Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Manchester
Reg. Charity Number 1118331

Покровскій приходъ въ Манчестерѣ.

Our parish of the "Pokrov" (Intercession of the Holy Virgin) was founded by Russian refugees in displaced persons' camps in Austria and has been present in Manchester since early 1950s. Originally under the omophorion of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, it has received a blessing from St John of Shanghai, at that time the ruling bishop for Western Europe. Archimandrite Vitaly (later a Metropolitan and First Hierarch, of blessed memory) helped in establishing the parish. In 1993, by the request of the parish council, the ever-memorable Metropolitan Antony of Sourozh has received us under his care. His Eminence Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch, the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh, was our rector from July 2002 till November 2010.

Our parish is presently stavropegic, i.e., under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow. It maintains close links with the Diocese of Sourozh (which is the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland), our parish Rector since November 2010 being His Eminence Archbishop Elisei of Sourozh. Archpriest Gennady Andreyev is Vice-Rector; he resides in Manchester and, from practical viewpoint, he is the main celebrant and parish pastor.

This is a Russian parish, but there are many English people as well. We welcome everybody!

Our church address is: 64 Clarence Road, Longsight, Manchester, M13 0YE. Clarence Road is off Plymouth Grove, near the junction with Stockport Road. See the map. If you want to send a letter to the church please DO NOT address it to 64 Clarence Road, but send it to Mr George Dance at: 3 The Green, Hawk Green, Marple, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 7HT. Enquiries: Please ring Mr George Dance at (0161) 292-1652 (English) or send a message to parish@pokrov.org.uk.

Through efforts of many people our church has been rebuilt not long ago on the parish land, at the place where it has existed since 1952. We pray for everybody who has worked at the re-building and for numerous benefactors for their donations, small or large. (Here are some pictures of the original church. The original iconostasis has been reinstalled in the new building.) Glory be to God for all!

The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church every Sunday morning at 10am and on feast days as appointed. Confessions are before the Liturgy. Please come for confessions early.
On Wednesdays, Supplicatory Service (Moleben or Paraclesis) to the Mother of God is celebrated at 6pm [suspended during Lent and the Paschal season]. Parishioners can come and talk to the priest after moleben.
Other services, e.g., Vigil, may be celebrated on feast days. Check the schedule below.
If there is no priest on a Sunday or a feast day, Typica is celebrated, which is a sung "lay rite" service in place of the Divine Liturgy.
After the service we have a cup of tea or even a light meal upstairs. You are welcome to join us and to get to know other people. If you bring food to share with others, please do stick to fasting rules.

The services are in Church Slavonic (with some English). We follow the traditional Julian Calendar (Old Style, O.S.). The civil, or Gregorian, calendar, or the "new style" (N.S.), is ahead of it for 13 days. The dates at these pages are shown in the Julian (ecclesiastical) and Gregorian (civil) calendars, as Gregorian [Julian], sometimes with N.S. or O.S. added.

Calendar and services

On-line calendar for today. Another calendar (Russian)

Passion (Holy) Week

Thursday 2 May N.S. [19 April O.S.]. Great and Holy Thursday.
   Matins [of Great Friday] with 12 Passion Gospels at 6 pm.

Friday 3 May N.S. [20 April O.S.]. Great and Holy Friday. STRICT FAST
    Great Vespers at 3 pm. (Bringing out of the Holy Shroud.)
    Matins [of Great Saturday] at 6 pm. (Procession with the Holy Shroud.)

Saturday 4 May N.S. [21 April O.S.]. Great and Holy Saturday.
    Blessing of Easter food starting at 18 pm.

Sunday 5 May N.S. [22 April O.S.]. BRIGHT CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. EASTER (PASCHA).
СВѢТЛОЕ ХРИСТОВО ВОСКРЕСЕНІЕ. ПАСХА
Services start on Saturday night. VENERATION OF THE HOLY SHROUD. Reading of the Acts of the Apostles at 9pm.
   Midnight Office at 11.30pm.
   Procession at 12 midnight. Easter Matins.
    Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom at 1.30am.
After the Liturgy: Easter celebration at the church dining-hall upstairs.
Please bring food and wine for the common meal.
Note: NO SERVICE at the usual time (10 o'clock) on Sunday morning and no other services on Sunday. Night service (Saturday to Sunday) only.

• Жертвованіе на церковь • On donating to the church • О поведеніи въ церкви   • On behaviour in the church  

Disclaimer. This page is not official and the Diocese of Sourozh is not responsible for its contents. It is maintained for the benefit of the parishioners of the Pokrov Church in Manchester and all Orthodox Christians who may find it useful. It was started in 1999 with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch. I try my best to maintain it without mistakes, but if there are any, please let me know about them. The humble servant of God The Webmaster .
Last modified: 3 May N.S. [20 April O.S.] 2013
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