History of the local communities
Torquay
Tormohun, originally Tor Mohun, was a historic parish on the Devon coast that became part of modern Torquay. Its ancient parish church, St Saviour’s, dates to the 14th century and was built on the site of a much older chapel dedicated to St Petroc, with Christian presence in the area traced to the 6th century. Over centuries, the church saw Catholic, then Protestant, and now Orthodox use.
After WWII, Greek and Cypriot immigrants—including Panayiotis Skrivanos and three friends—began forming an Orthodox community in Torbay. Services were first held at St John’s in 1969, but limitations led the parish to negotiate use of the long-empty St Saviour’s. A formal agreement was reached in 1984, and the building became the Church of St Andrew. It remains unconsecrated but fully active.
The parish was founded and led by several faithful figures such as Fr. Gregory Palamas. In 2024, Fr Trayan Goranov was officially appointed priest-in-charge. Archbishop Nikitas visited that year, celebrating Liturgy and honouring Robert Skrivanos for over 55 years of service.
Today, the parish remains vibrant, with active trustees and a new choir. It serves Orthodox Christians in Torquay and beyond.
Plymouth
The first Greek Cypriot to arrive in Plymouth in 1935 was Maria Photiades. From 1946 other families began to arrive and set up restaurant businesses in the city centre as it was being rebuilt after the wartime destruction. More people arrived after the Turkish occupation of their villages in 1974.
In recent years the Community has become more mixed with Greek Mainland, Russian, and English members. As a result the Holy Services are now in a mixture of Greek and English.
The Church Parish was founded in 1964 by Archbishop Athenagoras II and dedicated to the Greatmartyr Demetrios. In 1994 Archbishop Gregory approved the addition of the Greatmartyr Nikitas, the Gothic saint, since so many of the families had originally come from the village of Nikitas near Morphou.
For over 30 years the Parish rented places of worship from St. Peter’s Parish. In 1996 the Community purchased the church and community centre on the West Hoe, originally dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
It is now beautifully furnished with iconostasis, icons, lamps, and banners from Greece. The Bishop’s throne was hand-carved in Cyprus by the renowned Talliadoros brothers.
The University of Plymouth has attracted many Greek students, particularly in the fields of Marine Studies, Architecture, Business, and Information Technology. The Community is always ready to help and support them when they are away from home.
Exeter
The Orthodox Parish of the Holy Prophet Elias in Devon began with the founding of a monastery by Archimandrite Barnabas in Willand, Devon, in 1967. The monastery was established with the aim of creating a center for Orthodox Christian life and worship in the region. Over time, a parish community grew, particularly in Exeter, attracting students and others with Orthodox backgrounds. The parish eventually found a home in the medieval chapel of St. Anne, where they established a vibrant Orthodox community with icons and an Iconostasis. The parish welcomes people of all backgrounds and languages, reflecting a diverse Orthodox Christian community.
Orthodoxy
Greek Orthodoxy in Devon
The Greek Orthodox parishes in Plymouth, Torquay, and Falmouth are in the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain whose Archbishop Nikitas lives in London. The Mother Church for Greek Orthodox Christians who live in England, America, and Australia is at Constantinople.
Constantinople was founded in 311 as the capital of the newly Christianised Roman Empire at a time when the whole of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) was Greek speaking. Its bishop was early on called the Ecumenical Patriarch. Until the Great Schism between eastern and western Christians in 1054 he ranked next to the Pope of Rome.
After 1054 he was ranked first in the Orthodox Christian world. The present patriarch is called Bartholomew.
Orthodox Christians are grouped in self-governing national churches, (Russian, Romanian, and Serbian, for example) using different languages, but are united in faith and worship.
Our parishes are regularly in contact with the Russian Orthodox parishes in Exeter, Coombe Martin, and Truro.
There is also an Antiochian Orthodox presence in West Cornwall which is connected with the Patriarch of Antioch who lives in Damascus.