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The Dean's Pageclick above for a link to the Dean's Article Page
Fr Michael Harper and his wife Jeanne (Photo: Michael Denman, by kind permission) email Fr Michael at:- mailto:aslanharper@clara.co.uk ************ The Dean's Welcome It is a great joy to welcome you to the Deanery web-site. Many years ago I was involved in Christian work just as the tape-recorder became commonly used. That dates me a bit! I remember my wife and me in our small flat in London forever surrounded by whirling recorders (it was before the cassettes came in) - making copies to send all over the country. Now we are in the age of the internet, and what a wonderful invention! But, alas, like everything else it can be used for the devil as well as for God. By it one can spread the good news of Jesus Christ more widely, and the depravity of pornography. Two things I want to say by way of introduction. Our Deanery site is pledged to provide accurate and attractive information about the Orthodox Church. In the West there is widespread ignorance about our Church, its history and its teaching. We hope those who visit this site will find this information enriching as well as informing. Secondly, it is now well known that many of those who become Orthodox refer to it as "coming home". It certainly was for my wife and me a good way of describing our experience. Let me illustrate this from another experience my wife and I had some years ago. In 1998 we sold our house in Sussex, where we had lived for eighteen years and moved to another one in Cambridge. Everyone will tell you this can be one of the most difficult and painful experiences in life. It is not easy to move homes. Quite apart from the tensions of buying and selling, there is also an emotional factor. So it usually is when we become Orthodox. It is never easy, but it is a thousand times worth it. There is no doubt that interest is growing in the Orthodox Church, and it has been my joy to lead a number to our Church, and to welcome them "- home". We are sometimes accused of "sheep stealing". I am glad to say we haven't got time for that! We are too busy helping the many enquirers, who write or phone us. For those who visit our site, and read what is presented here, I hope our priests and lay people will never be too busy to help. It is our joy to do so. A new venture, The British Antiochian Orthodox Deanery was set up in 1995, but it is a part of the Church which goes back to the Apostles. In the Acts of the Apostles we are told that it was in the city of Antioch where people were first called "Christian". Our first Bishop was St Peter (before he travelled to Rome), and our beloved Patriarch Ignatius IV is his successor in a direct line. The Deanery is called "British" because all our communities are in the United Kingdom, and all our services are basically in English. That does not mean we do not welcome Orthodox from other cultures and languages. Our arms are open to all Orthodox. With the exception of Holy Cross and St George's in London, all our communities are dedicated to British saints. Of course even St George is British by adoption, and we all regard the cathedral in London as ours! Having said all this, there is growing co-operation between the various parts of the Orthodox Church. One exciting development, that I am personally involved in is the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge University. Please let me know if you would like further information about it. The Institute offers various courses in Orthodox Christianity at different levels suitable to each person and his / her situation. Father Michael Harper |
