The announcement today of the death of H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and consort to Her Majesty the Queen has been one of great sadness, not only for his lengthy and extensive commitment to public service but also because of the loss to our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth and all the beloved royal family.

The British Orthodox Church has a profound allegiance to the British monarchy and has had great respect for the depth of Christian spirituality manifested by Prince Philip, who was baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church and brought up in a devoutly religious family.

His great-aunt Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, was martyred for her faith as a victim of the godless Bolsheviks, while his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, became a nun as a widow after her husband died. Although he became an Anglican upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, he was able to enrich his religiosity with his endowment of inherited Orthodox spirituality.

Upon hearing of his passing on the news, Abba Seraphim shed heartfelt tears of regret and has now directed the clergy and faithful of the British Orthodox Church to commemorate Prince Philip in prayer for the traditional forty days of mourning; and as we draw closer to the Feast of the Lord’s Resurrection to trust that his soul will be received into heaven to eventually await the promise of the Resurrection of the Departed at the Glorious Second Coming of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. Memory Eternal!