In a time when most Western Christians, including Anglicans and Roman Catholics, have forgotten their heritage, the Orthodox Church still remembers and venerates its ancient Western patrimony.
On October 27th, a Pilgrimage to the village of Whatlington, near the town of Battle in East Sussex, England, will be held by the Russian Orthodox Church in honor of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, in which the English King and thousands of soldiers perished defending Orthodox England from the Norman invaders. The Pilgrimage will take place at 11:00 AM at the church of the St. Mary Magdalene, about three miles north of the battlefield. Whatlington was a royal manor in which King Harold stopped to pray on his way to the battle. The Pilgrimage includes a memorial prayer service, a luncheon, and a short talk on the battle and its aftermath, with a meeting of the Guild of St. Eadmund to follow.
Here is a link to an article about the Pilgrimage from the Russian Orthodox News Site Pravoslavie:
In 1054, when the Roman Patriarchate fell away from the Orthodox Church the English Church remained Orthodox. The Norman Invasion was proclaimed as a crusade to bring an erring English Church back under Rome. Thousands died in the conquest, including the Royal Passion-bearer King Harold Godwinesson. William, the Duke of Normandy, usurped the English throne, and all but one of the English bishops were imprisoned by the Normans and replaced with Norman usurpers. The Church was forced into submission to Rome. Members of the English royal family actually fled to Russia and married into the Russian royal family.
The goal of the English Reformation which began in 1534, was to restore the Faith and Order of the “undivided” Church. That goal was advanced by the Caroline Divines of the 17th century, the Oxford Movement of the 19th century, and the St. Louis Church Congress and the continuing Anglican Movement of the 20th century, and has taken traditional Anglicans to the very door of the Orthodox Church.
When traditional Anglicans and other Western Christians step through that door and become Orthodox Christians they are not “joining a new Church” but instead are returning home to the Church from which their forbearers were torn away by the Roman Schism of 1054, and the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Today, Anglicans make up the largest single group of converts to the Orthodox Church. In America alone there are hundreds of Orthodox priests who are former Anglicans. In our own Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia two of our bishops are former Anglicans. When I am asked, “Where have all of the traditional Anglicans gone?” My answer is always the same: To the Orthodox Church!
There are now Western Rite Orthodox congregations and monastic communities in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and on the continent of Europe, and our numbers are growing. Our Dean, Fr. Mark Rowe, is a former Anglican priest and Archdeacon.
As a Western Rite parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia we have preserved our English and Celtic cultural, liturgical and spiritual patrimony in full sacramental communion and visible unity with the 300 million-member Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church firmly holds to the Faith and Order of the “undivided” Church because the Orthodox Catholic Church is the undivided Church. We love being Orthodox. Everyone is welcome. We have a place for you. Come and join us!
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Christian Education 8:45 AM
Matins 9:15 AM
Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist 10:00 AM
Fellowship and Refreshments after the Liturgy
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
(402) 573-6558
