Summer conference – booking open!

Booking is now open for the OFSJB conference on Angelic Beings. 25-29 August 2022 in Walsingham, Norfolk UK. Please register as soon as you can, places are limited! This is our first in-person conference in 3 years.

As well as talks, services and time to socialise, there will also be time to explore Walsingham and the surrounding area. We will celebrate the Divine Liturgy twice, on Sunday and for the feast of the Beheading of St John the Baptist on Monday.

We are happy to announce our main speaker, Father Stephen De Young from the Parish of the Archangel Gabriel, in Lafayette, Louisiana in the United States. Father Stephen is well-known for his podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio, the Whole Counsel of God, and the Lord of Spirits podcast with Father Andrew Stephen Damick. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts from the University of Balamand, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Amridge University.

We will also welcome Tamara Penwell from the Parish of St John of Kronstadt in Bath. Tamara is an experienced iconographer.

Fees: Full adult fee £315; OFSJB member £280; child 5-16 £120; child under 5 free. Attendees are asked to declare if they are willing to share rooms in the accommodation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. If you have any concerns about the fees, please email the Chair, Margaret Haig to discuss how the Fellowship can help you attend financially.

The timetable will be confirmed in due course, but we will assemble in the afternoon of Thursday 25 August and depart after the Divine Liturgy on Monday 29 August.

Sign up now!

2022 Youth Festival

The Youth Festival is back with an in-person event 3-5 June 2022, with the theme Life as Communion. Held at the beautiful Othona Community at Bradwell-on-Sea and worshipping in the chapel built by St Cedd, Apostle of Essex, the festival is a great opportunity for young people 18-35 to get together and share their faith.

Speakers include: His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain; Archpriest Stephen Platt from the Parish of St Nicholas, Oxford; Father Alexander Tefft from the Parish of St Botolph, London; and Marina Robb, Theologian and RE Teacher.

Visit the youth website to find out more and apply for a place.

Summer Series – it’s back!

Following successful virtual visits last summer and winter, the Fellowship is delighted to announce:

Summer Series: Through the Prayers of Our Holy Fathers and Mothers

Come and listen to talks about these wonderful saints and witnesses who can teach us so much in living the faith in the modern world. Come and see!

Taking place every Monday, 19 July-23 August, 19:00-20:30 BST (London, UK) on Zoom.

  • 19 July: Dr Razvan Porumb, speaking on Fr Nicolae Steinhardt – recording
  • 26 July: Sister Magdalen, speaking on St Silouan and St Sophrony – this session was not recorded
  • 2 August: Subdeacon Ian Randall, speaking on St Maria of Paris – recording
  • 9 August: Dr Elena Sadovnikova, speaking on Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh – recording coming soon
  • 16 August: Dr Alexei Tsvelik, speaking on Fr Alexander Men – recording
  • 23 August: Dr Evi Voulgaraki-Pissina: St Porphyrios and Mother Gavrilia – recording

Sign up here whether you want to attend one or all of the series. See you there!

You can download the poster below to further advertise with your parish and community. Right mouse click on the jpeg image and ‘save image as’ or download the pdf file.

International Conference on Orthodox Church Music

Our friends at the International Society for Orthodox Church Music have published the programme for the ninth international conference being held in Joensuu, Finland – Church Music and Topography: City, Village, and Monastery

Academics and practitioners from a wide variety of musical disciplines attend and give papers on their latest research. Even if you are not a specialist, you can learn an enormous amount about musical traditions from the presentations from across the Orthodox world and beyond.

Joensuu is a wonderful place, a town where everything is in walking distance, with two Orthodox Churches, a seminary and a university teaching theology from both the Orthodox and Lutheran traditions, with Valamo/New Valaam and Lintula (pictured) monasteries close by. It is well worth a visit in person, but in these uncertain times, the conference organisers have also made it possible to participate virtually! Online attendance can be booked until 31 May, 40EUR for ISOCM members, 60EUR for non-members.

Why not attend virtually and think about attending in person in two years’ time?