## **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 2025 

|CONTENTS:|Page|
|---|---|
|Legal and Administrative Information|1|
|Report of the Trustees|2 to4|
|Statement of Financial Activities|5|
|Notes to the Accounts|6|
|Independent Examiner’s Report|7 to 8|





## **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|
|Rebecca Edery|04-Feb-24|25-Jan-25|
|Michael Cooper|04-Feb-24|25-Jan-25|



Bankers: Lloyds Bank 58 Queens Rd BRISTOL BS8 1RQ 

Independent Examiner: Richard Ridler 36 Walden Road Sewards End Saffron Walden ESSEX CB102LF 

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

## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[st] December 2025** 

## **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** 

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 

2 

2 



## **Financial Activity** 

||2025|2025|2025|Change|2024|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestrict<br>ed funds|Restricted<br>funds|Total<br>funds|||
|Total receipts|£37,010|£5,034|£42,044|-£22,670|£64,714|
|Total Payments|£22,961|£12,756|£35,717|-£43,830|£79,547|
|**Net of receipts/(payments)**|**£14,049**|**-£7,722**|**£6,327**|**£21,160**|**-£14,833**|



**Receipts** decreased by £22,670 year on year. Key reasons for this are: 

- £27,703 in loans and grants 

- Offset slightly by a net increase in other sources of income: 

|Parish FundraisingTotal|£5,994|
|---|---|
|Parish Events Total|£40|
|Other FundraisingTotal|-£1,358|
|Sale of Candles Total|£718|
|Special Collections Total|-£337|
||**£5,057**|



- More details are in the notes to the accounts 

**Payments** reduced significantly by £43,830: 

- The Sanctuary Refurbish and Stone Repair took place in 2024 at a cost of £58,282 

- This saving was lowered by the following increases and reductions in cost 

|Repayment of Grants and other funds|£3,309|
|---|---|
|Priests Expenses|£4,595|
|CommunityDevelopment *|£3,875|
|Purchase of Candles and Stock|£2,339|
|Purchase of Icons|£1,540|
|All other changes in costs|-£1,206|
||£14,452|



> * The Parish received a grant of £7,603 from the National Philanthropic Society (USA) 

- More details are included in the notes 

## **Local and International Support** 

The Parish contributed £135 to the Friends of the Holy land in response to the crisis in Gaza. 

## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** 

## **Governing document** 

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

3 



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

The Charity is in the process of changing to a Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). We anticipate this process will be concluded in 2026 at which point new Trustees will be appointed. 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 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. As of 31[st ] December 2025 the Church had £24,144 in the bank account of which £3,693 is restricted. As we are currently spending £17,859 every six months the reserves are sufficient. 

## **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 prudent; 

- State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 

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 safeguarding 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 25[th ] January 2026 

and signed their behalf by: 


Neil Andrew Brent, Treasurer 


Kate Hearn, President 

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**ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE** Charity No. 290747 01-Jan-25 From **NATIVITY OF THE MOTHER OF To** 31-Dec-25 **GOD BRISTOL** 

'{lrl['] '•. - �- . -t 

## **Section A: Receipts and payments** 

|**Section A: Receipt and payments**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||2025||Change|2024|
||Unresticted<br>fnds|Resticted<br>fnds|Total fnds|||
||£s|£s|£s|£s|£s|
|**Receipts**||||||
|Parish Fundraisinq<br>Parish Event<br>Grant and oter Funds<br>Oer Fundraising<br>Special Collectons<br>Sale of Candles and oter items<br>**Total receipt**|29,721<br>40<br>2,280<br>135<br>4,834<br>**37,010**|5,010<br>24<br>**5,034**|<br> <br> <br>34,731<br>40<br>2,304<br>135<br>4,834<br>**42,044**|5,994<br>-27,703<br>-1,928<br>-337<br>1,264<br>**-22,670**|28,737<br>27,703<br>4,232<br>472<br>3,570<br>**64,714**|
|**Payments**||||||
|Church Fabric and Purchasing||1,900|<br>1,900|1,540|360|
|Church Running Expenses<br>Clerav cost<br>Communit Development|11,943<br>7,095|3,672<br>3,875|<br> <br>15,615<br>7,095<br>3,875|-465<br>4,595<br>3,875|16,080<br>2,500|
|Cost of Sales|2,971||2,971|2,339|632|
|Maior Maintenance<br>Oer Administaton Exoenses<br>Oer Expenses|464<br>119||464<br>119|-58,282<br>124<br>119|58,282<br>340|
|Reoavment of Grants and oter fnds||3,309|<br>3,309|3,309||
|Transfer of fnds collected at services<br>**Total Payments**<br>**Net of receips/bvments)**<br>Transfer Beteeen Resticted and Unresticted fnds<br>Cash fnds last year end<br>**Cash funds this year en**|369<br>**22,961**<br>**14,049**<br>-3,938<br>10,340<br>**20,451**|**12,756**<br>**-7,722**<br>3,938<br>7,477<br>**3,693**|<br>369<br>**35,717**<br>**6,327**<br>17,817<br>**24,144**|-984<br>**-3,830**<br>**21,160**<br>-14,833<br>**6,327**|1,353<br>**79,547**<br>**-14,833**<br>32,650<br>**17,817**|



## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** 

||Categories/ Details|Unrestricted<br>fnds|2025<br>Resticted<br>fnds|Total fnds|Change|2024|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||£s|£s|£s|£s|£s|
|Cash|||||-394|394|
|Bank Account||20,451|3,693|<br>24,144|6,721|17,423|
|**Total cash funds**||**20,451**|**3,693**|<br>**24,144**|**6,327**|**17,817**|



Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees 

Si nature Date of a roval 

## Neil Andrew Brent 

## Kate Hearn 




5 




|||**TABLE 1**|
|---|---|---|
|**ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE**|Charity No.|290747|
|**NATIVITY OF THE MOTHER OF**|From|01-Jan-25|
|**GOD BRISTOL**|To|31-Dec-25|



## Notes to the Accounts 

|||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**Change**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestrict**<br>**ed**|**Restricted**|**Total**<br>**funds**|||
|**A1: Receipts**|||||||
|Parish Fundraising|BuildingFund||2,828|2,828|322|2,506|
||Facebook Donations|4||4|-195|199|
||General Church Collections|20,936||20,936|8,139|12,797|
||Gift Aid - Parish Fundraising|4,066|623|4,688|-4,012|8,700|
||Icon Fund||1,560|1,560|1,465|95|
||Regular Giving- StandingOrders|4,715||4,715|275|4,440|
|**Parish Fundraising Total**||**29,720**|**5,010**|**34,731**|**5,994**|**28,737**|
|Grants Awarded|BuildingFund - Grant||||-5,000|5,000|
||Grants||||-7,603|7,603|
||Loans||||-15,000|15,000|
||Other||||-100|100|
|**Grants Awarded Total**|||||**-27,703**|**27,703**|
|Parish Events|Participant Contributions|40||40|40||
|**Parish Events Total**||**40**||**40**|**40**||
|Other Fundraising|Donations for Services|613||613|148|465|
||Gift Aid - Other Fundraising||24|24|||
||HiringRooms in Church|1,040||1,040||1,100|
||Kitchen Fund|12||12|||
||||||||
||Other Donations|57||57|-11|67|
||Sponsored fundraisers||||-1,496|1,496|
|**Other Fundraising Total**||**1,722**|**24**|**1,745**|**-1,358**|**3,128**|
|Sale of Candles and other<br>items|Bookshopand other sales|136||136|55|81|
||Sale of Candles|3,753||3,753|265|3,488|
||Sale of items|945||945|373|572|
||Sale of Prosphora|559||559|26|533|
|**Sale of Candles Total**||**5,392**||**5,392**|**718**|**4,674**|
|Special Collections|Gaza Appeal|135||135|-337|472|
|**Special Collections Total**||**135**||**135**|**-337**|**472**|
|**A1: Receipts Total**||**37,009**|**5,034**|**42,043**|**-22,646**|**64,714**|
|**A3: Payments**|||||||
|Church Fabric and Purchasing|Purchase of Icons||1,900|1,900|1,540|360|
|Church Running Expenses|Candles Purchased for Church Use|572||572|24|548|
||Cleaning|565||565|-475|1,040|
||DBS Checks|159||159|9|150|
||Equipment and Buildings Inspection|78||78|-65|143|
||Equipment and Buildings Maintenance|390|3,672|4,062|-1,369|5,431|
||Incense and Charcoal|526||526|526||
||Insurance|4,615||4,615|798|3,817|
||Other Costs|600||600|168|432|
||Payment for Utilities|3,043||3,043|1|3,042|
||Pest control|1,393||1,393|-83|1,476|
|**Church Running Expenses Tot**|**al**|**11,942**|**3,672**|**15,614**|**-465**|**16,079**|
|Clergycosts|Priests Expenses|7,095||7,095|4,595|2,500|
|Community Development|Bursariespaid from the Archbishop's Fund||500|500|500||
||Conferences||150|150|150||
||Pilgrimages||3,225|3,225|3,225||
|**Community Development Tota**|**l**||**3,875**|**3,875**|**3,875**||
|Cost of Sales|Bookshopand other sales|262||262|97|165|
||Candles for Sale|2,708||2,708|2,241|467|
|**Cost of Sales Total**||**2,971**||**2,971**|**2,339**|**632**|
|Major Maintenance|SanctuaryRefurbish and Stone Repair||||-58,282|58,282|
|Other Administration Expenses|Fees and Charges|190||190|123|67|
||Website|102||102|1|101|
||Zoom Calls|173||173|0|173|
|**Other Administration Expenses Total**||**465**||**465**|**124**|**341**|
|Other Expenses|Kitchen Purchases<br>Miscellaneous Expenses|1||1|1||
|||118||118|118||
|**Other Expenses Total**||**119**||**119**|**119**||
|Repayment of Grants and other fund|sLoans||3,309|3,309|3,309||
|**Repayment of Grants and other fun**|**ds Total**||**3,309**|**3,309**|**3,309**||
|Transfer of funds collected at<br>services|Patriarchate Fund|200||200|-403|603|
||Gaza Appeal|169||169|-581|750|
|**Transfer of funds collected at**|**services Total**|**369**||**369**|**-984**|**1,353**|
|**A3: Payments Total**||**22,961**|**12,756**|**35,717**|**-43,830**|**79,547**|
|**Net Position**||**14,048**|**-7,722**|**6,327**|**21,184**|**-14,833**|



6 




## CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES 

# **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** 


Orthodox Church of The Nativity of The Mother Of God Bristol **m embers of Report o the trustees/** 

**On accounts for the year Cha�ity no en ded** .___131/12/2025 _____________ ___,.___ I ___ **(1f an y)** __._1290747 ______ ____. 

- I report to the trustees on my examinat1on of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 31/12/2024 

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

- **ba si s of r eport** 

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. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have 

## **Independent examiner's statement** 

come to my attention (other than that disclosed below*) 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. 

* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ 



**Name.:** j Richard Ridler **Relevant profession al qualific ation(s) o r  body (if any):** - **I** -----------------------------' 

7 



. ., 

0. ... 

•. 


**Address:** 36 Walden Road Sewards End, Saffron Waiden Essex CB 10 2LF 


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 details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.** 


-- - ----- - -- _ __ _,_ 

8