Ash Wednesday falls on Wednesday 2nd March this year.

There will be a service of Holy Communion (by extension) and Imposition of Ashes at 10:30am on that day.

The Thursday morning Holy Communion on 3rd March is CANCELLED.

The Congregation carefully observing Covid restrictions

Sunday 19^th September 2021 marked a new beginning in the life of St. Andrew’s Anglican/Episcopalian Church in Kyrenia when Archbishop Michael Lewis, Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf, licensed the Revd Fr Michael Graham as Priest-in-Charge (SSM) of the parish.

A church full to the limits permitted by Covid restrictions witnessed Fr Michael’s licensing and joined together after the service for some socially distanced light refreshments in the church grounds.

Fr Michael and his wife Janet had finally managed to return to the TRNC after a Covid-enforced absence of over 18 months. Having served as Locum in St. Andrew’s following the departure of the former Chaplain, Fr Michael will now take up this new post for a period of two years.

Ordained in the Church of Ireland in 1995 Fr Michael was previously Incumbent of Drogheda, Ardee and Kilsaran Unions of Parishes in the Diocese of Armagh. He and Janet moved to the TRNC in January of 2016 and have a home in Ozanköy where they will continue to live due to the unavailability of the Chaplaincy accommodation, the Hermitage.

“We are delighted to be back in our Cyprus home and it’s good to see so many faces, familiar and new, here with us in St. Andrew’s this morning.” said Fr Michael. “As Archbishop Michael said to us in his sermon we should see what we should do, know what we should do and above all do what we should do for the whole of the community in which we live. That is the challenge we face, and I look forward to working with everyone in the parish to make that a reality.”

The Choir

Mr Leo Igwe reads the Lesson

Archbishop Michael reads The Preface

The Preface, read by the Archbishop

The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church worshipping the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the holy scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation.  Led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies.

In the declaration you are about to make, will you affirm your loyalty to this inheritance of faith as your inspiration and guidance under God in bringing the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and making him known to those in your care?

The Declaration of Assent is read to the Congregation

Declaration of Assent

I, Michael Graham about to be licensed by the Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf do solemnly make the following Declaration: I assent to the Statement of Doctrine and Worship contained in the constitution of the Provincial Synod of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.  I believe the Doctrine as therein set forth to be agreeable to Holy Scripture and the Catholic Creeds.  And in public prayer and the administration of the sacraments I will use only such forms of service as shall be permitted by lawful authority.

Fr Michael takes the Oath of Canonical Obedience

Oath of Canonical Obedience

I, Michael Graham do swear by Almighty God that I will pay true and canonical obedience to the Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf and his successors in all things lawful and honest.

Fr Michael receives the License

The License

Michael Augustine Owen, by Divine Permission Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf to Our beloved in Christ

MICHAEL GRAHAM

Greeting.

We do by these presents give and grant unto you in whose fidelity, morals, learning, sound doctrine and diligence We do fully confide Our licence and authority and now institute you to exercise the office of Priest in Charge of St Andrew’s Church Kyrenia within our diocese and jurisdiction in reading the common prayers, in administering the sacraments, in preaching the word of GOD, and performing other ecclesiastical duties belonging to the said office according to the form prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer or such forms of service as shall be permitted by lawful authority, you having first made the Oath and Declaration which in this case are required.

Provided always that this our licence may be revoked by us at our pleasure.

In witness whereof We have hereunto set our hand and caused Our episcopal seal which we use in this behalf to be hereto affixed this Nineteenth day of September in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty One in the Twenty Second year of our consecration and of our translation the Fourteenth.

The Congregation watch the receipt of the Licence

Antigen tests can be made free of charge in laboratories authorized by the Ministry of Health by clicking  here: https://basvuru.lab.gov.ct.tr/?signup=true

By following the directions given by the system, laboratory guidance will be made for the necessary antigen test.

If required the documents of the rapid antigen test results can be obtained from http://covid-19.gov.ct.tr by entering the barcode number, identity or passport information and the document of the report can be obtained as a PDF.

It would appear from the latest communication from the government’s Communicable Diseases High Committee dated 12/04/22 that “Places of Worship” have been removed from the locations where Adapass checks must be made before entry.

In addition, the regulation stipulating the maximum floor area of premises which may be used has been removed, together with the requirement for social distancing. Mask, hygiene and disinfection rules should still be adhered to.

This means that we can replace the seats which were removed from the church and begin the slow process of getting back to some sort of normality.

However, we will still continue to administer Holy Communion in the way we have been doing lately: people are asked to come to the front of the church individually to receive the communion wafer which they should then dip in the wine (intinct) if they wish to receive in both kinds.

* Please see https://saglik.gov.ct.tr/TRAVEL-RULES for the latest information regarding criteria for travel and entry to venues..

Unfortunately due to the increasing number of Covid cases and the tightening up of Government regulations it has been decided to cancel church services in St. Andrew’s for the foreseeable future.

Please continue to consult the St Andrew’s Church website for updates. 

To mark the beginning of Lent there will be Holy Communion with imposition of Ashes on Wednesday 6th March at 10 am.

Lent can, if we let it, summons us from the safe harbours of our lives into a wide expanse of existence. Part of the point of deciding to lay things down, or to take things up (depending on the decisions we make as Lent begins) is that in doing so we make our lives unfamiliar, even if only in a small way. We check ourselves as we reach for those familiar safety devices like chocolate or alcohol and challenge ourselves into a less familiar response. What we “do” for Lent is far less important than who we become. Who are you becoming this Lent? What have you learnt about yourself and about God that is transforming you? What wilderness experience do you need to encounter for God to transform you, our church and our world? 

This year at St. Andrew’s we invite you to experience Lent not as a season of restriction but one of wide open spaciousness in which to learn new lessons, to grow in faith and to give God the chance to meet us in new ways.

In Lent we remember especially the depth of despair laid out before Jesus and he still chose to go. His whole life and ministry was summed up by the choices he made in the wilderness when tempted by the devil. He could have chosen the easy way but instead he chose the hard way. He could have chosen the way that brought personal honour and praise but instead he chose the way brought love and compassion. He could have chosen grandeur and comfort, but instead chose to live alongside those who had nothing. He saw and knew exactly what he chose but he still said: “Let me go there”.

Come with us and Jesus as we take time to enter the wilderness and hear the challenge to come and follow him. The question is, whether we, like him, can echo those words: “Let me go there”.

Our Lent Study Course this year, which started early, takes place each Thursday from 14th February to 11th April, following the mid-week Holy Communion service at 10.00 am and is a study of the Epistle of James. Click here for more details.

Also for Lent the beautiful evening service of Compline will be said each Sunday evening at 6:00pm in the church. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, and certain other Christian denominations with liturgical traditions all prescribe Compline, which is a contemplative service that emphasizes spiritual peace.