MISSION STATEMENT
Felixstowe Orthodox Church (Registered Charity No 1081707)
was established in 1997, the fourteen hundredth anniversary of the coming
to England of St Augustine of Canterbury, Apostle of the English. It is
dedicated to our holy father John the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Western
Europe (+ 1966). It exists in accordance with the definition of the Orthodox
Church given in the original Christian Creed, as 'One, Holy, Catholic
and Apostolic'. This definition describes four concentric circles of Orthodox
life, centred on the Person of the Son of God, spreading out to the world
at large:
1. As witnesses to the Oneness of the Church, we strive to observe the teachings of the Orthodox Church, in faithfulness to the liturgical and pastoral traditions of the multinational Russian Orthodox Church, which are at present virtually unknown in England. Thus, outside Russia, we exist in obedience to the canonical authority of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, led by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Laurus and represented in our diocese by the Very Reverend Archbishop Mark.
2. As witnesses to Holy Orthodoxy we act as a local centre for Orthodox Christians of all nationalities and backgrounds, welcoming them and striving to meet their sacramental and spiritual needs.
3. As witnesses to the Catholicity of the Church, we strive to express the Truth of Christ's Church to Non-Orthodox Christian communities. In so doing we refer to our spiritual unity with the English and European Orthodox heritage of the Church of the First Millennium, to which unity the Saints of the Orthodox world urge all Christians. It is our belief that any Reconversion of Western Europe in the Third Millennium, however partial, can only take place with reference to its Conversion in the First Millennium.
4. As witnesses to the Apostolicity of the Church, we strive to express our Apostolic Faith to the wider Non-Orthodox world through living an Orthodox life, embodying the truths and values of Orthodox Christianity, in the firm belief that conversion can only come from example.
Apart from our patron-saint, we also place ourselves under the particular patronage of two ancient saints who lived in England. These are Felix, Apostle of East Anglia (+ 647), after whom Felixstowe is named, and the holy right-believing King of East Anglia and Martyr, Edmund, Patron-Saint of England (+ 869), who was martyred in Suffolk. We also have a particular veneration for the New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth (+ 1918), grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. By their holy prayers and the intercessions of the Most Holy Mother of God through her Felixstowe Icon, may the Lord have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Fr
Andrew Phillips
