Oxford’s Keble College played host to a very special ceremony when it welcomed Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, of the Russian Orthodox Church.
When His Grace celebrated a Western Orthodox Episcopal Liturgy on Friday, it was the first time the service had been held in the UK since 1066.
Before then the church in the UK was Orthodox, but the Norman Conquest saw the Roman church take over.
Father Stephen Platt, parish priest at the Russian Orthodox church St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Marston, Oxford, said: “Orthodox services generally have an Eastern origin, while Catholic and Anglican churches have services which originate in Ancient Rome.”
Philip Pughe-Morgan, who came from Weston-super-Mare for the service, said: “Many people are put off by what they see as a form of worship which doesn’t relate to their traditional culture.
“The Russian Church has now introduced a mission to offer worship in the form and culture of these islands which developed here in the early centuries.”
During his visit, Bishop Jerome also met members of the public at St Barnabas Church in Jericho.
Weren’t the churches in the isles Roman/Celtic before 1066, and then they were forced to become Roman/Frankish?
Roman, no. Celtic, yes.
It was the Synod of Whitby the drove the final nail into the coffin of the Celtic Church in the British Isles.
They were all Orthodox before the split in and around 1066.
[“David says: Weren’t the churches in the isles Roman/Celtic before 1066, and then they were forced to become Roman/Frankish?”]
You may find this helpful 🙂
Franks, Romans, Feudalism, and Doctrine: An Interplay Between Theology and Society
http://goo.gl/Qcpkw
Why were my comments removed regarding the historical role of the Papacy in the West, and the issues regarding this effort at Orthodox uniatism/revisionist history? I am orthodox and see nothing wrong with discussing this issue. Journey to Orthodoxy or Journey to censorship and group think?
What I meant was, even though Celtic Christianity had an insular tradition, they were still under Rome. Rome didn’t conquer the Isles but they pushed pretty far into them and had a presence there. There are even remnants of Roman fortresses under Norman castles. There’s the saying “one pilgrimage to Jerusalem is worth two to Rome,” or something like that.
Settle down, Andrew – no one removed your comment on this end. It appears to have been some kind of glitch (it happens occasionally on the interwebs), and I am sorry for that. I would ask you to remember that this is not, perhaps, the best forum for discussion of ‘uniatism/revisionist history’ – it is not the mission of this site, but thank you for writing! Again, sorry for the misunderstanding.
My apologies Father John. I was wrong. Please forgive me.
There is an Antiochian Church presence in England. http://www.aidanorthodox.co.uk/
Kallistos Ware is also a well known Orthodox figure in the United Kingdom who was in Oxford for a long time. he wrote “The Orthodox Way” a very useful book on the Orthodox Church.
There’s alot more than that in Great Britain, including the IOCS.