
St Stephen the Great Orthodox Church - Bournemouth Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, UK
Posted by:
Dragontree
N 50° 43.470 W 001° 56.320
30U E 574912 N 5619726
Quick Description: This large, impressive Orthodox church stands at a road junction in Poole.
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 9/15/2009 12:43:00 PM
Waymark Code: WM77VJ
Views: 0
Long Description:The church conducts services in English and the Divine Liturgy and
they are held every week at 10.30am, preceded by Matins at 9am and
Great Vespers on Saturday at 6pm.
The priest is Father Ioan Fodor and the church is contactable on
07773 277714.
There is an interesting article by Christopher Howse available
here:
(visit link)
'SPCK bookshops have seen changes since they were handed over to
the Society of St Stephen the Great, a charity run by two Texan
brothers, Mark and Phil Brewer, as I wrote on Saturdsay in the
Sacred Mysteries column. Many have closed.
Now I read on a website called Orthodox Poole
“For the grace of God, and by the intercessions of Saint Stephen
the Great, the Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (Reg. No.
1109008) successfully took possession of this magnificent Church of
England church in Poole, Dorset in May 2005.
The church was consecrated and named Saint Stephen the Great
Church on the 12th of August, 2007 by Metropolitan Joseph as a part
of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Western Europe. With God’s will,
the church is being restored to its former glory and will remain as
a prominent landmark for future generations!”
That was written by Mark Brewer.
The church, built for the Church of England between 1913 and
1916, made Nikolaus Pevsner very excited. It looks remarkable, In
2001 came the news that it was being declared redundant.
Since then, the Antiochian Orthodox Church had been worshipping
at the church. No Longer. “The Community, originally sited at the
old St. Osmund’s church in Poole, is currently worshipping at the
church hall belonging to the Roman Catholic parish of St. Edmund
Campion at Castlepoint,” says the community website.
The problem seems to be that the bishop who “consecrated” the
church belongs to the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the Antiochian
Orthodox worshippers have their own bishop.
The “Normal Weekly Service Schedule” at St Osmund’s, or St
Stephen’s as it is now, is, according to the Orthodox Poole site,
Divine Liturgy on Sundays at 10.30. I haven’t had a chance to try
it yet.'