Because the actual day of the martyrdom of the Holy Grand-Duchess Elizabeth is on Wednesday (18th July) we shall have two celebrations this year. On the 18th there will be a Holy Liturgy at 10 am and on the following Saturday (21st July) - to allow more people to join us - there will be another Liturgy, served by our dear Vladika Archbishop Elisey, followed by a moleben and festal meal.

All our friends, supporters and neighbours are warmly invited to these joyful celebrations.

May the Lord grant us many bleesings on these days.

Jesus did not live with his disciples after his resurrection as he had before his death. Filled with the glory of his divinity, he appeared at different times and places to his people, assuring them that it was he, truly alive in his risen and glorified body. Read more >>>

The Holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, was a native of Cappadocia (a district in Asia Minor), and he grew up in a deeply believing Christian family. His father had accepted a martyr's death for Christ, when George was yet a child. His mother, owning lands in Palestine, resettled there with her son and raised him in strict piety. Read the full life of St. George here >>>

The services during the first week of Lent are beautiful, spiritual and long. Each day from Monday to Thursday a section of the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete is chanted at Great Compline. On Wednesday and Friday the solemn and moving Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served in the morning. On Saturday the miracle of the Great Martyr Theodore is commemorated (the early martyrs are constantly remembered during the Fast).

It would be impossible to describe all these services here. All that can be said is that Orthodox Christians should familiarise themselves with the beautiful words of the LENTEN TRIODION which contains the special services of the Great Fast. There is a very good English translation of this by Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) which also contains his explanatory introduction and one of the best accounts of the true meaning of Christian fasting available in any language.

The Kontakion of the Great Canon:

My soul, O my soul, rise up! Why art thou sleeping? The end draws near, and soon thou shalt be troubled. Watch, then, that Christ thy God may spare thee, for He is everywhere present and fills all things.

See link for the complete text of the Great Canon arranged for the first week of the Fast: www.monachos.net/content/patristics/patristictexts/484

With the blessing of our Archbishop, Vladika Elisey, we celebrated our second Patronal Feast, that of All the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, on Saturday 4th February. A large number of our parishioners and supporters came to worship with us at the solemn and beautiful rites of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Before the service began,one of our community, John Harwood, was tonsured as a Reader by the Archbishop. In his sermon, Vladika stressed the strong faith which had enabled the New Martyrs to face their tormentors with courage; a faith which we are called upon to emulate.

After the Liturgy, a Festal meal was provided for all by the Sisterhood and Vladika Elisey again spoke to us, telling us of his recent visit to Moscow and the address of His Holiness the Patriarch to the assembled Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the great responsibilities of his office.

It was an inspiring day for all of us.

Two parishioners of our Sisterhood recently made a pilgrimage to Ephesus in Turkey, and here recount their spiritual experiences, which may interest the readers of this site. For details and photos, see our Pilgrimages >>> page.

On 17th September, members of the Sisterhood joined the Pilgrimage, expertly organised and lead by Father David and the Community of the Holy Apostle Luke in Tunbridge Wells, to holy sites connected with two Anglo-Saxon Women-Saints, Ethelburga and Eanswythe. For details and photos, see our Pilgrimages >>> page.

This article >>> about St. Elizabeth and her mother Alice in Eastbourne - our neighbouring town - is the result of thorough research by our parishioner John Harwood.

This year the pilgrimage to Canterbury, in honour of its ancient saints, organised by the Sisterhood of the Holy New-Martyr Elizabeth and by the Parish of St Luke at Tunbridge Wells took place on Saturday 2nd July. It was probably the most successful and inspiring so far. For details and photos, see our Pilgrimages >>> page.

Members of the Sisterhood organised a pilgrimage to Germany from 12th to 16th May in honour of our Holy patron the New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth. The group of sixteen also included members of the London and Cambridge parishes. We stayed at the Saint Elizabeth Convent in Munich (ROCOR) and then visted Damstadt, its Russian church and various places connected with our Saint's life before her marriage. Finally we travelled to the beautiful city of Fulda where the Apostle of Germany, the Anglo-Saxon martyr Boniface is buried. We venerated his tomb as well as that of his kinswoman St Lioba at her nearby convent at Petersberg.

You can read a full account of the pilgrimage in the Pilgrimages >>> section. See our Photo Album >>> for photos of the pilgrimage.