We are delighted to announce that our church will reopen for worship on Sunday 12th July 2020: the Hours and Typika will be served, beginning at 10.30 am.

Father Kosmas is very sorry that he is unable to serve in church at this stage of the Coronavirus pandemic: he has an underlying health condition that makes him clinically vulnerable. Until he returns to serve in church, we plan to have Readers’ services each Sunday. There will be no Liturgy in our church and no opportunity to make your confession here until Father Kosmas is able to serve again. Subject to medical advice and our Archbishop’s blessing, he hopes to be able to serve the Liturgy in the near future!

Planning to come to church during the COVID-19 pandemic
In order to keep us as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, everyone who comes to the church must follow strict rules for social distancing, hygiene, etc. If you are planning to come to the church, please click here to see the rules that you must follow.

If you are clinically vulnerable (i.e. aged 70 or older, or aged under 70 with an underlying health condition) you are strongly urged to read the Government advice before deciding whether to come to church, and to follow the guidance about keeping yourself safe.

Coming to church
The number of people allowed in church will be strictly limited so that people inside can keep 2 metres apart. Admission to the church will be on a strict ‘first come, first served’ basis.

In line with the NHS Test and Trace system, we are keeping a temporary record of everyone who visits our church. Everyone who comes to the church will be given a simple form to fill in with their name and phone number. If there is a local outbreak of COVID-19, this will help to track the spread of the virus and to save lives.

If the church is already full when you arrive, we are very sorry that you will not be allowed to enter until someone else leaves. The church doors will remain open so that you may be able to hear the service from outside, but you must remain 2 metres away from anyone who is not a member of your household while you are outside the church.

At the end of the service, when the congregation has left, the church will remain open for another 30 minutes to allow those who have been waiting to come into the church to pray, to light candles, to reverence the Holy Icons, or simply to be still in God’s presence

If you can’t come to church
Those of us who can’t come to church, or who are clinically vulnerable and have been advised to stay away, can still join together in worship at home. Each week, the same service that is being used in church will be available on the Choir page, so that all of us can pray and worship together, even if we cannot be physically together in church.  

We are delighted to announce that our church will reopen for worship on Sunday 12th July 2020: the Hours and Typika will be served, beginning at 10.30 am.

The number of people allowed in church will be strictly limited so that people inside can keep 2 metres apart. In order to keep everyone as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, we will also introduce strict rules and procedures for everyone who wishes to attend. Further information will provided later in the week.

*** Please note that the church will no longer be open for private prayer on Saturdays. ***

Owing to an underlying health condition, Father Kosmas is very sorry that he is unable to serve in church at this stage of the Coronavirus pandemic. Subject to medical advice and our Archbishop’s blessing, he hopes to be able to serve the Liturgy in the near future!

Those of us who cannot be physically together in church can still join together in worship at home. Please see the Services and Choir pages for suggestions about how we can pray and worship together, even if we cannot be physically together in church.

Church open for prayer

A reminder that our church will be open on Saturday 4th July between 10 am and 4 pm to allow people to visit the church in order to pray, to light candles, to reverence the Holy Icons, or simply to be still in God’s presence. Please see further information here.

In order to keep us as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, everyone who comes to the church must follow strict rules for social distancing, hygiene, etc. If you plan to come to the church please click here for information.

Services for this weekend

Services for Saturday evening, 4th July, and Sunday 5th July are available on the Choir page, so that all of us who wish to do so can pray the services together in our own homes.

If possible, begin the Sunday morning service at around 10.30 am, so that we can say or sing the prayers at around the same time. But if it is better to pray at a different time, we will still be united in faith and in love: God is not bound by time!

Sermons for Sunday 5th July, in English and Greek, may be found here.

Opening of the church for services

The Government has issued guidance about the possibility of churches and other places of worship opening for services from 4th July onwards. We are sorry that we are not yet in a position to open the Church of the Ascension for worship. Archbishop Nikitas will be meeting the clergy of the Archdiocese (by Zoom) during the coming week to give them detailed directions about how the Government guidance should be applied in our Archdiocese. 

Father Kosmas and the Parish Committee will then look in detail at the Archbishop’s directions, before making detailed plans for opening the Church of the Ascension for worship.

We all want to see our church open again, and we hope and pray that we will be able to meet again soon! Until then, we ask everyone to be patient while we make proper plans to keep us all as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19. We will announce the specific plans for opening the Church as soon as we can!

The Government has now issued guidance about the possibility of churches and other places of worship opening for services from 4 July onwards. Some of that guidance, if followed strictly, would make it extremely difficult for Orthodox services to take place. We understand that our Archbishop will shortly issue directions about how the Government guidance should be applied in the churches of our Archdiocese.

Our Parish Committee will be meeting over the course of the coming weekend to consider the Government guidance, together with any further directions from our Archbishop, before making a decision about opening the Church of the Ascension for worship. We will announce the outcome of our discussions as soon as we are able to do so.

Until then, our church will continue to be open on Saturdays between 10 am and 4 pm to allow people to visit the church in order to pray, to light candles, to reverence the Holy Icons, or simply to be still in God’s presence. We will also continue to make available the Order for Reader’s Typika (Обедница) for each Sunday and major Feast Day, so that all who wish to do so can pray the service together in their own homes.

We all want to see our church open again, and we hope and pray that we will be able to meet again soon! Until that day comes, may God give us all courage, strength, hope, and perseverance to carry on our journey through these difficult times.

May God bless you

Father Kosmas

Church open for prayer

A reminder that our church will be open on Saturday 27th June between 10 am and 4 pm to allow people to visit the church in order to pray, to light candles, to reverence the Holy Icons, or simply to be still in God’s presence. Please see further information here.

In order to keep us as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, everyone who comes to the church must follow strict rules for social distancing, hygiene, etc. If you plan to come to the church please click here for information.

Services for this weekend

Services for Saturday evening, 27th June, and Sunday 28th June are available on the Choir page, so that all of us who wish to do so can pray the services together in our own homes.

If possible, begin the Sunday morning service at around 10.30 am, so that we can say or sing the prayers at around the same time. But if it is better to pray at a different time, we will still be united in faith and in love: God is not bound by time!

Sermons for Sunday 28th June, in English and Greek, may be found here.

Services for Saturday evening, 20th June, and Sunday 21st June are available on the Choir page, so that all of us who wish to do so can pray the services together in our own homes.

If possible, begin the Sunday morning service at around 10.30 am, so that we can say or sing the prayers at around the same time. But if it is better to pray at a different time, we will still be united in faith and in love: God is not bound by time!

Sermons for Sunday 21st June, in English and Greek, may be found here.

Starting on Saturday 20 June, our church will be open on Saturdays between 10 am and 4 pm to allow people to visit the church in order to pray, to light candles, to reverence the Holy Icons, or simply to be still in God’s presence.

By law, we are still not permitted to have public worship services, so no prayers or hymns will be said or sung from the Altar or the choir desk while the church is open. Father Kosmas will not be present while the church is open for prayer, so there will be no opportunity for confession or private discussion with him.

If you would like to speak to Father Kosmas, or to ask him to pray with you by telephone, please contact him.

In order to keep us as safe as possible, and to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19, everyone who comes to the church must follow strict rules for social distancing, hygiene, etc. If you plan to come to the church please click here for information.

If you think that you or a member of your household has Coronavirus, please do not come to church. For more information about Coronavirus, or to check whether you have symptoms, look here.

Services for Saturday evening, 13th June, and Sunday 14th June are available on the Choir page, so that all of us who wish to do so can pray the services together in our own homes.

If possible, begin the Sunday morning service at around 10.30 am, so that we can say or sing the prayers at around the same time. But if it is better to pray at a different time, we will still be united in faith and in love: God is not bound by time!

Sermons for Sunday 14th June, in English and Greek, may be found here.

Services for Saturday evening, 6th June, and Sunday 7th June are available on the Choir page, so that all of us who wish to do so can pray the services together in our own homes.

If possible, begin the Sunday morning service at around 10.30 am, so that we can say or sing the prayers at around the same time. But if it is better to pray at a different time, we will still be united in faith and in love: God is not bound by time!

Sermons for Sunday 7th June, in English and Greek, may be found here.

Services for Saturday evening, 30th May, and Sunday 31st May are available on the Choir page, so that all of us who wish to do so can pray the services together in our own homes.

If possible, begin the Sunday morning service at around 10.30 am, so that we can say or sing the prayers at around the same time. But if it is better to pray at a different time, we will still be united in faith and in love: God is not bound by time!

Sermons for Sunday 31st May, in English and Greek, may be found here.