The monastic and liturgical life at Rocks Farm started in 2006, when Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh blessed nun Martha to live at the property at Rocks Farm and later on blessed parish Fr David Smith to serve here.

Four years have passed since then and by a Decree of the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Sourozh on 10 September 2010 the Sisterhood of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia was established.

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Our community is international, we have English, Scottish and Irish, Germans, Greeks, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Romanians and, of course, Russians. We use two languages, Slavonic and English, almost equally in the singing, with the priest's prayers mostly in English. This is acceptable to everybody because all can then understand and participate.

The services are now becoming more regular. Our parish priest Fr. David Smith celebrates the Divine Liturgy every first and second Sunday of each month and on most of the twelve great feasts.

During Great Lent we had services every day during the first week, with the reading of Great Canon of Andrew of Crete, and Liturgies were served on three of Sundays of the Fast. From Lazarus Saturday to the Sunday of Pascha inclusive, we had the great blessing of celebrating all the appointed services daily, morning and evening. The Holy Unction Service was also served on Great Wednesday.

In 2009 we had a special celebration when the relics of Saint Elizabeth and her companion and fellow-martyr, the Nun Barbara were brought to us by our Archbishop Elisey.

We are a missionary community. Most of the people attending services have rather little experience of regular church life. Many have only recently become Orthodox Christians and some are still preparing to take this great step. We welcome, of course, members of other denominations who are interested in Orthodoxy and wish to attend our services. Our priests, nuns and readers are ready to help people who require information about Orthodox teaching and practice.

During the Great Fast, a course of talks explaining the background of the Orthodox services was delivered by one of our members, John Harwood, a specialist in Church History. The course took place in the Greek Orthodox church in St. Leonards' and was very well attended.

Our community welcomes pilgrims and helpers who can contribute to work on our farm, participate in preparing the services, help with the church decoration, cooking, cleaning and other duties. Young people are encouraged to work for the community in this way. They find the experience not only beneficial for their souls, but also quite enjoyable. Usually they are given various tasks in the garden, around the ponds and in the fields. The spiritual and monastic atmosphere of the community, the fresh air and the beauty of the surrounding nature are a blessing for every visitor.

Our community takes special care of the choir, trying hard to improve its performance. The arrival of an experienced choir mistress, Alexandra Livchak, made a real difference; our choir sounds now more spiritual and professional. For bigger feasts we usually have visiting singers from the London Cathedral who enrich our choir further. Everybody is welcome to join the choir and participate in its regular practices.

The tradition has been established in our community to invite everybody for "trapeza" - dinner, lunch or tea - after each service. The food prepared with love and prayer unites the community and creates a joyful and domestic atmosphere where everybody feels at home. During these meals people have the opportunity to share their spiritual experiences, discuss their problems and to ask informally any questions of Father David, who is our friendly, caring and enthusiastic shepherd.

Our community undertook a number of pilgrimages to some of the holy places in South East England: to the Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, to the holy sites at Canterbury and to Battle. We are planning more pilgrimages in the years to come, not only to venerate local Anglo-Saxon saints but also hopefully to visit places connected to the life of Saint Elizabeth in England, Germany and Russia. See more information about Holy Places in Britain in our section Pilgrimages.