The little parish grew out of a group of Orthodox Christians who felt drawn to more traditional Orthodoxy than was available in the Greek Parish in Chester. This little group was partially made up of Fr Paul's family and some of his ex-parishioners from Congleton from Fr Paul's Anglican days. The group formally came under the care of Archbishop Mark of ROCOR on the Feast of the Annunciation 1993.

We orginally set up two little shed churches - one in Congleton and one in Birkenhead - dedicated to St Werburgh and St Elisabeth the New Martyr respectively. The parish was served monthly by Fr Alexis and Fr Peter from Brookwood. Fr Paul was ordained Deacon in 1994 for "the Monastery and Brotherhood of St Edward and the Churches of Congleton and Birkenhead." The little church of St Elisabeth was set up in Fr Paul's house in September 1995. For four years, Fr Paul served once a month or so at Brookwood in Surrey until he was ordained Priest in July 1998 in Munich. A weekly Liturgy began in the parish in September 1998 and has continued in various locations ever since.

Presently, most services take place in Birkenhead with a monthly Liturgy in St Werburgh's Congleton on the 2nd Sunday of the month. The little parish has grown quite a lot since 1994 and now consists of a regular congregation of about 20, though quite a few more are associated with the parish. There have been a number of weddings, baptisms and one funeral in the parish.

The parish is clear in its conviction that it seeks to worship Christ in a traditional Orthodox way using the traditional Church Calendar. The parishioners are made up of many different nationalities.