Huddersfield Parish Church is celebrating the Ethiopian festival of Filseta with a marathon 16-day period of prayer and meditation.
A member of the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church will be in residence 24 hours a day from today to August 23.
Huddersfield Parish Church, also known as St Peter’s, Byram Street, will be open Mondays to Fridays from 9.30am to 4pm.
The Ethiopian Orthodox church usually meets each week at St. Thomas’ Church in Manchester Road, but St Peter’s has more space and is able to accommodate this expansive offering of worship.
The Vicar of Huddersfield, the Reverend Canon Simon Moor said: “We are honoured that this faithful community is able to find a home in the churches of Huddersfield.
“I was overwhelmed last year when this festival took place. The commitment to God and the time that is spent, the early mornings and late nights of prayer, is quite humbling.’
Filseta celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and many Ethiopian worshippers fast during this period. The Ethiopian branch of the Orthodox family of churches is famous for its ancient churches carved out of the bedrock.
Canon Moor continued: “We can learn a great deal from the worship of this festival, the worshippers have great reverence worship with their whole bodies. It is worth coming, listening and watch and perhaps joining your prayers with their ancient liturgy”.
