On Saturday, 16th July, parishioners of the Southampton community together with friends from further afield, about 25 people in all, made a pilgrimage to the ancient church of St Boniface in Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight. The church, which dates from the 11th century, was built by monks from Normandy on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The Divine Liturgy that we celebrated was quite possibly the first Orthodox service there for 1,000 years. Born in Crediton, Devon in 675, St Boniface was a monk of the great monastery of Nursling near Southampton and became the Enlightener of the Germanic lands and Archbishop of Mainz. His long life of service to the Gospel of Christ was crowned by martyrdom at Pentecost in 754 as he was preparing to baptise a group of catechumens. The liturgy after the Liturgy consisted of a picnic on the beach under hot sun and cloudless skies. Many pilgrims, both young and old, cooled off in the sea before returning home after a wonderful day.
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