Chancellery Announces Schedule of Live Spiritual Talks with Bishop Irenei Over the Coming Weeks

13 May, 2020 | General News and Events

In light of the ongoing restrictions in effect in many places throughout our Diocese, His Grace Bishop Irenei has agreed to continue the programme of live-streamed spiritual talks that began during Great Lent. Six such public talks were held before Holy Pascha, followed by an extensive series of private video conversations with parishes throughout the Diocese in the weeks since the Feast of Feasts.

As COVID-19 related restrictions on movement and public gatherings take their first, tentative steps towards being lifted in some of the nations of our Diocese, in others they remain firmly in place at the present moment. For this reason, Vladyka Irenei has agreed to continue with an expanded programme of on-line live talks, so that ongoing social isolation need not be a cause for an absence of spiritual instruction, conversation and nourishment.

The programme of talks for the coming weeks (the remainder of May) is as follows:

On Facebook live-streaming:

  • Friday, 15th May, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “The spirit of Pascha and the transformation of our day-to-day spiritual lives.”
  • Monday, 18th May, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “How to maintain faith in a world of doubt.”
  • Friday, 22nd May, 7.00 p.m. BST. (Summer feastday of St Nicholas the Wonderworker.) Theme: “Learning from St Nicholas: Returning to the fundamentals of true Christian life.”
  • Monday, 25th May, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “What is Christian obedience? How to gain the virtues of Christ.”
  • Friday, 29th May, 7.00 p.m. BST. (Afterfeast of the Ascension.) Theme: “How do I acquire a peaceful heart?”

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:

Additionally, we have also scheduled two more intimate talks with the Bishop, which will utilise Zoom, allowing participants to speak directly to His Grace to ask questions, etc. (see a note below on how to receive the necessary ‘invitation’ link to access these talks):

  • Wednesday, 20th May, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “What it means to be children of the Cross: How to embrace suffering.”
  • Tuesday, 26th May, 7.00 p.m. BST. Theme: “What are ‘passions’, and how do I conquer them?”

* Important Note: 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 majority of 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.