Halifax, England, August 20, 2025
antiochian-orthodox.com
The newly established Orthodox Community of St. Hilda in Halifax, England, celebrated its inaugural Divine Liturgy on August 17, marking a significant milestone in the congregation’s transition from Evangelicalism to Holy Orthodoxy.
The service, held at St. Malachy’s Catholic Church during the Afterfeast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, drew 61 attendees, with 15 Orthodox faithful receiving Holy Communion. Fr. Gregory Hallam of the St. Aidan of Lindisfarne parish in Manchester celebrated Liturgy, reports the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland.
antiochian-orthodox.com
The community, which began its journey to Orthodoxy earlier this year under the Antiochian Archdiocese, is preparing for a major reception ceremony on September 6. His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan, assisted by other clergy, will receive 34 believers into the Orthodox Church through either Baptism or Chrismation.
The following day, Met. Silouan will preside at a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, during which Douglas Clark, the congregation’s former Evangelical pastor, will be ordained to the holy diaconate. Clark will take the name Caedmon, after the spiritual son of St. Hilda of Whitby, a noted hymnographer and poet of the early British Orthodox Church.
The transition began earlier this year when the Evangelical congregation decided to convert collectively to Orthodox Christianity. Associate Pastor Viviers Ferreira joined Pastor Clark in becoming catechumens, along with most of the congregation’s members. The movement has also attracted additional individuals from Halifax and nearby towns.
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