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 visit us. Please note that we do not use the little chapel in Father Paul's house for Sunday services.

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

It is with great sadness that I must announce that our dear Tatiana has died in St John's Hospice after a long and brave struggle with cancer. Our love and sympathy goes out to Leo and Nick and all her family. Tatiana died very peacefully on Tuesday in the late afternoon. She was a great inspiration to me as she had a firm and joyful hope in Christ our Saviour and a pure and strong Orthodox faith. Her funeral wil be in St Elisabeth's once all the arrangements have been made. A Pannakhida will be served for her at 3:30 on Friday 6th April just before the Burial Service of the Lord.

Tatiana's funeral is on Tuesday 10th April at 11:00 at St Elisabeth's

Memory eternal.

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

Thank you for all your generosity. May God bless you!

Palm Sunday - 1st April 

Blessing of Palms and Festal Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

Palms are blessed and distributed just before the Divine Liturgy of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.  Please try to arrive early and bring palms,  pussy willow or other greenery to be blessed.

Great and Holy Wednesday - 4th April 

Holy Unction at 7:00 p.m.

The service of Holy Unction consists of a number of Epistle and Gospel readings, each reminding us of the healing brought to us by Christ.  In his general Epistle, St James, the Brother of the Lord, exhorts the local churches, saying 'Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord' (James 5:14).  The faithful should have been to confession during Great Lent.

Great and Holy Thursday - 5th April 

On this day, we commemorate the Mystical Supper, at which Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist.

Vesperal Liturgy of St Basil at 08:45 a.m.

12 Gospels Service 7:00 p.m.

This is the first service of Good Friday, traditionally served on Thursday evening.  It is a quiet, reflective service, taking the form of a solemn meditation on the twelve Gospel readings of the Lord's Passion.  The Cross of the Saviour is solemnly carried into the mist of the church as a focus for our devotion. 

Great and Holy Friday - 6th April 

The Royal Hours at 9:45 a.m.

On Good Friday, it is customary to serve the Royal Hours (The First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth hours) together as a single service.  On this day, the hours take a special form, with additional hymns and readings of the Passion.

Vespers with the Burial of the Lord at 4:00 p.m.

This traditional and beautiful service is a transition between Good Friday and  Holy Saturday when the Savour rested in the tomb.  We meditate upon the suffering and death of the Lord as we enter into the devotion with which those who loved the Saviour  buried His Body.  The burial shroud of the Saviour is placed in the centre of the church, covered in flowers and rose water. It remains there for veneration by the faithful until the Midnight Office. 

Great and Holy Saturday - 7th April  

Father Paul will be in Church from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and again from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. to prepare for Pascha. Confessions will be heard from 7:30 p.m. Paschal foods may be blessed during the day

The reading of the Acts of the Apostles at 9:30 p.m. in many languages

We read the Acts of the Apostles, listening to the spread of the Church in the early days after the Resurrection of the Saviour.

The Midnight Office at 11:30 p.m.

This service is a beautiful meditation on the Body of the buried Saviour by candlelight, with the focus shifting to the hope of the Resurrection.  Towards the end, the burial shroud of the Saviour is solemnly lifted and  placed on the Holy Table where it remains  until the Feast of the Ascension. All lights are then put out as we prepare for the New Fire of Pascha.

Pascha     

The Radiant Resurrection of our Lord and God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ  - 7/8th April 

Paschal Matins, Procession and Liturgy at Midnight

This follows immediately from the Midnight Office on the Saturday night.  The faithful  light their candles from the Paschal Candle held by the Priest then they go in procession around the outside of the church,  representing the Myrrh-bearing women, who came to the tomb of the Saviour while it was still dark, to find that the Lord had risen.  The people re-enter the church to find that it has been transformed to reflect the glorious Resurrection of Christ, and Matins of Easter Day is served. After the Paschal Hours, the Divine Liturgy is served.

For those who need to arrange transportation or accommodation, it may be useful to know that the services usually end at between 3 and 4 o' clock in the morning.

The Midnight Paschal service  is followed by a bring-and-share party.  Please bring food and drink.  All are welcome.

Sunday   Paschal Vespers and blessing of Paschal Foods 9:45 a.m. - 8th April

This service is brief and joyful. Paschal foods are blessed at the end. The church is normally closed by about 11:30 a.m.

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!

Services for  March and April

• The church will be prepared for Palm Sunday at 14:30 on Wednesday 28th March and prepared for the services of Holy Week on Tuesday 3rd April at 09:30.
• For services of Holy Week please see above.
• Fr Paul is in London with Vladika Irenei from Thursday 29th to Saturday 30th March. Details of services in London are on the Diocesan website www.rocor.org.uk 
• Fr Paul is in Belfast again on the 13th and 14th April.
• Fr Paul has put the abbreviated confession on the website. Most of the material is in English but there are also parts in Russian. You can find it at http://newmartyr.info/liturgica.html. Fr Paul is grateful to Yulia Rodgers for correcting his Russian typing!
• The next choir practice  will be announced shortly. This  normally takes place at Father Paul's house CH43 2HY

The Choir has  recorded parts of the Liturgy. You can find the these here. or in the drop down menu under 'Our Worship' here..

Media at St Elisabeth's.  Father Paul records the Readings and the sermon of each Sunday when he remembers. These  recordings can be found under the tab 'Weekly Sermons' on the drop down menu on the left hand side of the website. Just click on the underlined text.

Nicholai Papdopoulos and his daughter Sophia have organised a Sunday School for children of the Parish aged 4 (Reception) and above. It takes place on the last Sunday of each month (Not August or December) as the food is being prepared for the parish meal after the Liturgy. There is a song, a story, something to colour in and some teaching in English. The Sunday School will last about 10 - 15 minutes. As it develops we hope to have a yearly outing and perhaps a party. It is a way of treasuring and developing our Orthodox young people. It  met for the first time on Sunday January 28th straight after the Liturgy. The next Sunday School is on Sunday 25th February during the Annual General Meeting of the Parish. Please support this new venture in the life of our parish.

Now that Fr Paul appears to be almost retired from his secular work, he hopes to do more weekday services. 

The Anointing Service will be normally served once a month unless this is impossible. It will be served on the following dates:-

 04/04/18, 03/05/18, 05/06/18, 03/07/18, 07/08/18, 04/09/18, 02/10/18, 06/11/18 and 04/12/18.

There will be a Moleben of intercession before the relics of St Elisabeth, St Barbara and St John of Shanghai  served on some Wednesdays  throughout the Great Lent  and twice a month after that normally on the second and fourth Wednesdays or Thursdays of the month at 18:15 though Fr Paul will be in church from 18:00 to hear confessions. These services will be served provisionally on the following dates but may be subject to change due to Fr Paul's commitments:-

,25/04/18, 09/05/18, (Great Vespers), 13/06/18, 11/07/18 (Great Vespers), 25/07/18, 08/08/18, 22/08/18, 12/09/18, 26/09/18, 10/10/18, 24/10/18, 14/11/18, 28/11/18, 05/12/18, 12/12/18 (??), 18/12/18 (NB.Tues.Great Vespers)

Weekday Liturgies will be served at 10:00 on  Friday 19th January 10:00 (Theophany), Thursday  15th February (The Meeting), (The Feast of the Ascension will be kept at the London Cathedral), Thursday 12th July (St Peter and St Paul), Wednesday 18th July (St Elisabeth), Tuesday 14th August (Holy Cross) (??), (Friday 21st September  for the Nativity of the Theotokos will be kept at the London Cathedral), Thursday 27th September (Exaltation of the Cross), Tuesday 4th December (Entry of the Theotokos), Wednesday 19th December (St Nicholas).

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 Archbishop Mark 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