St Edmund's Orthodox Church, Little Abington, Cambs

 

In the small village of Little Abington we cam across this tiny Russian Orthodox Church. It had only just been reopened as a Church for the Russian Orthodox population of the Essex/ Suffolk/ Cambridgeshire border.

The actual building had been a United Reform Church which was closed in September 2019. The Orthodox Church in the East of England bought it in March 2020 but it took till April 2021 before they could hold their first service. The date chosen, 14th April, was a deliberate choice because the first ever service had been held ther eon 14th April 1921.

The cross is typical of Russian Orthodox crosses. The first cross with a slanted footstool was seen in the 6th century before the split between the Catholic and the Orthodox Church.

The building itself is a former military building from World War One, which has now been partially rebuilt and extensively refurbished. 

http://www.theabingtons.org.uk/site/assets/files/1738/a_h_news_-_apr_2021-1.pdf 

 

 

 

 

 

St Felix Chapel, Babingley, Norfolk

 

St Felix Chapel, Babingley, Norfolk.
https://britishorthodox.org/directory/kings-lynn-church-of-st-mary-st-felix/

When we stopped off on our cycling holiday to see this chapel as we had been recommended to, none of us where expecting a British Orthodox Church. 

The building itself is charming. A small, wooden clad chapel with a thatched roof. Unfortunately we couldn't see inside as it was closed. It is set on a very small side road which otherwise leads to a private estate, off a very busy road that presumably, most people drive down and never even realise this little oddity is sitting down.

So who is the British Orthodox Church? According to their website it dates from 1866 when a French Dominican priest, Jules Ferrette, was consecrated to the episcopate as Bishop of Iona and its Dependencies by the Oecumenical Metropolitan of the Syrian "Jacobite" Church. Although not well received at the time, with the established Church questioning his authenticity, the Church has hung on with small groups dotted through these islands. For a brief period from 1994-2015 they rejoined the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria but have now returned to independence.   https://britishorthodox.org/aboutus/

I love spotting these small churches in unexpected places and I wish I could have seen inside this one.

As a footnote, when I went searching for information I discovered there was a ruin called St Felix Chapel, Babingley which in retrospect may have been the building we were recommended to find. Well that will have to wait for another holiday in Norfolk.  
http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/babingleyruin/babingleyruin.htm