As far as English speaking Orthodoxy is concerned there are three individuals who have been at the “tip of the spear” for Orthodox mission. They were all monks, all became Archimandrites and all had an influence way beyond what would appear to have been the case during their lives. These were Fr Lazarus (Moore), Fr David (Meyrick) and Fr Barnabas (Burton).

This small book is a re-editing of an obituary that I published in Orthodox Outlook, over three issues, written by Fr Andrew Midgley one of Fr Lazarus’ spiritual children. The book has been edited by Mark Tattum-Smith who has done some excellent work correcting the chronology by following up passages in the original by referring to a number of papers in Lambeth Palace Library. These are to be found as end notes. He has also unearthed a letter that Fr Lazarus wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1936 justifying his move to Orthodox. And there are also now some interesting pictures.

Fr Lazarus was a native Englishman who, after some travels was ordained as an Anglican minister. He was posted to India where he lived for a while in an Anglican Ashram and later with an Orthodox monk.

He determined to become Orthodox and was faced with enormous opposition from the Anglican authorities who put pressure on the patriarchs of Jerusalem and Serbia to stop his reception and ordination. Nevertheless in 1935 he was ordained deacon and priest by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (on exactly the same dates as I was, but 51 years earlier!). He then went on to serve in Palestine, India, Britain, Australia and Canada. He made a number of very useful translations of the Orthodox Church Services – some of which are used to this day and he was of enormous assistance to the Evangelical Orthodox Church in their road to become part of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.

I am delighted to read his life again and congratulate the College of Our Lady of Mettingham, the publishers, for putting Fr Lazarus’ life back into the “public domain”. This man was a true hero of the Orthodox Church and a wonderful example through huge difficulties and suffering of the Christian life. There is no doubt in my mind that Fr Lazarus is numbered among the saints.

Fr Stephen