Parish history

The London Russian Orthodox Church parish is one of the oldest Orthodox parishes in Western Europe, dating back to the end of the 17th century, when Peter the Great visited England in January 1698. The church established then, was called the ‘Greek-Russian Church and was attached to the Russian Embassy and most of the church items were provided by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It is also known that an Orthodox priest went from London to Portsmouth to meet Russian soldiers who joined English troops during Napoleonic wars and because of injuries were evacuated to England. Those who died were buried by the priest in a Portsmouth cemetery.

During the nineteenth century, and up till the 1920s, the Russian church was located at 31, Welbeck Street in London. The Russian colony had been small, and a house chapel suited their needs. But during World War I the various Russian offices responsible for providing military equipment for the Russian Army, the Russian colony in England began to grow in numbers. By the end of the war and with the onset of the Revolution, a stream of refugees from all over Russia began arriving. The defeat of the White Army, beginning with the Northern Front, meant that this stream became significant. The house church under these circumstances could not accommodate the masses of worshippers and with the lease for the Church property ending, an alternative place had to be found.

The Church of England stepped in and provided the parish with the temporary use of a large, historic church. But the location of the church, in the business district of
London, restricted attendance. The church continued to be used until the Anglicans provided another church, which had built by the Duke of Westminster on his own property and given to the people of England. This church was very large, and was situated in the centre of London, which could easily be adapted to Orthodox needs. It had been dedicated to the Holy Apostle Philip, but became known among Russians as the Dormition Church, as had all the earlier Russian churches in London.

In 1927, the unity of the Russian colony in London was split as a result of the Paris schism of Metropolitan Eulogius and his departure from the unity of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Because of the disputes resulting from this division, the London parish almost split in half. An agreement was reached on the further use of the church whereby services were celebrated by each group on alternate weeks. In 1928, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia appointed the 38-year-old Archimandrite Nicholas (Karpov) to London.

Archimandrite Nicholas had graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy in 1915 and taught in theological schools in Russia and preached in a monastery in Oboyan, in the Kursk Diocese in Russia. In Serbia he had served in Serbian parishes and then taught at Bitol Theological Seminary, where he enjoyed the greatest respect of the staff and student body. He was appointed rector of the London parish, which had been torn apart by church strife. Father Nicholas managed this difficult task and by his piety won over the sympathies of the parishioners, and reintroduced peace into parish life.

On All Saints Sunday, 30 June 1929, Archimandrite Nicholas was consecrated as the first Orthodox Bishop of London since the Schism of 1054. The solemn service of the assembled bishops before the miracle-working icon, and the relatively rare event – the consecration of a bishop - drew a great number of Orthodox faithful, as well as clergymen from the Church of England and other denominations. The large Cathedral was filled to capacity and reading on the choir was a psalm-reader from Imperial Russia, Foka Feodorovich Volkovsky. Present at the Consecration was the Grand Duchess Ksenia Aleksandrovna, the sister of the martyred Tsar Nicholas II. On presenting the Episcopal staff to Bishop Nicholas, Metropolitan Anthony said: ‘The instructions are given to you from above on this day of your consecration that you must in this life be not only an Orthodox servant of God, but a servant of Russia, sharing the highest sympathies with our Russian people, and her pious love for the saints.

Unfortunately, in 1954 St. Philips Church was pulled down to make way for the new Victoria coach station. After another search, the parish began renting St. Stephen’s Church Hall located in Emperor’s Gate off Gloucester Road. The church Hall had originally belonged to Scottish Presbyterian Church and there our parish had an opportunity to pray in the church for next 30 years. Over these years the parish grew significantly.

When the lease expired in 1989 the parish finally decided to build its own church in Russian style with a traditional dome and a bell-tower. In the mean time the parish met in the tiny Podvorie All Saints Chapel in St Dunstans Road in Hammersmith. Bishop Nicholas had bequeathed the Podvorie to the Parish. It became immediately obvious that the parish had to find a new larger and permanent Church.

In 1992 the parish bought a plot of land in Harvard Road, Chiswick, West London, which included a large Victorian house and approximately 2000 sq m of land.

As a temporary measure, a large hall was built next to the house, and other rooms on the ground floor were used for the parish needs and for preparing and meals. The apartment on the first floor of the house was renovated and is now used as a priest’s residence. The Hall served as a temporary Church until sufficient money could be raised to start building the Cathedral Church.

On 27 November1997 the first stone was laid in the foundation of the new Russian Cathedral. On Lazarus Saturday in 1999 there was the first church service in the new Cathedral. Since then, a blue dome with a golden cross was placed on top the Cathedral, and the Lower Church, baptistery and heating were completed. On 29 May 2005 the First-Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad His Eminence Laurus lead the consecration of the lower Church and named it for the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia.

In 2005 construction started in the Upper Church, which included the plastering of the walls and the vault, laying the floor, setting up the heating and lighting. As of today, the work in the Upper Church is about 80 % finished, and with God’s help, by the middle to late 2009 the new iconostasis, which has been donated by our parishioners will be set up. We are also planning to decorate with frescos the inside walls of the Church.

Today, the Church has a Saturday School where children are taught God’s Law, Russian language and Russian literature, foundations of the Russian Orthodox singing and other subjects. On Sundays and festivals, the Sisterhood and other parishioners prepare meals which allow us to get together beyond church services and meet guests of the parish.