Our Cardiff parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is a community of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), in the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe, with missions in Llanelli and Cheltenham and Wessex, and serves geographically scattered congregations stretching from Gloucestershire and Wessex to Pembrokshire.
We are a warm and welcoming multi-national community of Orthodox Slavs and British people, and we aim to live our spiritual lives according to the rich and beautiful traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, whilst devoted to the British saints and the ancient Orthodox legacy of our land.
Services are celebrated in Church Slavonic, English, and Welsh, according to the traditions of the pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodox Church and the Patristic Julian calendar.
We welcome everyone to our services, and encourage new-comers to stay for a chat and meet the clergy and parishioners.
Following our services we a invite visitors to share refreshments provided by our parish sisterhood and everyone is welcome. However, as we have no facilities for making drinks, we encourage worshippers to bring a flask or cold drinks. If you want to bring anything for the table then please do so, though no meat, given the church setting. The shared meal ‘trapeza’ is an extension of the Orthodox services where we can continue our togetherness and personally welcome new faces.
Don’t be shy, come in and stay for as long as your able; say a prayer; light a candle; come and say hello. If you need help, just ask a member of the congregation and they will be pleased to help.
Children are a very important part of our community and they also enjoy taking part in our services. We have many families and children of all ages within our community.
Our Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an autonomous local Church within the Moscow Patriarchate, with its own First-Hierarch and synod of bishops, and our local hierarch, Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe serves a dozen countries, with cathedrals in London and Geneva.
After the Russian Revolution and ensuing persecution of the Faith in the lands of the former Russian Empire, our ‘Church Abroad’, commonly referred to as ROCOR continued free Orthodox Church life in the emigration, leading an independent existence, as sanctioned by the Holy New-Martyr, Patriarch Tikhon.
This separated existence coninued for nearly ninety years, with the reunion of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church being celebrated on on 17 May 2007
Our Cardiff parish was established eleven years ago, and currently worships in St John’s Church in Canton, where we celebrate the Divine Liturgy each Sunday.
We hope that you might come and visit and, by doing so, discover a warm and friendly community, with plenty of local faithful, as well as those for other lands.
Православный приход во Имя Казанской Иконы Божией Матери приглашает всех посетить нас в Кардиффе!
Croeso cynnes i bawb! Everyone is welcome!