Following on from the series of live-streamed spiritual talks held in May, the ongoing impossibility of group gatherings in most places has prompted the continuation of these into the month of June. While, with gratitude to God, COVID10-related restrictions are starting to be lifted in many places, group gatherings for spiritual instruction are still more-or-less impossible; and so Bishop Irenei has agreed to continue with a series of such talks, held live on-line, in these coming weeks.

The talks will follow a more predictable pattern in June: Mondays will be talks on Facebook Live-streaming, which are general public talks with the Bishop, at which a few questions will be addressed at the conclusion via text submission; and on Thursdays will be talks via Zoom, in a more intimate environment with more extensive time for participants to ask questions of Vladyka and speak together about themes in the spiritual life. Please see below for details on accessing these talks.

The programme of talks for June is as follows:

On Facebook Live – Mondays:

  • Monday, 1st June, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “Returning to ‘Obedience’: How to Grow in Christ”
  • Monday, 8th June, 7.00 p.m. BST – Day of the Spirit. Theme: “The Day of the Holy Spirit: the Place of the Spirit in Our ‘Spirituality’”
  • Monday, 15th June, 7.00 p.m. BST – Start of the Apostles Fast. Theme: “What Does it Mean to Be ‘Apostolic’? The Sacred Nature of the Church in the World”
  • Monday, 22nd June, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “TBA”

All of the above talks will be live-streamed via the Facebook Livestream feature, accessible on the dates and times indicated at the Diocese’s official Facebook page.

On Zoom – Thursdays:

  • Thursday, 4th June, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “The Material Creation: The Physical World in Relation to the Holiness of God”
  • Thursday, 11th June, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “Acquiring the Holy Spirit in Prayer”
  • Thursday, 18th June, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “How Can We Be ‘Apostolic’ and Missionary in This World?”
  • Thursday, 25th June, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “What Happens to the Soul After Death”

In order to participate in the more intimate environment of these Zoom talks, you will need to receive an ‘invitation’ link to the scheduled Zoom meetings, organised by the Chancellery. These are sent to those who are on the official e-mail list of the Diocesan web site; so please ensure that you are signed up to that list now (via the subscription form at the very bottom of the front page of this web site), and you will receive the Zoom invitation details directly to your e-mail. (The e-mailing list is not used for any purposes other than notifying subscribers of activities in the Diocese and updates to its web site.)

General Details for the Talks:

  • Timezone: The talks are scheduled for 7.00 p.m. British Summer Time (8.00 p.m. European Time). If participating from other parts of the world, please check the timezone difference between Britain and your location; these differences sometimes shift during summer as differing regions implement ‘Summer Time’ / ‘Daylight Savings Time’ differently.
  • Duration: The talks normally last for 45 minutes, followed by questions — to a total of one hour, or a maximum of one hour thirty minutes if there are a great many questions following the talk itself.
  • Language: These talks will be held in English; questions will be taken in English, Russian and French.
  • Location: The Facebook talks will be accessible as standard livestreams via the Diocese’s official Facebook page; the Zoom talks will use the Zoom interface to provide for a greater degree of interactivity between the participants and the speaker; to access these, please ensure you are subscribed to the Diocesan web site’s main e-mail list (via the subscription form at the very bottom of the web site homepage), and you will be sent an ‘invitation link’ directly to your e-mail.