London, September 10, 2025
orthodox-europe.org
Orthodox Christians from across the UK joined over 10,000 participants in the March for Life UK 2025 in London on Saturday, marking the event’s largest turnout to date.
Fr. Mark Tattum-Smith of the Joy of All Who Sorrow parish in Mettingham served a moleben to the 14,000 Holy Innocents slain by Herod at Bethlehem on behalf of approximately 50 Orthodox delegates who participated in the march. Fr. Mark blessed the participants as well as the banners and icons carried throughout the march, reports the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia’ Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe.
In his brief address, Fr. Mark emphasized that Orthodox participation in the March for Life was “not an exercise in political activism but rather was a sincere prayer of repentance from the heart of the nation’s capital.”
As participants walked through central London to Parliament Square, Orthodox clergy and laypeople chanted the Trisagion, calling down God’s mercy on “the deliberate destruction of innocent human life which takes place in every city throughout this land” and praying for “the conversion of the heart of those who are involved in this great moral evil of our times.”
orthodox-europe.org
Orthodox Christians joined the march from communities in Walsingham, Norwich, St. Leonards-on-Sea, Cardiff and London. Similar marches and events took place in other national capitals throughout the diocese.
The broader March for Life UK event, which organizers estimate drew at least 10,000 people, began with church and prayer services in the morning before proceeding to Parliament Square. While most participants were Christians, organizers noted an increasing number of atheists joining the march.
The march maintained its peaceful character despite a small number of pro-abortion counter-protesters and a nearby separate protest against a ban on the Palestine Action group that resulted in hundreds of arrests.
Co-director Ben Thatcher reflected that “more and more people are recognizing the reasonableness and consistency behind the pro-life movement,” adding that “for us to care about human rights in any capacity we must start by valuing life itself.”
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
