William Holoweckyj, son of Ian, Chantal’s brother, and Svitlana, was baptised Russian Orthodox Style last weekend, or rather, since it was a Russian Orthodox affair, when we thought that Ian and Svitlana were bringing William to be baptised, in practice John and Photinia brought James to be baptised. All of the main characters in a Russian Orthodox event are re-named, for the purpose of Church ceremony, after a saint who is related to their date of birth.
We had planned to travel down to London with Andree, but unfortunately Andree was poorly, and so just the two of us travelled down from Rugby to London with Virgin, evicting the couple who had settled comfortably in our booked seats. The person sitting in Andree’s seat was allowed to stay. Unlike our trip to Ian and Svitlana’s wedding when we missed our train, this journey was smooth and uneventful, and we were soon in Knightsbridge, close to the church where the baptism was to take place, meeting up with Steven, Sherry and Daniel, together with Steven’s flatmate Graham, in time for a pub lunch and a pint or so of London Pride.
Ian and Svitlana, accompanied by their friends Olya and Joanne, joined us after phoning to find out where we had settled, and shortly afterwards we walked the short distance to the Russian Orthodox Church where Ian and Svitlana were married last year. At the time of the wedding the Church itself was being renovated, and so the wedding was held in a Chapel at the back of the Church. The renovation was complete and some of us went inside for a look – it was very impressive, colourful and bright, but the baptism was in the Chapel at the rear – I have a sneaking suspicion that this may have been because a significant proportion of the guests were, in the eyes of the Russian Orthodox Church, heathens, what with being Methodists, Anglican, or even non-believers. Having said that, maybe I’m mistaken, since if this was the case, presumably Steven wouldn’t have been allowed to be a Godparent, although his influence was diluted by Olya as the other Godparent, and a member of the Orthodox Church.
In many ways the service was similar to the wedding, lasting about an hour, although in this case, surprisingly, Ian and Svitlana actually had minimal involvement, since the Godparents stood centre stage throughout, Steven holding William/James during the entire ceremony, apart from the immersion by the Priest. Everyone stood throughout, and the ceremony and readings sung or chanted in both Russian and English by the priest, the same priest who married Ian and Svitlana, the cross was signed over all William/James, and Olya and Steven, and the thurible was swung (the smoking ball thingy on chains) with abandon, broadcasting incense laden smoke. A naked William/James was lowered by the priest into the font and liberally splashed with Holy water, and anointed with oil, and, as during the wedding, the participants paraded around the chapel.
Afterwards we all walked in warm spring sunshine to a small Lebanese restaurant, where Ian and Svitlana had booked a private room at the back, and soft drinks, tea and coffee, and a buffet of a variety if sweets and savouries were served. It was a lovely relaxed atmosphere as we all chatted. Olya told me that the parts of the baptisms service read in Russian was actually in a particularly old form of Russian, that even she had difficulty following – a bit like an Anglican service using the King James bible, I suppose.
We all just had time for another pint of London Pride back in the pub where we all met, and I was persuaded to join the other blokes drinking a Jaeger Bomb, something I haven’t imbibed for years, before Chantal and I headed for Euston to catch the train home, leaving the others to continue celebrating. More photos in “Our Recent Photos”
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
