Sts. Peter and Paul, co-Patrons of the see of Antioch and all the East		 Antiochian Orthodox Deanery
of the United Kingdom and Ireland

Sts. Peter and Paul
Registered Charity No. 1057533

"the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." [Acts 11:26] 

 Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Europe
Site Map		 St. Theodore

St. Theodore of Tarsus and Canterbury
Patron of the Deanery
Bishop Ignatius 
Patriarchal Vicar: His Grace, Bishop Ignatios


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H.B. John X

His Beatitude, John X, Patriarch of Antioch & all the East

After the election of our former Metropolitan H.E. John as Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, H.G. Bishop Ignatios is pastoring this Archdiocese with H.B. the Patriarch until a new Metropolitan is appointed.

 John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom, Patron of the Archdiocese

 

St. Michael the Archangel, Audley

St. Michael's Audley

The Iconostasis at St. Michael's Church, Audley

Services, Contact and Parish Web Site

(two church buildings in Dresden and Audley)

DRESDEN: Saint Michael's Parish, worshipping in the Church of The Holy Resurrection, Dresden.

Address: Red Bank, Dresden, Stoke on Trent, ST3 4PD. Map

Services: Saturday: 6pm Great Vespers; Sunday: 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy.
Great Feasts as announced in monthly newsletter.

WEEKDAY SERVICES: St. Michael's Audley is on the main road through Audley village, 26 Wereton Road.  Map

other services as announced

Monthly Newsletter
 Enter Parish Web Site
parish web site
Fr. Samuel Carter
01782 351044
07787 375545

email:
samuel.carter@ntlworld.com

The parish organises an annual pilgrimage
to the shrine of St. Bertram in Ilam, Derbyshire.
Fr. Samuel
Fr. Samuel

A Life of St. Bertram

from the parish web site

Bertram was a King of Mercia around the 8th century. (His life was written in the 1516 edition of the Nova Legenda Angliae.) Thinking he might have a religious calling, he traveled to Ireland where such saints as Patrick and Columba had lived. In Ireland he fell in love and eloped with a beautiful princess. He brought her back to Mercia traveling while she was pregnant. They lived a nomadic life, and it is thought that the baby was born in the shelter of the forest near Stafford. Tragedy occurred while Bertram was away hunting for food. Wolves came and killed his wife and child.

Overcome with grief, he renounced royal heritage and turned again to God. He sought a life of prayer, and it is said that many pagans were converted to Christianity by the example of his life.

Bertram approached the court of Mercia but did not reveal his royal lineage. He asked for a grant of land for the building of a hermitage. This land was granted near modern day Stafford. Historians record the name of the hermitage as Bethnei.

A New King took throne. Not being a religious man, he demanded back the land on which the hermitage stood. It was decided that the matter should be settled by man to man combat. Bertram prayed for someone to come forward to fight for the hermitage. A man who was a dwarf came forward and Bertram remembering the David and Goliath accepted his offer. The dwarf was agile and quick and the hermitage kept its land.

Bertram is also linked to the village of Bartomley near Audley in present day Cheshire. It is said that Bertram, having dedicated his life to Christ, was sought out by the devil who tempted him to turn stones into bread. Bertram prayed rather that the bread would be turned to stones. In 1516 it was said that those stones were still in the church at Bartomely.

Bertram was known in the area as a wise and holy man. Many sought him out for spiritual advice. As seen throughout the history, holy men and women beset by people constantly and needing to refresh their souls seek solitude in quiet unpopulated places. Bertram found a cave near the present day sight of Ilam in Derbyshire. He lived there until his death.