The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Zacharias and St. Elizabeth

30/03/2026

For those who wish to learn about the Orthodox Christian faith please join this catechism class ti get an idea of what our beliefs are.

ONLINE ORTHODOX CATECHISM

Monday
30 March 2026
7.00 pm

Fr Anastasios Salapatas will talk on:
“Orthodox Pilgrimage
and the meaning of Holy Week”

Dr. Harry Harrison will talk on:
“Orthodox Tradition vs Scripture”

Meeting link:
meet.google.com/rvx-gyvc-mvo

Join by phone
(GB) +44 20 3956 8051
PIN: 107229936

Fr. Anastasios

06/03/2026

Good afternoon to all our parishioners and friends - our next Divine Liturgy is being celebrated by Father Anastasios Salapatas at 9.30am tomorrow morning Saturday 7th of March. We will be commemorating the 7 Holy Martyrs of Cherson (Kherson). All are welcome.

The Hieromartyrs Basil, Ephraim, Eugene, Elpidius, Agathodorus, Aetherius, and Capiton carried the Gospel of Christ into the North Black Sea region from the Danube to the Dniper, including the Crimea. They were bishops of Cherson at different times during the fourth century, and they sealed their apostolic activity with martyrdom. Only Aetherius died in peace.

Long before the Baptism of Rus under Saint Vladimir, the Christian Faith had already spread into the Crimea, which in antiquity was called Tauridia and was ruled by the Roman Emperor. The beginning of the enlightenment of Tauridia is attributed to the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30).

The Church’s enemies unwittingly contributed to the further spread of Christianity. The Roman emperors often banished traitors to this area. During the first three centuries, Christians were regarded as traitors because they would not follow the state religion. In the reign of Trajan (98-117), Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome (November 25), was sent to work in a stone quarry near Cherson. There he continued his preaching, and suffered martyrdom.

The pagans inhabiting the Crimea stubbornly resisted the spread of Christianity. But the faith of Christ, through its self-sacrificing preachers, grew strong and was affirmed. Many missionaries gave their lives in this struggle.

At the beginning of the fourth century a bishop’s See was established at Cherson. This was a critical period when Cherson served as a base for the Roman armies which constantly passed through the area. During the reign of Diocletian (284-305), the Patriarch of Jerusalem sent many bishops to preach the Gospel in various lands. Two of them, Ephraim and Basil, arrived in Cherson and planted the Word of God there.

Later on, Saint Ephraim went to the peoples living along the Danube, where he underwent many tribulations and sorrows. He was beheaded at the start of the persecution. The preaching at Cherson was continued by Saint Basil, Saint Ephraim’s companion. He set many idol-worshippers on the path of truth. Other wayward inhabitants of the city, enraged at his activity, rose up against him. The saint was arrested, mercilessly beaten and expelled from the city.

He went to a mountain and settled in a cave, where he unceasingly prayed to God for those who had driven him out, asking that He might illumine them with the light of true knowledge. And the Lord provided the unbelievers with a miracle. The only son of an important citizen of Cherson died. The dead child appeared to his parents in a dream and said that a certain man named Basil could resurrect him from the dead by his prayers.

When the parents had found the saint and entreated him to work the miracle, Saint Basil replied that he himself was a sinful man and had not the power to raise the dead, but the Lord Almighty could fulfill their request if they were to believe in Him. For a long time the saint prayed, invoking the Name of the Holy Trinity. Then he blessed water, and sprinkled it on the dead one, who was restored to life. The saint returned to the city with honor, and many believed and were baptized.

Soon, by order of the emperor Maximian Galerius (305-311), the persecution against Christians spread with renewed force. The Christ-haters rose up also against Saint Basil. On March 7, 309 he was dragged from his house during the night. They tied him up, dragged him along the streets and beat him to death with stones and rods. The body of the saint was thrown out of the city to be eaten by dogs and birds, and for many days it was left unburied, but remained untouched. Then Christians secretly buried the body of the holy martyr in a cave.

A year after the martyrdom of Saint Basil, three of his companions, Bishops Eugene, Elpidius and Agathodorus, ceased their preaching in the Hellespont, and arrived at Cherson to continue his holy work. They endured many hardships for the salvation of human souls. All three bishops shared the fate of their predecessor: they were stoned to death by the pagans on March 7, 311.

When Constantine the Great (May 21) took the throne, Bishop Aetherius was sent by emperor Constantine to Cherson from Jerusalem. At first he also encountered hostility on the part of the pagans, but the holy emperor would not tolerate acts of violence against the preacher. He issued a decree permitting the Christians of Cherson to have church services without hindrance. Through the efforts of Saint Aetherius a church was built in the city, where the saint peacefully governed his flock.

Saint Aetherius journeyed to Constantinople to thank the emperor for protecting the Christians. He fell ill and died on the return trip.

The holy emperor Constantine then sent Bishop Capiton to Cherson to replace Saint Aetherius. The Christians met him with joy, but the pagans demanded a sign from the new bishop, so they might believe in the God Whom he preached. Placing all his hope on the Lord, Saint Capiton put on his omophorion and went into a burning furnace. He prayed in the fire for about an hour, and emerged from it unharmed. “Shall anyone bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments?” Solomon asks (Prov. 6:27). Saint Capiton carried red-hot coals in his phelonion, yet neither his body nor his garments were scorched. Many of the unbelievers were then persuaded in the power of the Christian God.

This miracle and the great faith of Saint Capiton were reported to Saint Constantine and the holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (325), and they all glorified God.

After several years Saint Capiton journeyed to Constantinople on business, but the ship encountered a storm at the mouth of the Dniepr River. The local people (pagans) seized the ship and drowned all those on board, including Saint Capiton. Although this occurred on December 21, Saint Capiton is commemorated with the other hieromartyrs of Cherson on March 7.

01/03/2026

David, patron of Wales (c 587AD).

Our father among the saints David of Wales (ca. 512-587), known in Welsh as Dewi Sant, was a 6th century bishop and monastic founder in Wales and is its patron saint. He is also known as the Dewi Ddyfrwr (David the Water Drinker) due to his drinking only water and the founding of many holy wells associated with his life.

Much of our information on the early history of Saint David comes from two sources: the 11th/12th century hagiography Buchedd Dewi (Life of David) of Rhigyfarch and the 12th-century writings of Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales). David was a descendant of the royal house of Cunedda. Rhigyfarch wrote that David was the son of Sanctus Rex Ceredigionis, where Sanctus has been interpreted as a proper name and its owner honoured by Welsh Christians as Saint Sant. The Latin phrase itself translates as "a holy king of Ceredigion." The king of Ceredigion in the 510s was Gwyddno Garanhir, according to regional tradition. His title Garanhir ("crane legs"), certainly indicated spiritual accomplishment to the Druids who bestowed it. If the son of King Gwyddno, David was a grandson of King Ceredig, and a nephew of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd, and a brother of Elphin the successor to the Kingdom of Ceredigion and the foster-father and first patron of the bard Taliesin. Little is known of his mother, Non (honoured by Welsh Christians as Saint Non), though she is said to have been the daughter of a local chieftain - some versions of the meeting of Sant (or Gwyddno) and Non state that Sant forced himself upon Non.

David was born on a stormy night at or near Capel Non (Non's chapel) within a short walk of the present day city of Saint David's. The ruins of the medieval chapel are visible near the site, and a nearby well is still a site of pilgrimage. He was baptised by the Irish monk St. Elvis, and educated at the monastery of Hen Fynyw. After ordination, David was taught by the elderly monk Paulinus, whose blindness the young David healed by making the sign of the cross over the monk's eyelids.

He became renowned as a teacher and preacher, founding monasteries in Britain and Brittany (on the west coast of modern France), in a period when neighbouring tribal regions (that were to be united as England three hundred years later) were still mostly pagan. He rose to a bishopric, and presided over two synods, as well as going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem where he was anointed as a bishop by the patriarch.

St. David's Cathedral now stands on the site of the monastery he founded in southwest Pembrokeshire; in early medieval Britain this part of Wales was located near several important Celtic sea routes, and was not nearly as remote as it might seem today. A shrine to Saint David, containing his bones, the bones of his spiritual father Saint Justinian of Ramsey Island, and possibly those of Saint Caradoc, is located within the cathedral.

The Monastic Rule of David prescribed that monks had to pull the plow themselves without draught animals; to drink only water; to eat only bread with salt and herbs; and to spend the evenings in prayer, reading and writing. No personal possessions were allowed: to say "my book" was an offence. He taught his followers to fast, especially refraining from eating meat or imbibing alcohol. His symbol, also the symbol of Wales, is the leek.

The best-known miracle associated with St. David is said to have taken place on an occasion when he was preaching in the middle of a large crowd. When those at the back complained that they could not see or hear him, the ground on which he stood is reputed to have risen up to form a small hill so that everyone had a good view. The village which is said to stand on the spot today is known as Llanddewi Brefi. A more mundane version of this story is that he simply recommended that the synod participants move to the hilltop.

One of Rhigyfarch's aims in the Buchedd Dewi was that his document could establish some independence for the Welsh church, which was risking losing its independence following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It is significant that David is said to have denounced Pelagianism during the incident before the ground rose beneath him. Giraldus Cambrensis, the nephew of a Bishop of St. David's similarly hoped to demonstrate the ancient independence of the see as the archbishopric of an independent Welsh church; he was himself nominated for the position of Bishop of St. David's on at least three occasions, but was turned down by Henry II initially and the Archbishop of Canterbury subsequently after the accession of John.

William of Malmesbury recorded that David visited Glastonbury intending to dedicate the abbey there, as well as to donate a travelling altar including a great sapphire. He had a vision there of Jesus Christ who said that "the church had been dedicated long ago by Himself in honour of His Mother, and it was not seemly that it should be re-dedicated by human hands." So David instead commissioned an extension to be built to the abbey, east of the Old Church. (The dimensions of this extension given by William were archaeologically verified in 1921.) One manuscript indicates that a sapphire altar was among the items King Henry VIII confiscated from the abbey at its dissolution a thousand years later. There are unverifiable indications that the sapphire may now be among the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

His last words, according to the Buchedd Dewi, were: "Be steadfast, brothers, and do the little things."

23/02/2026

06/02/2026

Good afternoon friends and Parishioners- Father Anastasios will be serving the Liturgy tomorrow morning at 9.30 am in St Mary’s Church (also known as Swansea Minster). We will be commemorating St Parthenios of Lampaskos.

Saint Parthenios, Bishop of Lampsakos

Saint Parthenios, the Bishop of Lampsakos, was from the city of Melitopolis (Asia Minor), where his father Christopher served as a deacon. The young man could not read, but he learned the Holy Scriptures well, by attending the Divine Services in church. He had a kind heart and, when he went fishing, he distributed the proceeds to the poor. Filled with the grace of God from the age of eighteen, Saint Parthenios healed diseases, cast out demons, and worked other miracles in Christ's name.

Learning about the virtuous life of the young man, Bishop Philip of Melitopolis gave him an education and ordained him as a presbyter. In 325, during the reign of Constantine the Great, Archbishop Achilles of Kyzikos appointed him as Bishop of Lampsakos (in Asia Minor). Many pagans lived in the city, and the Hierarch was diligent in spreading the faith in Christ, and confirming it with many miracles and healings of the sick, according to God's will. People abandoned their pagan beliefs, and Bishop Parthenios visited Emperor Constantine the Great, requesting him to permit the destruction of pagan temples so that Christian churches could be built in their place. The Emperor received him with honor, and gave him a document authorizing him to destroy pagan temples, and provided him with the means to build a church. Returning to Lampsakos, Bishop Parthenios ordered the destruction of the pagan temples and built a beautiful church in the middle of the city.

Finding a large marble stone in one of the ruined temples, suitable for the Holy Altar in the church, the Bishop ordered work to begin on the stone so that it could be put on a wagon and taken to the church. Out of malice, the devil, who was enraged because the stone had been removed from the temple, overturned the wagon, and the stone killed the driver Eutykhianos. Saint Parthenios resurrected him by his prayers, and shamed the devil, who wanted to obstruct God's work.

The Hierarch's mercy was so great that he never refused to heal any of those who came to him, or the people he met on the roads, who were suffering from bodily ailments and possessed by unclean spirits. People stopped going to doctors, because Saint Parthenios freely healed every illness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

By the great power of the name of Christ, the Hierarch cast out many demons from people, houses, and the waters of the sea. When the Bishop exorcised a demon from a certain man who had been possessed since childhood, the unclean spirit begged Saint Parthenios to give him another place to live. The Saint promised to show him such a place and, opening his mouth, he said to the demon: "Come and dwell in me." As if scorched by fire, the demon cried out, "How shall I enter the house of God?" and disappeared into desolate and impassable places. Expelled by the Saint the unclean spirit shouted that Divine fire was driving him into the fire of Gehenna. Thus, by showing people the great power of faith in Christ, the Saint converted many idolaters to the only true God.

The Saint's skull is located in the Monastery of Espigmenou on Mount Athos. Fragments of the Saint's relics are to be found in the Monasteries of the Great Cave at Kalavryta, Rovelistas of Arta, and Kykkos on Cyprus. Part of the Saint's skull is kept in the Holy Monastery of Makrymallē (Μακρυμάλλη). in the Holy Metropolis of Chalkida, in the center of the island of Euboea in Greece.

09/01/2026

Happy New Year to all ! Our next service will be tomorrow, Saturday 10th of January at 9.30 am in our usual home of St Mary’s Church central Swansea. Father Anastasios has asked that everyone should bring small bottles for Αγιασμός (Holy Water) as he will be blessing the waters after Theophany.

We will also commemorate among others St Gregory of Nyssa . All are welcome!

07/01/2026

Wishing all a slightly belated Blessed Theophany!

Theophany (from Greek theophania, meaning "appearance of God") is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on January 6. It is the feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord (Mt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).

This observance commemorates Christ's baptism by John the Forerunner in the River Jordan, and the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry. The Feast of Theophany is the culmination of the Christmas Season, which starts on December 25 and ends on January 6. In mystic commemoration of this event, the Great Blessing of Water is performed on this day, and the holy water so blessed is used by the local priest to bless the homes of the faithful.

The feast is called Theophany because at the baptism of Christ the Holy Trinity appeared clearly to mankind for the first time—the Father's voice is heard from Heaven, the Son of God is incarnate and standing physically in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove.

This feast is also sometimes referred to as Epiphany by English-speaking Orthodox Christians, but that name more properly refers to the Western Christian feast falling on that same day and commemorating the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus. The term epiphany does appear in some of the service texts for this feast, however.

Originally, there was just one Christian feast of the shining forth of God to the world in the human form of Jesus of Nazareth. It included the celebration of Christ's birth, the adoration of the wise men, and all of the childhood events of Christ such as his circumcision and presentation to the temple as well as his baptism by John in the Jordan. There seems to be little doubt that this feast, like Pascha and Pentecost, was understood as the fulfillment of a previous Jewish festival, in this case the Feast of Lights. The Armenian Apostolic Church still keeps January 6 as a feast of both Christ's Nativity and baptism.

Celebration of the feast

The Baptism of Christ (Menologion of Basil II, 10th-11th c.)
The services of Theophany are arranged similarly to those of the Nativity. (Historically the Christmas services were established later.)

The Royal Hours are read and the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served with Vespers on the eve of the feast. The Vigil is made up of Great Compline and Matins. On the morning of the feast, the Divine Liturgy is served.

The Liturgy of the feast begins with psalms of glorification and praise instead of the three normal Antiphons. And the baptismal line from Galatians 3:27 replaces the Thrice-Holy.

For as many as been baptized into Christ have put on Christ: Alleluia.
The Gospel readings of all the services tell of the Lord's baptism by John in the Jordan River. The epistle reading of the Divine Liturgy tells of the consequences of the Lord's appearing which is the divine epiphany.

Since the main feature of the feast is the blessing of water. It is prescribed to follow both the Divine Liturgy of the eve of the feast and the Divine Liturgy of the day itself. But most local parishes do it only once when most of the parishioners can be present. The blessing verifies that mankind, and all of creation, were created to be filled with the sanctifying presence of God.

In connection with the feast, it is traditional for the priest to visit all the homes of the faithful for their annual house blessing using the water that has been blessed at the Theophany services.

30/12/2025

Hello ti all our friends and Parishioners! Here is the list of services for the coming year - please feel free to share and save this for your own guide.
The next service is on the second Saturday 10th January in our usual home of St Mary’s Church in central Swansea - post code SA1 3LP for those with satnav.

27/12/2025

Archdeacon and Protomartyr Stephen (commemorated today, 27th December).

Protomartyr Stephen pray for us !

The Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen was the eldest of the seven deacons, appointed by the Apostles themselves, and therefore he is called “archdeacon.” He was the first Christian martyr, and he suffered for Christ when he was about thirty. In the words of Asterias, he was “the starting point of the martyrs, the instructor of suffering for Christ, the foundation of righteous confession, since Stephen was the first to shed his blood for the Gospel.”

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Saint Stephen preached Christianity and defeated Jewish teachers of the Law in debate. The Jews maligned Saint Stephen, saying that he had uttered blasphemy against God and against Moses. Saint Stephen came before the Sanhedrin and the High Priest to answer these charges. He gave a fiery speech, in which he recounted the history of the Jewish nation, and denounced the Jews for persecuting the prophets, and also for executing the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ (Acts ch. 7).

During his speech, Saint Stephen suddenly saw the heavens opened and Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God. The Jews shouted and covered their ears, and rushed at him. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him, but the holy martyr prayed for his murderers. Far off on the heights stood the Mother of God with the holy Apostle John the Theologian, and She prayed fervently for the martyr. Before his death Saint Stephen said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. O Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Then he joyfully gave up his pure soul to Christ.

The body of the holy Protomartyr Stephen, left to be eaten by beasts, was secretly taken up by the Jewish teacher Gamaliel and his son Habib, who buried Stephen on his estate. They both believed in Christ, and later received holy Baptism.

Saint Stephen is also commemorated on August 2 (Translation of his relics) and on September 15 (Uncovering of his relics in the year 415).

25/12/2025

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25/12/2025

Happy Christmas/Καλα Χριστούγεννα to all parishioners and to each and every friend and follower of our community around the world ! Your continued support, friendship and love mean everything to our small but growing community. Here’s to a peaceful and joyous new year to you wherever you may be 🙏❤️☦️

22/12/2025

Dear friends and parishioners,

Fr Anastasios will serve the Christmas Liturgy on Wednesday, 24th December in St Mary's Minster at 9:30 in the Minster of St Mary's, Swansea, SA1 3LP. We look forward to seeing you there. Upon arrival, the main doors of the Minster will be locked. Please access using the small door nearest the car park barrier. Inside, turn right to find us in the end chapel.