Bishops Ambrose and Photios of the GOC-K in the UK

[Maria]

Pictures of a concelebrated Divine Liturgy with an ordination. This recently occurred in the UK.
Bishops Ambrose and Photios of the GOC-K concelebrated.

http://bulgarian-orthodox-church.org/ch ... priest.htm

[Maria]

Concelebration in UK4.JPG (1.34 MiB) Viewed 2937 times

Concelebration continued

[Barbara]

I first assumed this was at the St Edward the Martyr Monastery in Brookwood ? But maybe somewhere else ?

[Maria]

I first assumed this was at the St Edward the Martyr Monastery in Brookwood ? But maybe somewhere else ?

Yes, it was.

[Maria]

I first assumed this was at the St Edward the Martyr Monastery in Brookwood ? But maybe somewhere else ?

Yes, it was at St. Edward the new Martyr Monastery. It is a beautiful and ancient church.

[Barbara]

No, no ! St Edward was an OLD Martyr ! I mean, a young-old martyr- !! That is, the monastery's patron died as a very young King of England in the later 900's.
He is often confused by those unfamiliar with English Royalty with his nephew, King Edward the Confessor. The latter
was the one who built Westminster Abbey but sadly was too sick to attend its consecration after tons of work to build it,
and reposed shortly after on Jan 5, 1066, according to New Calendar.

You are right about the ancient and beautiful building - I had another look at the picture to admire its interesting atmosphere.

We all should remember that St Metropolitan Philaret helped the monks get this established and did visit here.

[StephenS]

May I correct a couple of comments on the the antiquity of the lovely St Edward the Martyr Church (Not Edward the Confessor).

In the late 1840s London's rapidly expanding population was running out of grave spaces. And in 1852 an Act was laid before Parliament for the establishment of a Cemetry for London in the Surrey heathlands. A Necropolis Railway was established to convey both the dead and mourners to Brookwood. St Edward's Church and the nearby guest building were originally erected as the receiving chapel and mortuary, adjacent to the railway spur. The latter has long since been taken up.

In 1982 a portion of the immense Cemetry was bought as an Orthodox cemetry, and two monks moved on site. Thus began the St Edward Church and monastic brotherhood.

So the the church and guesthouse are Victorian, and not ancient. However the buildings and their surrounding are beautiful. Deer graze and the Orthodox are laid to rest all while Orthodox monks undertake their spiritual struggle.

Whether the larger Cemetry will continue to meet the Capital's need for grave spaces for 400 years is unlikely. The architects could not have foreseen two World Wars, large military sections and the like. But it remains an interesting site.

As a footnote: The tall black priest seen entering the church with Bishop Fotios is Father Gabriel Lawani. Originally a parishioner of the St Edward mission. He currents serves just outside Manchester.