St Seraphim’s Trust presents an evening of Icons on Wednesday, April 17, 7.30pm start at Walsingham Village Hall, free entry and free refreshments.
Fr. Stephen Stavrou, Associate Vicar at St Michael’s and All Angels, Bedford Park, London will talk about ‘The beauty of holiness’, the art of the Icon and the mission of the church today.
Fr. Stephen is an Anglican priest from an Orthodox background. He studied theology at St John’s College Cambridge and prepared for ordained ministry at Westcott House, while also doing a Masters at Peterhouse. His research focused on the use of liturgical arts in Worship, particularly Orthodox Christian Iconography.
There will also be an introduction to the new Friends of St Seraphim’s and an update on the future of St Seraphim’s Chapel, including the bid for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
St Seraphim’s Trust is based in the former Walsingham Railway Station, home to St Seraphim’s Orthodox Chapel since 1967. Plans are being developed for a full Heritage Lottery bid this year for funds to interpret and present to visitors the story of St Seraphim’s, a centre for traditional Orthodox Icon painting for more than 40 years, along with the building’s railway heritage (1857-1964).
The Trust aims to build on the long tradition of Orthodox Icon painting carried out by Father David (d 1993) and Leon Liddament (d. 2010) at the chapel. Their icons were highly regarded and can be seen in churches and homes throughout the UK and worldwide. Icons of early British saints, including local saints, were an important part of their work
Sylvia Batchelor, St Seraphim’s Trust said: “We look forward to welcoming old and new friends to Fr. Stavrou’s talk. We are also collecting memories of the working life of Walsingham Railway Station and are asking owners of Icons painted by Father David or Leon Liddament, to let us know about the Icon and if possible, to send an image.”
Please send your memories and photographs to:
Sylvia Batchelor, St Seraphim’s Trust, Station Road, Little Walsingham NR22 6EB,
email [email protected], iconpainter.org.uk, t 01328 820610.
The Orthodox Faith in Walsingham
The story of the Orthodox faith in Walsingham began in the 1930s when emigré Russian priests visited the Anglican Shrine. A Pan-Orthodox Chapel was established at the Anglican Shrine in 1945. But the growth of interest in the Orthodox faith led to the development of St Seraphim’s Chapel in the old railway station in 1967. Father David, the priest in charge led a Lay Brotherhood of St Seraphim and created the Icon workshop. Further growth in the Orthodox community saw the opening of the Holy Church of the Transfiguration in Great Walsingham in 1988.
