The Bishop’s Calendar

Our Church stands wholly against the evil of the war in Ukraine, and strives in all ways to support our suffering Ukrainian brethren who are currently facing the horrors of bloodshed and various persecutions; and we stand against all nationalistic ideologies and any politicisation of religion or ecclesiology, despite renewed misrepresentation by media and politically-motivated sources. Please watch the video by our Ruling Bishop, His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe, for a clear explanation of our Church’s position on these matters.

Our ROCOR (often referred to as ‘The Church Abroad’) is the self-governing inheritor of pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodoxy, independent in her administration and pastoral life since 1920 and headed by our Holy Synod and Primate, Metropolitan Nicholas, based in New York. Read a reflection by Metropolitan Nicholas on a meeting with US Congressmen and others in November 2025, on our Church’s freedom from government influence and support for peace the world over.

The Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe, following the Gospel, Holy Canons and pastoral tradition of the Church Abroad, abhors violence and warfare, and explicitly prays and works for the immediate end to the unjust bloodshed taking place in Ukraine — the spiritual homeland of all the faithful descendants of St Vladimir: the great baptiser of our Church. The Church Abroad, as an autonomous Church governed by her Holy Synod in New York, is not affiliated with any government or national identity, but, in the spirit of pre-revolutionary Imperial Russian Orthodoxy, centred in the diaspora for more than a century, calls firmly for the unity of all Orthodox Christians in the Church, regardless of nationality or language, and for the immediate end to the war currently dividing, wounding and killing our many peoples.

Since the outset of the war in Ukraine, our Diocese has prayed and worked — and continues to do so — for the immediate end to unjust hostilities, warfare and persecutions. Prayers are offered for the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine at every service in every parish of the Diocese; and responses to the war have included the organisation of food banks for refugees, assistance in relocation and housing of refugees, provision of legal and social support, the organisation of summer camps for the children of refugee families, the pastoral provision of care for clergy and faithful arriving in Europe from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; as well as fundraising for the humanitarian works of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine itself, together with specific parishes and monasteries; and for the support of those seeking shelter in the territory of our Diocese.

Those wishing for more details on the Diocese’s activities in response to the war may read announcements outlining its extensive practical works on those suffering in and from the war in Ukraine (as well as older and more recent updates on the same); and for those wishing clarity on the issue of anti-Christian persecutions taking place within the broader context of the war may read Bishop Irenei’s open letter on the persecution of Christians in Ukraine.