Orthodox Liturgy celebrated in ancient Welsh church for first time since Great Schism

Gwytherin, Conwy County Borough, Wales, September 10, 2024

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Ajoyous event for Orthodox Christians living in the West occurred on Saturday, September 7, 2024, as the Orthodox Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the ancient Church of St. Winifred of Trefinon in the Welsh village of Gwytherin for the first time since the Great Schism of 1054.

His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh (Moscow Patriarchate) celebrated the Liturgy in the church that stands on the site of an even older monastery, where St. Eleril (7th century) was the abbot, reports the Sourozh Diocese.

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Bp. Matthew was concelebrated by several priests. The service, attended by pilgrims from London, various cities in Wales, Northern England, and Scotland, was chanted in Church Slavonic, English, and Welsh.

After the service, all went in a procession around the church. In memory of the service, Igumen Deiniol (Davis), dean of the Diocesan District if Wales, presented Bp. Matthew with an icon of the Welsh martyr King Doged (5th century).

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In turn, Bp. Matthew presented Fr. Deiniol with a liturgical English-language Gospel, and expressed hope for regular pilgrimages to the holy places of Wales, emphasizing the importance of this first Liturgy in the church since the Schism.

Read more about St. Winifred here.

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9/10/2024

See also
The Church in Seventh Century Celtic Britain The Church in Seventh Century Celtic Britain
Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin The Church in Seventh Century Celtic Britain The Church in Seventh Century Celtic Britain
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The period between the fifth and the eighth centuries was called “the age of saints” in Wales. Saint Teilo of Wales Saint Teilo of Wales
Dmitry Lapa Saint Teilo of Wales Saint Teilo of Wales
Commemorated: February 9/22
Dmitry Lapa
The veneration of St. Teilo throughout Wales and in Brittany was widespread; many churches across Wales and in western England were dedicated to him. His late Life was composed early in the twelfth century by the cleric Geoffrey of Llandaff. To Be Free or Not to Be. Welsh Christianity at the Crossroads To Be Free or Not to Be. Welsh Christianity at the Crossroads
Nun Nectaria (McLees), Hieromonk Deiniol To Be Free or Not to Be. Welsh Christianity at the Crossroads To Be Free or Not to Be. Welsh Christianity at the Crossroads
Nun Nectaria (McLees), Hieromonk Deiniol
At that point I felt that the ghost of Thomas Cromwell was striding rampantly through Wales. Thomas Cromwell was Henry VIII’s henchman and operator who closed all the monasteries throughout Britain, wrecked the shrines and relics, and destroyed the altars. I thought, “Well, they are still unwilling to invoke the saints,” and was about to write a fax that evening to say words to this effect, but at the moment I was about to send this letter, another fax arrived saying that the prayer was alright. So this prayer was used and the response was used.

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