We are a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in the Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland (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 Sunday at 10.00 a.m.

For arragements 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 once more for communal worship .The Divine Mysteries are available to the faithful 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. 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. 

Father Paul and Matushka Elisabeth will continue to use Facebook Live to stream services from Little St Elisabeth's.  Now that the main church is open once more for public worship within Government guidelines as well as for private prayer, Father Paul will be doing fewer livestreamed services. The recordings will be uploaded straight after the service. The services will follow the timetable below. You to attend parts of the Saturday and Sunday Liturgies through the Parish Facebook page as parts of the services will be livestreamed. 

St Elisabeth's Wallasey is now open by arrangement  for individuals or family groups who may wish to say their prayers and receive Confession and Holy Communion whilst maintaining their sheilding or self isolation. Father Paul will resume parish visiting and sick communions from Monday 6th July. Please make individual arrangements with Father Paul by text or email.

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
• Arrive early if you wish to make your confession
• You may wish to wear a face mask  (this is not presently compulsory though encouraged in enclosed spaces)
• Bring your own bottle if you need holy water
• Cooperate with the appointed stewards
• Apply hand sanitiser as you enter
• Keep social distance (1 metre plus) 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.

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 communal worship and for private prayer and services.                                         (Livestreamed services from Little St Elisabeth's are included in Blue.)

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

Sermon for Theophany

Sermon for Sunday of the Prodigal Son

• The Divine Liturgy is served every Sunday at 10.00 a.m. Please try to arrive early if you wish to make your confession.
• The Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday 4th July and on Saturday 11th July. These will be especially suited to young families and children.
• The Parish Altar Feast is on the weekend of the 18th and 19th July. There will be a Divine Liturgy on both days. On Sunday 19th July the Liturgy will begin with the lesser blessing of the waters and will conclude with a Cross Procession around the outside of the church. Sadly, for the first time in over 20 years, there will be no parish garden party.
• Fr Paul hopes to be in Belfast on Thursday July 30th until Saturday 1st August 2020 
• 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.

The Vesperal Liturgy of St John Chrysostom of the Annunciation will be served on Tuesday 7th April at 9.45 a.m. behind closed doors in Little St Elisabeth's.

The services of Great Week will be published shortly but will be served behind closed doors in Little St Elisabeth's unless the current restrictions have been lifted. 

Please note that, should it remain possible to do so, the Mysteries of Holy Communion and Unction will continue to be offered to the faithful in St Elisabeth's, Wallasey by arrangement with Fr Paul on 07926194031 or frpaulelliott@aol.com

Provisional outline is as follows: 24/ 25th May to 1st or 2nd June 2020

Father Paul and Matushka Elizabeth are booked on El Al Flight from Manchester Airport departing at 22.15 on Sunday 24th May and arriving at 05.30 at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International. They are returning on Tuesday 2nd June on El Al from Tel Aviv at 17.30 arriving in Manchester at 21.10. Flights appear to be booking up quickly so pilgrims should book their own flights as soon as possible.

If you are travelling from Manchester, you are recommended to take these flights as they are direct. If you are travelling from London, Germany or the USA please let us know arrival times etc so that our journey from Tel Aviv on Monday 25th May can be coordinated. We have pilgrims from St Elisabeth's, The London Cathedral Parish, St Colman's Stradbally, Parishioners in Germany and a friend from the USA. The list is now closed.

• Monday 25th May Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, Transfer to  Galilee. Visit to Nazareth. Temple of the Archangel Gabriel. Visit to Cana and Capernaum then transfer to Jerusalem. Check into Pilgrims Hostel
• Tuesday 26th May Mount of Beautitudes and Mt Tabor. Church of Transfiguration. Ancient Nablus. Jacob's Well
• Wednesday 27th May Visit to Bethlehem, the Field of the Shepherds, Monastery of the Holy Cross. Vigil of Ascension.
• Thursday 28th May Ascension of our Saviour. Divine Liturgy in Elion on Mt of Olives. Transfer to Sinai. Stay in Pilgrims Hostel at St Catherine's Monastery.
• Friday 29th May Monastery of St Catherine, Mt Sinai
• Saturday 30th May Night Climb of  Mount Horeb with Divine Liturgy at the summit. Rest and return to Jerusalem.
• Sunday 31st May Liturgy St Mary Magdalene's Convent, Gethsemane , Church of the Holy Sepulcre, Sorrowful Way of the Saviour..
• Monday 1st June  Divine Liturgy at St Mary Magdalene's Convent. Quiet Day in Jerusalem. Final visit to the Shrine of St Elisabeth, Gethsemane.
• Tuesday 2nd June Transfer to airport and return home to the UK for those travelling with El Al (4 pilgrims are staying on for a few extra days)

Our main pilgrim Hostel is in Jerusalem. There are twin rooms and currently 15 rooms have been reserved. We will stay in the Pilgrim Hostel at St Catherine's Monastery. The programme above is current. Our guide is Father Roman, one of our ROCOR Priests in the Holy Land. The flights are extra...see above...these are currently between £320 and £380 return including Airport Taxes but with Hand Baggage only.

We now have revised costs in US Dollars. For the main party it will be $1067 which is currently about £820.71 So far no one has taken advantage of the  payment scheme. Pilgrims can still spread the costs of their stay in the Holy Land over the next 5 months if they wish. This makes a payment of £164 per month. Should Pilgrims wish to pay in full, payments should be complete by 24th April 2020 as Father Paul will have to pay the company in the Holy Land in advance for the number of Pilgrims staying. Cheques should be made payable to "The Parish of St Elisabeth the New Martyr" or you can pay by BACS into the account which is Sort Code 30-15-52 Account Number 43401360.  Pilgrims will need some spending money for lunches/ snacks /drinks etc, for donations to the Holy Sites and for shopping.

The parish has a completely new heating system using German Technology. This has cost us exactly £12,000. The heating has now been installed. Please note, you do not need to wrap up quite so warmly as before as it is very efficient! The floor has also been resanded and looks beautiful. There is still a lot of pointing to be done and at least 6 more windows to be restored. The estimate for the East Window alone is £3,400. The two side windows in the altar will cost £800 each. There will be additional costs for redecoration of the interior. If you would like to adopt a window or help in any way towards these projects please speak to Father Paul.

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

On Sunday 29th September, the parish collection will be donated to the Fund for Assistance to support Father Alexander and his family in Bali. Father Paul will send £100 to this latest appeal and hopefully we can send some more at Christmas. 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 is retired from his secular work and can now serve a few more weekday services. 

Anointing Service

Fr Paul hopes to serve the Anointing Service  on Tuesday 2nd July at 6.30 p.m.

Moleben of intercession

There will be a Moleben of intercession 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  on Thursday 11th July for the Feast of St Peter and St Paul.

Divine Liturgy

The next weekday Liturgy will be served on Monday 19th August for the Feast of the Transfiguration 10.00 a.m. 

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 sing alto, please speak to Matushka.

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