at 18:00 - Pre-Sanctified Gifts Service.
- Friday 25th March at 18:00 - Service of Evangelismos and 3rd Salutations
- Friday 8th April at 18:00- Akathist Hymn Service

Subscriptions

Dear all,

This is just a reminder that our Annual Membership Donations for 2022 are due, so if you haven't already paid, please try to do so as soon as possible. Please remember that this is the only source of income for our Church and it is absolutely crucial that everybody supports it, as it is the only means we have to pay for current expenses. We do not receive any support either from GR/UK government, the Archdiocese or the Patriarchate. In addition, we have set a target to buy our own building so that the Church and the School are able to operate properly so this makes it even more important. The Annual Membership Donation is only £30 per family and £15 per individual for the whole year. Concessions can be considered for those in financial hardship. If anybody wants to raise his contribution beyond the above numbers, it will be most welcome and duly appreciated!

Please fill in the attached form and don't forget to indicate if you are a UK taxpayer so that our Church benefits from Gift Aid. If you have already paid your contribution, please ignore this email.

God Bless you All!

The Committee

Carnival Party

Dear all,

This year's Carnival party will take place in Peppard War Memorial Hall (Gallowstree Rd, Peppard Common, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 5JA) on 6th March 2022 at 16:30 and you are all invited! The tickets are £15 for Adults and £10 for children. Entry is free for children under the age of of 5 years old.

The tickets include:

• Entry to the event
• A dish with 2 souvlakia, bread, salad and tzatziki
• A glass of wine for the adults (white or red) and a glass of fruit juice for the children.
• Smaller portions for the free tickets

Music, DJ, fun activities for everyone, face painting and a raffle with many and big prizes from our very generous sponsors like Chequers Hotel Newbury, Bell & Dragon, Tasty Greek Souvlaki, Electric Salon, Cocoon Salon, Crown Plaza, Cup, Brown!

There will be a best costume competition for both adults and children so please start planning for your costumes!

The tickets are available to buy via bank transfer and will be on first come first serve basis. For more details please visit one of the links below, or use the form at the end of this message.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2171323786348207/?ref=newsfeed https://www.tickettailor.com/events/greekorthodoxcommunityofreading/648949?fbclid=IwAR3h-EN1auUyqb01jfcZXRngFNqCuD9o_vonVQko9aRyvpCY37s42nvHjYc

All profits will go towards buying a new building to house our church and Greek school.

We are looking forward seeing you all there!

From the church committee.

Tickets:

Saturday of Souls

Dear all,
as on the Saturday of the Souls (27th February) there is no Greek service, the given names will be read on the Sunday 20th February and on 6th March. Please do not send/ give your names twice for both Sundays as they all will be read on both Sundays be default. For those who cannot attend these Sundays please send the names of your deceased by email to president@propheteliasreading.com.
The committee.

Chant Lessons

Dear all,
From Saturday 19th February 2022 and every Saturday onwards at 18:30 (until further notice) we will be hosting free Byzantine music online lessons via Zoom. For anyone interested please contact us.
The Committee

Coffee After the Liturgy

Volunteer Urgently needed

The coffee gatherings after the liturgy are a vital part of our liturgical life as a community. We not only socialise with each other, meet and welcome newcomers, but we also chat with Fr Andreas and Fr Ian for guidance or for asking questions about the service and about our Christian life in general.
To resume these valuable coffee gatherings, we urgently need a volunteer or more who are willing to administer serving the coffee and clean afterwards. These volunteers do not need to prepare anything ahead of time. The food will be left in the kitchen for them to serve.
For the Church to run smoothly, members of the community are invited to help wherever they can. Please contact the president (president@propheteliasreading.com), if you can help as an administrator at the hall for serving the coffee after the liturgy. Thank you.

A Love Letter for Future Generations & RBC Pension Funds Disinvestment

Dear All

This February, Reading Area Green Christians are inviting churches across Berkshire to write 'a love letter for future generations' - campaign letters or postcards to persuade our local councils' pension fund to divest from fossil fuels. At present £27 million of the Berkshire Pension Fund is invested this way. Those fuels need to stay in the ground if we are to avoid the worst affects of climate change. One of the councillors responsible has told us he is keen that divestment should happen, but unless councillors hear from constituents that they want this action, it will be difficult to achieve.

So - please support those councillors keen to protect future generations by divestment and join this campaign. If you do act on this, please could you drop us a line at the email address below so that we have a good sense of how this campaign is going,

many thanks
Joanna on behalf of RAGC

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Happy New 2022!!
We would like to thank everyone who celebrated with us the traditional Vasilopita cutting last Sunday. A special thank you to Mrs Sonia Khuri for making the delicious Vasilopita.
See photos.
The committee

Church Heating

Dear all,

Our church's heating system has broken down and we are hoping that it will be fixed by this Sunday 30th Jan 2022. However, please bear in mind that it might not be, so please wear warmer clothes if possible. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
The committee

Coffee & Cakes

Dear all,
Due to the recent relaxation of Covid-19 regulations, we will once again be serving coffee and cakes after the service, starting from our service on 30 Jan.
The commitee

Coffee & Cakes

Dear all,
Due to the increasing rates of Covid-19 infections, we will have to suspend our coffee and cakes after the service until further notice.
The services will continue as normal.
The commitee

Christmas Service

Dear all,
Our Christmas service will take place on 24th December at 16:30.
We intend to have a small buffet (everyone is welcome to bring some finger food too) after the service and we would like to invite everyone to stay, have a bite and wish each other Merry Christmas!🎄🎁

Sunday 5 Dec Service

Hello all,
Please note that the service this Sunday, the 5th of December, will be at the later time of 11am.

Movement for good

Hello all,
Please nominate and help our church. Click on the link below and fill in your details, as it will be a great help towards our church!
Movement for good - Nominate a charity to receive £1000 from Ecclesiastical

Message from the President of the Hellenic Republic to Greeks of the diaspora on the occasion of the two hunder years since the Greek Revolution.

Click here