The Orthodox Christian Society of Our Lady of Walsingham

Collect of Our Lady of Walsingham

O God, who in the blessed Virgin Mary didst make a fit dwelling place for thy Son, grant we beseech thee, that we who honour her shrine at Walsingham may also become temples of thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, and the same Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Troparion of Our Lady of Walsingham

Hail, O Virgin Theotokos! As thou didst receive the Good News of salvation at Gabriel’s appearing and didst by thine own appearing at Walsingham cause the Holy House to be raised up as an everlasting remembrance of that same mystery of salvation, pray that we may ever bear in our souls Jesus whom thou didst bring forth, the Savior of mankind.

The Walsingham Story

Retold by the Rt. Rev’d Archimandrite Daniel Keller

The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is the most renowned sanctuary of the Mother of God in the whole of the British Isles.

Walsingham itself is a village in a remote part of East Anglia some 125 miles from London. Here in the year 1061, (when England was still considered part of the One Orthodox Catholic Church) Richeldis, Lady of the Manor, received a vision in the fields near her home. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her and carried her in spirit to Nazareth. There, Our Lady showed her the little house where the Annunciation took place, and directed her to construct an exact copy. In confirmation of this vision, a spring of water suddenly appeared at Richeldis’ feet.

Richeldis obeyed, and so a chapel, after the model of the Holy House at Nazareth, was built beside the spring in honor of the mystery of the Incarnation. By God’s blessing Walsingham grew into a great center of prayer. Pilgrims came not only from distant parts of England or Scotland but from all over Europe, to pray before the venerable image of God’s Mother in the Holy House, and to drink from the waters of the spring. England’s Nazareth, as it was called, became famous for miracles of healing.

The original seal of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

The Destruction and Restoration of the Shrine

In 1538, during the Reformation under King Henry VIII, the Shrine was closed by force and destroyed. The image of Our Lady was publicly burnt and the Holy Well blocked up with rubbish. The Shrine Church disappeared so completely that its exact site was forgotten.

Then, after four centuries of neglect, the Shrine was restored once more, largely through the dedicated efforts of one man—the Anglican Vicar of Walsingham, Father A. Hope Patten (†1958). In 1921 he placed in his parish church an image of Our Lady, a copy of the ancient one that stood formerly in the Holy House. Ten years later a piece of land was acquired in the village, and the Holy House was rebuilt. When the workmen were clearing the ground for the foundations, they unearthed an ancient well, together with some medieval foundations, corresponding closely to the measurements of the Holy House built by Richeldis. Thus, it seems that Father Hope Patten and his helpers were guided by God to rebuild the Holy House on exactly the same spot as that on which it once stood. On October 15, 1931 the image of the Mother of God was transferred from the parish church to the restored Holy House, and there it has since remained. In 1937–8, the Shrine Church was greatly enlarged.

Orthodoxy at Walsingham

The Mother of God is honored at Walsingham not only by Anglicans and Roman Catholics, but by Orthodox as well. Before World War 11, Archbishop Seraphim, of the Russian Orthodox Church in Paris, blessed a plot of land close to the nave of the Shrine Church, where it is hoped one day to establish a permanent place for Orthodox worship (this chapel has not so far been built). In 1938, at the consecration of the enlarged Shrine Church, a delegation from the Russian Church was present, led by Archbishop Nestor and Archimandrite Nicolas Gibbes. Then at Pentecost, 1944, a temporary chapel within the walls of the Anglican Shrine was blessed by Archbishop Sava of Grodno, of the Polish Orthodox Church. This continues to be used by Orthodox pilgrims. Although small, it has an icon screen and all the features necessary for Eastern Orthodox worship.

Among the Orthodox who visited the Shrine after the war was the saintly Serbian Bishop, Nicholai Velimirovich. For several years a Serbian priest, Father Nadjanovich lived permanently at Walsingham. Since 1961 there have been regular Greek Orthodox pilgrimages. In 1964, the Orthodox Confraternity of Our Lady of Walsingharn was set up, under the patronage of Metropolitan Athenagoras, with Greek, Russian, Serbian, and English Orthodox representatives on the Council.

Another Chapter…

In the United States, on April 8, 1995, the Guardians of the Orthodox Christian Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham met for the first time and established the Society and plans for the building of a Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham in America. The Society’s purpose is to encourage prayer and devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham, to organize and encourage pilgrimages to the Shrine in America, as well as the Shrine in Walsingham, England. The Society and the effort to build the Shrine have received the blessing and encouragement of His Eminence Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America and His Grace Bishop Kallistos (Timothy Ware) of Oxford, England. Metropolitan Philip has also expressed his willingness to place the Shrine Church and Chapel under his omaphorion.

The Society is open to all Orthodox Christians, and they are warmly urged to join the Orthodox Christian Society of Our Lady of Walsingham. For more information about the Society, or if you wish to be a member, write to:

Or call Archimandrite Daniel Keller at (610) 853-1171, or contact Tom and Gaye Buchanan by e-mail or by phone at (610) 274-0168.

You may also visit the OLW Society web site, which features more information and a membership form (in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format).

Father John Charles Connely of St. Mark’s Parish of Denver, Colorado, has been appointed to the College of Guardians of the National Orthodox Christian Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in the USA.

The responsibilities of the Guardians are:

• Leadership in promotion of the Shrine and its ministries
• Encourage others to become members of the Society, especially in one’s own parish
• Conduct weekly services in honor of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, bearer of the eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, under her ancient English title of Our Lady of Walsingham
• Participate in the annual pilgrimage & meeting of the College of Guardians

The Walsingham Idea

A Vision for the Society & Shrine

From The Walsingham Way, Fall 1999 (Vol. II, No. I)

The shrine at Walsingham was not just the center of English spirituality, but also an important site of pilgrimage for all of the peoples of northern Europe from before the time of the Great Schism to the 16th century. Indeed, until it was destroyed by the Reformers, the replica of the Holy House of Nazareth was one of the most important shrines in all of Christendom. Today, as it has been rebuilt in Walsingham, the shrine is a place of pilgrimage and devotion for Anglicans, Catholics, Orthodox, and some Evangelicals—an indication of the importance of Our Lady’s shrine to all Christians who are historically minded.

The purpose of the Society of Our Lady of Walsingham is to encourage devotion to the Theotokos, the Blessed Virgin Mary, under this, one of her most ancient Western titles, and to work for the upbuilding of the Orthodox Christian Church. We have the following specific aims:

• To be a place of study; specifically, a center for the study of pre-Schism Western Christianity (especially of the Celtic and English traditions). This would seem to be the natural meeting ground for Orthodox and Roman Catholics, as well as for many Protestants.
• To be a place of worship, prayer, and intercession. More pointedly, a place for the worship of God and the honoring of Our Lady under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham, especially among the Orthodox, but also among Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and others.
• To be a place for people to come and see and experience the worship and devotional life of the undivided Church in its Western expression.
• To be a place of pilgrimage.
• To be a place of dialogue.

We propose that the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham be used as a focal point to accomplish these aims. In this regard, the shrine will provide a center for the following activities:

1. Daily services according to the pre-Schism Western tradition (and Eastern tradition when appropriate)
2. Seminars and scholarly symposia
3. A resident community to live out and assist in the mission of the shrine
4. 4. At a future date with the blessings of the metropolitan of AOCANA, the establishment of a community of Orthodox Christian monks and nuns living according to the Benedictine tradition.

Although we are currently without a permanent home, we are looking for property in the Pennsylvania / Delaware / Maryland border region. We hope to secure something within the next 18 months. We have already begun to form a community in this area. The community is currently meeting in the small town of Landenberg in Chester County, Pennsylvania. After its first six months of existence (i.e. as of the summer of 1999), we average about 20 people at our services. Many of these are catechumens, preparing to be received into the communion of the Orthodox Church.

We encourage our members to pray for the conversion of all to Christ and the union of all Christians in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Our prayer is that the shrine will be a place for Christians to come together and renew their love of Christ and the faith of the undivided Church.