We are a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe (ROCOR), striving to live the Orthodox Faith.

We are a small but growing community from various backgrounds, with people from The Russian Federation, The Baltic States, Romania, Serbia and  the USA with some converts to Orthodoxy  and others exploring the Faith. At the last count we had 16 nationalities. We use the Julian Calendar and our services are mainly in English with some Church Slavonic. We are a traditional parish  and very welcoming. If you are Orthodox already and looking for a parish, we are a lovely community to join. If you are interested in the Orthodox faith you are most welcome to contact us. 

Divine Liturgy every  Saturday at 9.00 a.m. and Sunday at 10.00 a.m.

Presanctified Liturgies on Wednesdays during Lent at 6.00 p.m.

For arrangements of services during the period of restrictions caused by COVID-19 please see the details below

       Father Paul, our parish priest, can be contacted on 07926194031 or frpaulelliott@aol.com

St Elisabeth's is open for communal worship. The Divine Mysteries will be made available if necessary after services or by arrangement.  It is important for us to follow Government advice especially if we are at particular risk or if one of our family members has got symptoms. We should increase hand washing and maintain  social distance and wear face coverings ( unless we are exempt or assisting in the altar). The Government's advice can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/news/coronavirus.htm  St Elisabeth's will be following  Government guidelines. We have arranged for the church to be very clean and well ventilated. 

Father Paul and Matushka Elisabeth will continue to use Facebook Live to stream services. The recordings will be uploaded straight after the service. The services will follow the timetable below. You can attend parts of the services through the Parish Facebook page. The Akathist will be chanted on  Wednesday evenings at 6.00 p.m. (5.15 p.m. during Lent) followed by the Presanctified Liturgy at 6.00 p.m. in St Elisabeth's Wallasey. Father Paul will be assisted by a choir of 3 voices and appointed stewards. Due to  Covid regulations there can be no social mixing indoors at the present time before or after our church services. The risk assessment has been updated in the light of local infection rates and now allows for an absolute maximum of 35 adults at any one service plus sacred ministers and primary school aged children.

St Elisabeth's Wallasey is also open by arrangement  for individuals or family groups who may wish to say their prayers and receive Confession and Holy Communion whilst maintaining their shielding or self isolation. Father Paul will resume visiting parishioners from 9th March. Please make individual arrangements with Father Paul by text or email if you urgently need a visit. This should normally be for emergencies only.

When you come to church either for communal worship or for private prayer please read the following guidelines:

• Make sure that you are symptom free
• The Government permits you to travel to your local church but you should exercise this permission wisely
• You may make your confession in the traditional way.
• You must wear a face covering (unless you are exempt or serving in the altar) 
• Bring your own bottle if you need holy water and your own pen
• Cooperate with the appointed stewards
• Apply hand sanitiser as you enter
• Keep social distance (as close to 2 metres as possible ) using the whole church and not just the back!
• Keep physical contact to a minimum
• Assist with the wiping of surfaces with the spray and paper towels provided
• Apply hand sanitiser as you exit 
• If you use the facilities, please wipe down the taps on the basin and other surfaces with the spray provided including the door handles.
• Please note that communal singing is currently not permitted under present Government regulations but we are permitted to have a choir of 3 voices.
• In the current lockdown, places are normally allocated and confirmed by text message. Should the number of people exceed the capacity of the building according to the risk assessment, an additional service of the Typika with Holy Communion will follow the Sunday Liturgy.
• No social mixing is permitted in the current lockdown so parishioners should go straight home after services.

The doors of the Church will be stewarded whilst individuals or a family groups are in the building. There has been a risk assessment undertaken and stewards appointed to make sure that everyone is kept as safe as possible. 

      Church opening times for private prayer and services. 

Subdeacons, Readers or appointed altar servers may assist Father Paul with services. 

(Livestreamed services from  St Elisabeth's are included in Blue.)

If you have any concerns please contact Father Paul on 07926194031 or frpaulelliott@aol.com

• On Palm Sunday there will be a talk after the Liturgy during a parish picnic by Fr Paul on "The services of Holy Week".
• PASCHAL sevices are in the Table above. There will be a Liturgy on Saturday morning before PASCHA after which Paschal foods may be brought to church for blessing. The Acts of the Apostles are read at 9.30 p.m. followed by the Midnight Office at 11.30 p.m. PASCHA follows at Midnight and concludes in the early hours of the morning with a Parish Feast. On the Sunday morning of Pascha there will be another oppotunity at 9.45 a.m. to have Paschal Foods blessed and a short service during which there will be opportunity to receive Holy Communion. 
• The Divine Liturgy is currently served every Saturday at 9.00 a.m. and on Sunday at 10.00 a.m.
• A simple peoples' service book in English and Russian can be downloaded and printed. You can find more services under "Liturgica" on this website.
• There will be Presanctified Liturgies throughout Lent at 6.00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings except the 7th April. 
• A new timetable of services for  April and early May has been published above.
• The Church is open for private prayer on Saturday  mornings from 11.00 a.m. or by arrangement.
• An Akathist or Moleben will be served every Wednesday evening at 5.15 p.m. during Lent (from 17/03/21)
• Baptisms will normally take place on Saturday mornings immediately after Divine Liturgy
• The Parish AGM is postponed until the current restrictions are lifted.
• Choir Practice will only resume after the current restrictions have been lifted.

Children are welcome at the Divine Liturgy. If they need a bit of "time out" there is a place for them in the side porch where mums or dads can sit with them with some toys and books and they can still see what is happening in the Liturgy.

This Parish supports the Fund for Assistance. Please consider this in your giving.

 Father Paul will send £500 to this Christmas appeal this year. We are very fortunate at St Elisabeth's and so should look at opportunities to support those priests and parishes far less fortunate than ourselves.

Well done St Elisabeth's!

Fr Paul now serves a few more weekday services. 

Anointing Service

Fr Paul hopes to serve the Anointing Service  on Wednesday 16th December at 6.00 p.m. in place of the Akathist.

Moleben of intercession

There will be a Moleben of intercession or Akathist before the relics of St Elisabeth, St Barbara and St John of Shanghai  served on some Wednesdays at 6.00 p.m.   These services may be subject to change due to Fr Paul's commitments. It is best to text Fr Paul on 07926194031 to check if it is going ahead.

Great Vespers

Great Vespers is often served on the eves of Great Feasts

Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is served every Saturday during the present time at 9.00.a.m. This is especially suitable for children or fo those who wish to be especially careful in the light of COVID-19. The next weekday Liturgy will be served on Friday 4th December for the Feast of the Entry of the Mothe of God into the Temple

Church Singing is a very important work in any Russian Orthodox Parish. Matushka Elizabeth is the choir director and works hard to enable the choir to sing as beautifully as possible. We are blessed with some very good singers and the choir does a wonderful job creating the right prayerful atmosphere for the Holy Liturgy. We still lack alto voices though. If you feel you are able to contribute to choral singing please speak to Matushka.

Presently the choir is very restricted due to COVID-19 regulations. As the situation eases next year, we hope to revive choir practices and revive our choral singing. The choir stand will be possibly be repositioned in order to allow for a slightly larger choir once social distancing regulations are lifted. This is hoped for in March or April and certainly in time for Palm Sunday.

Since the earliest times young men served in the altar. This is important work as it enables the Bishop or Priest to concentrate on the prayers. The traditional vesture for a server is the Stichar, which was originally a decorated garment which covered the toga in the Eastern Roman Empire. The vesture assists the server to step into the role and stay focused upon spiritual work. We have a number of servers at St Elisabeth's who greatly add to the solemnity of the service and therefore the sense of holiness. Some new vestments have just been made for them at the Convent of St Elisabeth, in Minsk. Some of the funding for this has come from Lena Miloshovich in memory of her mother Dushanka. Father Paul is very grateful for those who assist him in the altar. If you are interested in serving in the altar, please talk to Reader Chad.

We are delighted that you would like to have your child baptised in our church. Baptisms are normally conducted at about 10:30 on a Saturday morning though other arrangements can be made. The post code of the church is CH45 5DE. Father Paul’s phone number is 07926194031 and his email is frpaulelliott@aol.com  Please fill in the online Baptism Registration form and email it to Fr Paul. For details of having your son or daughter baptised in St Elisabeth's please follow this link : Baptism in the Russian Orthodox Church

Getting married in St Elisabeth's can be arranged. Normally, the couple must be married in the Registery Office first unless the Registrar is present. The couple should both be baptised and free to marry. The chief bridesmaid and the best man should be of the Orthodox faith. Couples should normally ask Fr Paul to seek a blessing from Bishop Irenei before the wedding is arranged especially if either the bride or the groom are not of the Orthodox Faith. A blessing can be granted, though any children of the marriage must be brought up Orthodox. Weddings take place normally at 13:00 on a Sunday and only then outside the church fasts.

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St Elisabeth's Russian Orthodox Church - Liverpool, Wallasey, Birkenhead