Saint Ephraim Orthodox Parish
Welcome! Saint Ephraim's is an Orthodox Christian Parish in the heart of the beautiful and historic City of Cambridge, UK. We belong to the Diocese of Sourozh, that is the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church which includes the British Isles.
Our parish was founded in 1973 by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh and is now a thriving and diverse community.
We celebrate Great Vespers or a Vigil every Saturday at 17 00 and the Divine Liturgy or Typika on Sundays, both beginning with the Hours and starting at 07 30 or 08 00, respectively. Services are also celebrated on the great feasts of the Orthodox Church, please check our calendar on the Services page for confirmation of times.
The Parish
We are a multicultural Christian Orthodox Parish. Whilst many of us are originally from the Orthodox countries of Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Cyprus, many others of us are converts to Orthodoxy from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Spain, Italy, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa and the USA.
Our Church services are, for the most part, in English including the readings and the hymns sung by our choir.
Each year, several University students become part of our parish community during their studies in Cambridge.
From the 30 people who worshipped at the Divine Liturgy in 2001, on most Sundays we now have some 120 people of all ages and more are welcome!
Our Patron Saint, Saint Ephraim the Syrian
Saint Ephraim, our patron Saint, lived in the 4th century AD and though a very young man at the time, was among the 318 Fathers at the first Ecumenical Council in the year 325.
In his childhood, St Ephraim was wayward and impetuous but came to embark on a path of asceticism, repentance and salvation. He became a renowned teacher of repentance.
St Ephraim was a prolific writer of hymns and prayers in his native ancient Syriac language. For this reason, some translations of his works may differ slightly. He is most well known for his Lenten Prayer of Repentance, which is recited during Great Lent ...
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
He also wrote this beautiful quote, which gives hope to us all,
''If the Son of God is within you, then His Kingdom is also within you. Thus, the Kingdom of God is within you, a sinner. Enter into yourself, search diligently and without toil you shall find it. Outside of you is death, and the door to it is sin. Enter into yourself, dwell within your heart, for God is there.''
The Feast of Saint Ephraim the Syrian is 28th January and is joyfully celebrated in our Parish.
Further reading on St Ephraim the Syrian and his writings;
Beauty will Save the World: Insights from St Ephrem the Syrian by Sebastian Brock,
can be found on the Institute of Sacred Arts, at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.
