It really is a piece of Heaven: An English convert waited 17 hours to worship at St. Paraschevatranslated

Doxologia reported on the experience of Sophrony (Brett) Shackles, an Orthodox convert from England, who waited 17 hours to worship Saint Parascheva.

Sophrony received Orthodox baptism in August 2025. "I started my journey through Orthodoxy in Romania, in Bucharest," he says. His godfather is from Bucharest, and the young man says that he really discovered Orthodoxy in Romania, entering a church for the first time.

Converted in Romania, baptized in England

Last year he participated in the Consecration of the Painting of the National Cathedral, and this year he came to the Church of St. Parascheva, to see how it is on pilgrimage. "I feel that by coming here to celebrate one of Romania's most beloved saints, I express my gratitude to this country for what it has given me," he explains.

He told the Doxologia reporter why he came to Orthodoxy: "I was very dissatisfied with my atheistic life, my very secular lifestyle, and I was very interested in seeking the truth. Finally, I found it in Christ."

"When I started looking for a closer relationship with Christ and researching Christianity, I noticed that Orthodoxy was the Church...