Oxford’s Keble College played host to a very special ceremony when it welcomed Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, of the Russian Orthodox Church.
When His Grace celebrated a Western Orthodox Episcopal Liturgy on Friday, it was the first time the service had been held in the UK since 1066.
Before then the church in the UK was Orthodox, but the Norman Conquest saw the Roman church take over.
Father Stephen Platt, parish priest at the Russian Orthodox church St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Marston, Oxford, said: “Orthodox services generally have an Eastern origin, while Catholic and Anglican churches have services which originate in Ancient Rome.”
Philip Pughe-Morgan, who came from Weston-super-Mare for the service, said: “Many people are put off by what they see as a form of worship which doesn’t relate to their traditional culture.
“The Russian Church has now introduced a mission to offer worship in the form and culture of these islands which developed here in the early centuries.”
During his visit, Bishop Jerome also met members of the public at St Barnabas Church in Jericho.
Wouldn’t an 11th century Western Liturgy be even more culturally alien to the average 21st-century Westerner than, say, the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom?
I don’t think it would be. The 11th Century Liturgy is very close to what Roman Catholics would have had prior to Vatican II and that is now being used again. It would also be very close to what Anglicans would be used too, so no I don’t think it would be. But If it is a Liturgy that was used prior to the separation of the Churches then I do not see why it cannot be used in various places. I would say however, that I do not think it appropriate for the United States. There was never an Orthodox Liturgy here other than the ones that are used now and that is what we should be using. I agree with the So Called Western Rite for use in places like the United Kingdom as that was their original Liturgy, but not for use here in the US. There should be no Western Rite here in the US. If they want that Liturgy they should either return to Rome or to the Anglican Communion.