## **Orthodox Church of the Nativity of The Mother of God Bristol** 

Registered Charity No. 290747 

Annual Report and Financial Statements Year Ended 31[st] December 2023 

|CONTENTS:|Page|
|---|---|
|Legal and Administrative Information|1|
|Report of the Trustees|2 to 6|
|Statement of Financial Activities|7|
|Notes to the Accounts|8|
|Independent Examiner’s Report|9|





## **Orthodox Church of the Nativity of The Mother of God Bristol** 

Charitable Status: Orthodox Church of the Nativity of The Mother of God Bristol is a Registered Charity no. 290747 

Church Address: Orthodox Church University Road BRISTOL BS8 1S 

Trustees: 

||Date Appointed|Date Resigned|
|---|---|---|
|Neil Andrew Brent|12-Mar-11|N/A|
|Kate Hearn|09-Feb-14|N/A|
|Lydia Kellett|23-Sep-18|04-Feb-24|
|Robert Beavis|22-Oct-12|04-Feb-24|
|Rebecca Edery|04-Feb-24|N/A|
|Michael Cooper|04-Feb-24|N/A|



Bankers: Lloyds Bank 58 Queens Rd BRISTOL BS8 1RQ 

Independent Examiner: Richard Ridler 

36 Walden Road Sewards End Saffron Walden ESSEX CB102LF 



## **Orthodox Church of the Nativity of The Mother of God Bristol** 

## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[st] December 2023** 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

## **Summary of the purposes of the charity:** 

The Church exists to provide for the religious, cultural and pastoral needs of Orthodox Christians in the area of Bristol City, Gloucestershire, and Somerset in accordance with the doctrines of the Orthodox Church under the Oecumenical Patriarch. 

## **Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.** 

During the reporting period the Church provides regular weekly church services as well as all key feasts of the Orthodox Church. 

## **Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit** 

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when planning our current and future activities. We understand that they comply with this guidance. 

## **Church Activities Achievements and Performance** 

Particular highlights of the year were Archbishop Nikitas’ visit on our Parish Feast-day, and the celebration of the 75[th] anniversary of the founding of this parish in Bristol Cathedral. 

New people from non-Orthodox backgrounds continue to find us.   We received 6 adults in the last year, with more currently at various stages of their journey in the faith. 

We continue to ensure that the building we use is fully maintained and collect monthly parish contributions towards the Building Fund. Added to this fund was a significant grant of £10,000 from the Archdiocese. These are being put to good use but most of these works will take place in 2024 and be paid for then: 

- The stonework and windows in the altar area cleaned and repaired 

- Roof-level water ingress at the back of the church will be investigated and rectified. 

- When we are able we will be replacing the infra-red heaters 

- 

- Urgent maintenance work will also be done on the central heating system 

Routine inspections of lightning conductors and fire extinguishers were also carried out 



## **Financial Activity** 

||2023|2023|2023|Change|2022|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestrict<br>ed funds|Restricted<br>funds|Total<br>funds|||
|Total receipts|£16,737|£14,137|£30,874|£7,026|£23,848|
|Total Payments|£14,914|£2,940|£17,854|-£6,526|£24,380|
|**Net of receipts/(payments)**|**£1,823**|**£11,197**|**£13,020**|**£13,552**|**-£532**|



**Receipts** increased by £7,026 year on year. Key reasons for this are: 

- A grant from St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Educational Centre (RCN 271439) towards the cost of major building maintenance works to be carried out in 2024 

- Gift Aid of £4,296 for the tax year 2022-23 was not paid by HMRC until 2024 

- An increase in general collection giving and sales of candles of £1,605 as a result of a continuing increase in church attendance 

- More details are in the notes to the accounts 

**Payments** reduced significantly by £6,526: 

- Equipment and Buildings Inspection was £1,984 less in 2023. In 2022 two nonannual inspections were carried out: 

   1. Quinquennial survey by Conservation Architects £688 

   2. Electrical System Test £1,164 

- Equipment and Buildings Maintenance was £7,354 less in 2023 than 2022. In 2022 the church incurred additional spend including: 

   1. A new electrical installation £6,456 

   2. Gutter and Roof Clearance £320 

   3. Repairs to the church floor £500 

## **Local and International Support** 

The Church contributed £395 to the Turkey Earthquake Appeal 

## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** 

## **Governing document** 

The charity is governed by a deed of trust dated 31[st] December 1973. 

## **Recruitment and appointment of new trustees** 

The charity will look for new trustees as required. Such persons will need to be eligible to serve in accordance with the Constitution. Trustees are proposed and seconded by church members and confirmed by a vote as described in the Governing Document. Since the end of this accounting period two trustees have resigned and been replaced as set out in the Legal and Administrative Information on page 1. 



Reserves Policy
To retain sufficient funds in the bank to cover six months expenditure. A5 of 31 December
2023 the Church had £32.650 in the bank account. This includes a grant of £10,000 from the
St. Nlcholas Greek Orthodox Educational Centre {Registered Charity 2714391 to be spent in
2024 on the refurbishment of the altar area. This leaves £22,650 which would cover 15
months spend at 2023 level5.
Trustees
Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year
which show a true and fair view of the state of the charity and its financial activities for that
period. In preparing the statement the trustees are required to:
Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently,.
Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prLtdent,'
State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended
practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and
explained in the financial statement5;
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with
reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charity and to enable trustees to ensure
that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993. They are also responsible
for safeguardin8 the assets of the church and hence taking reasonable steps for the
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Trustees on 23 October 2024
and signed their behalf by:
Neil Andrew Brent, Treasurer
Kate Hearn, President

ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE
NATIVITY OF THE MOTHER OF T.
GOD BRISTOL
Charity No.
From
290747
01-Jan-23
31-Dec-23
Section A: Receipts and payments
2023
Restricted
funds
2022
Unrestricted
nds
Totsl funds
Recei
Parish Fundraisin
Grants Awarded
Other Fundraisin
ecial Collections
Sale ofcandles
Total recel
Pa
ments
Church Runnin
Cler
Gosts
OtherAdministration Ex
Other Ex
enses
Cost of Sales
Church Fabric and Purchasin
Transfer offvnds collected atservices
Total Pa
ments
Net of recei
Cash funds last
Cash funds thls
13,647
4,137
10,000
17.784
10,000
904
328
1,858
30.874
21,229
904
328
1,858
16.737
315
829
1,475
23.848
14.137
enses
10,192
2,500
270
170
1,187
10.192
2,500
270
170
1,187
2,940
595
17,854
13,020
19,630
32.650
17,822
2,650
380
8nses
1,504
1,000
1,024
2,940
595
14,914
1,823
11,155
12.978
2,940
11.197
8,475
19,672
ments
ear end
ear end
32
20,162
19,630
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the
period
Categories l Details
2023
Restricted
funds
2022
Unrestricted
funds
Total fvnds
Cash
Bank Account
Totsl cash funds
695
12,283
12,978
695
31,955
32,650
120
19,510
19,630
19,672
19,672
Signed by on8 or truste8s on behalfof all the trustees
nature
Date ofa
roval
Neil Andrew Brent
13JIDI
Kate Hearn


## **ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD BRISTOL** 

|Charity No.|290747|
|---|---|
|From<br>To|01-Jan-23<br>31-Dec-23|



## Notes to the Accounts 

|**RPA Heading**<br>**1**|**RPA Heading 2**|**2023**|**2023**|**2023**|**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted **|**Restricted**|**Total funds**||
|**A1: Receipts**||||||
|Parish<br>Fundraising|BuildingFund||£1,892|£1,892|£2,542|
||Facebook Donations|£80||£80|£949|
||General Church Collections|£9,258||£9,258|£8,035|
||Gift Aid||||£2,730|
||Icon Fund||£2,245|£2,245|£600|
||Just GivingDonations||||£293|
||Reguar Giving- StandingOrders|£4,310||£4,310|£6,080|
|**Parish Fundraising Total**||**£13,648**|**£4,137**|**£17,784**|**£21,229**|
|Grants Awarded|BuildingFund - Grant||£10,000|£10,000||
|**Grants Awarded Total**|||**£10,000**|**£10,000**||
|Other<br>Fundraising|Amazon - Smile|£39||£39|£44|
||Donations for Services|£560||£560||
||Other Donations|£17||£17|£48|
||Other Fundraising||||£50|
||Sale of items|£288||£288|£174|
|**Other Fundraising Total**||**£904**||**£904**|**£315**|
|Sale of Candles|Sale of Candles|£1,858||£1,858|£1,476|
|**Sale of Candles Total**||**£1,858**||**£1,858**|**£1,476**|
|Special<br>Collections|TurkeyEarthquake|£328||£328||
||Ukraine Appeal||||£310|
||Ukraine Tourniquet Appeal||||£519|
|**Special Collections Total**||**£328**||**£328**|**£829**|
|**A1: Receipts Total**||**£16,737**|**£14,137**|**£30,874**|**£23,848**|
|**A3: Payments**||||||
|Church Fabric<br>and|Purchase of Icons||£2,940|£2,940|£1,000|
|**Church Fabric and Purchasing Total**|||**£2,940**|**£2,940**|**£1,000**|
|Church<br>Running<br>Expenses|Archive Project|£517||£517|£157|
||Candles Purchased for Church Use|£572||£572|£471|
||Cleaning|£775||£775|£38|
||Equipment and Buildings Inspection|£207||£207|£2,192|
||Equipment and Buildings Maintenan|c<br>£90||£90|£7,444|
||Insurance|£3,733||£3,733|£3,304|
||Other Costs|£604||£604||
||Payment for Utilities|£2,350||£2,350|£2,997|
||Pest control|£1,342||£1,342|£1,220|
|**Church Running Expenses Total**||**£10,192**||**£10,192**|**£17,822**|
|Clergycosts|Priests Expenses|£2,500||£2,500|£2,650|
|**Clergy costs Total**||**£2,500**||**£2,500**|**£2,650**|
|Cost of Sales|Candles for Sale|£1,187||£1,187|£1,504|
|**Cost of Sales Total**||**£1,187**||**£1,187**|**£1,504**|
|Other<br>Administration<br>Expenses|Fees and Charges|£12||£12||
||Website|£85||£85|£207|
||Zoom Calls|£173||£173|£173|
|**Other Administration Expenses Total**||**£270**||**£270**|**£380**|
|Other Expenses|75th AnniversaryCelebrations|£170||£170||
|**Other Expenses Total**||**£170**||**£170**||
|Transfer of<br>funds collected<br>at services|Patriarchate Fund|£200||£200||
||TurkeyEarthquake|£395||£395||
||Ukraine Appeal||||£375|
||Ukraine Tourniquet Appeal||||£649|
|**Transfer of funds collected at services Total**||**£595**||**£595**|**£1,024**|
|**A3: Payments Total**||**£14,914**|**£2,940**|**£17,854**|**£24,380**|
|**Net Position**||**£1,823**|**£11,197**|**£13,020**|**-£532**|






## **Sect ion A** 

## **CHARITY COMMISSION Independent examiner's report FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES on the accounts** 

## **Independent Exam iner's Report** 

**Report to the trustees/** Orthodox Church of The Nativity of The Mother Of God Bristol **members of On accounts for t he year** 31/12/2023 **Cha�ity no** 29074 7 **ended (1f any)** ~~�---------------~~ 1 ~~I~~ --- ~~-1 --~~ ---� **Setouton pages** 1and 2 �' _ _ _ _____________________ __ �_ 

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 31 / 12 / 2023 

- **Responsibilities and** As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation **basis of report** of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). 

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

**Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **exam iner's statement** come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: 

- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or 

- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

**Signed: Date: I 27/09/2024 �� Name:** Richard Ridler I **Relevant profe ssional qualification(s) or body ( if any): Address:** 36 Walden Road Sewards End, Saffron Walden Essex CB 10 2LF 

**October 2018** 

**IER** 



Section B
Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see
CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance
for examiners).
Give here brief delails of
any items that the
examiner wishes to
disclose.
IER
October 2018