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The chapel
Sunday 25th July, 2010 was a
very special day at the Chapel. Father Paul officiated at
the marriage of his daughter, Frances, to Andrew.
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The bride and her father, Father
Paul, before the ceremony.
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The bride, her brother, who 'gave
her away' and Father Paul
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On May 30th, 2010 the second wedding, of Ania and
Chris, was another splendid occasion; this time featuring an RAF
guard of honour of helicopter pilots.
The first
wedding, of Ludmilla and Paul, to take place in the chapel was celebrated on
Sunday, 11th April, 2010. Father Paul conducted the Russian Orthodox
wedding ceremony.
The renovation of the chapel began in April, 2009
following a considerable period of neglect. Father Paul
and his parishioners have taken responsibility for the chapel on
a twenty five year lease. To date, they have raised
£50,000. This money has been used to transform the chapel
and provide a kitchen and disabled facilities.
On Saturday, 18th July, 2009,
the church was dedicated to St Elisabeth the New Martyr.
St Elisabeth was the grand daughter of Queen Victoria who
married into the Russian Royal Family. Her husband, the Grand
Duke Serge, was assassinated in 1905. She then became a
nun, founding a convent which supported the poor of Moscow.
Elisabeth was arrested in 1917 and murdered by the Bolsheviks at
Alpaevsk on July 6th (July 18th in the modern calendar) 1918.
She was made a saint in 1981 and is buried in the Russian
Orthodox convent in Jerusalem.
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Part of the ceremony, at the
eastern end of the new church |
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The monthly Walks & Talks now
start and end at the church which gives an opportunity to see
the changes that have taken place. In addition, the church
is available for weddings, baptisms and funerals or memorial
services, if required. Now that the church has been
established, there is a Sunday Liturgy (Mass) at 9.30 am every
Sunday and vespers most Saturday evenings at about 4.30 pm.
There will be occasional weekday services such as Good Friday
(afternoon) or Orthodox Christmas (January 7th) and a midnight
service for Pascha (Easter). The congregation fluctuates
between 15 and 20 people, although for special services, such as
Pascha, or a visiting Archbishop, there could be as many as 60
in attendance. The parishioners are mainly Russian,
Ukranian and Lithuanian people from all over Merseyside, plus
British converts.
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The chapel before renovation
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The new interior
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