Saint Panteleimon's is an Orthodox Christian parish of East Slavic tradition serving the New South Wales Central Coast and the northern suburbs of Sydney. Our parish includes Orthodox Christians of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, and other backgrounds. We are a parish of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church, is completely independent in pastoral, educational, administrative, management, property, and civil matters. Our parish is doctrinally Orthodox, liturgically traditional, and welcoming to all. In our services we use English, the language of this country, together with Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Slavic peoples. Established in 2000, our parish is one of the newest in our Diocese.
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We have services on the first and third Sundays of each month and on the preceding Saturday evenings. We also have services on some major feast-days during the week. Our current Schedule of Services can be viewed here. Our church is generally only open when we have services. Visitors are always welcome! If you would like to contact us before visiting, it is best to send an email. We check this inbox regularly and will respond to messages within 24 hours. You can also contact us in the same way to arrange baptisms and memorial services. Please don't hesitate to reach out!
Our parish priest, Archpriest James Carles, serves here in a voluntary capacity. He has part-time secular employment during the week and is presently undertaking full-time tertiary study. In addition to our parish, he has responsibility for Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Newcastle and Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. During study periods (in 2025, 17 February-12 July and 21 July-15 November) his pastoral availability is strictly limited to scheduled services in the three communities; individual “needs” that arise in connection with these scheduled services (e.g. confessions, molebens, and memorial services); essential parish administrative tasks; and end-of-life care and funerals. Father James is available to talk after Divine Liturgy on the Sundays when we have a service. He can also be contacted by email.
Our parish is a small one that relies on community support and the voluntary service of our clergy to make ends meet. If you find this website to be of interest or of assistance, please consider helping us. Donations may be made directly to our bank account:
St Panteleimon Russian Orthodox Community of Gosford
BSB: 032-596 Account number: 140923
May the Lord bless you!
On Saturday 1 March and Sunday 2 March we will have services for the Sunday of Forgiveness. All-night vigil will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Sunday. Immediately following Divine Liturgy, Vespers with the rite of asking forgiveness will be served. After the services on Sunday, our Ladies’ Auxiliary will be serving pancakes.
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As is the custom in our parish, Great Compline with the reading of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete will be served at 7.00pm on the first four days of the First Week of Great Lent: Monday 3 March, Tuesday 4 March, Wednesday 5 March, and Thursday 6 March. Both Church Slavonic and English will be used in these services. It is traditionally the priest who reads the Great Canon, but all who wish to help with the reading of the psalms and prayers at Great Compline will be welcome to do so. The servics will finish at approximately 8.30pm.
Our Autumn 2025 Schedule of Services - covering March, April and May - is now available in digital format. It includes all our services for Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha. A copy of the English-language Autumn 2025 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Autumn 2025 Schedule of Services is available here. Printed copies are available in church as of the weekend of 15-16 February.
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On Saturday 15 February and Sunday 16 February we had services for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, for the Afterfeast of the Meeting of the Lord, and in honour of Righteous Symeon the God-Receiver and Prophetess Anna (1st C. BC). All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy on Sunday the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land.
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On Friday 14 February and Saturday 15 February we had services for the Great Feast of the Meeting of the Lord. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Friday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Saturday morning. At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land, and there was a blessing of fruit and of candles. Following Divine Liturgy our parish rector spoke briefly about the significance of the feast-day and about four ever-memorable departed clergymen of our Diocese: Archbishop Paul (Pavlov) (+15 February 1995, thirty years ago to the day), Archpriest Nicholas Grant (+14 February 1995), Protodeacon Vasily Hadarin (+13 February 2021), and Protodeacon Constantine Moshegov (+ 30 January 2022; ordained deacon 15 February 2007, 18 years ago to the day). A memorial litia was then served for them. Eternal memory!
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On Saturday 1 February and Sunday 2 February we had services for the Thirty-Second Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Venerable Euthymius the Great (+473 AD). All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy on Sunday the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land. It being Zaccheus Sunday, the final Sunday before the period of preparation for Great Lent, the parish rector spoke in his sermon about Zaccheus as a model of repentance and about not standing in the way of others who repent. Following Divine liturgy, a memorial litia was served following Divine Liturgy for all our departed founders, parishioners and benefactors and koliva was blessed. In accordance with parish custom, a memorial litia was served on this day as it was the Sunday closest to the commemoration of Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg, the patron saint of our Ladies' Auxiliary.
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On Saturday 18 January and Sunday 19 January we had services in honour of the Great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany). All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy with the Great Blessing of Water were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy on Sunday the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and our parish choir sang beautifully under the direction of Nikolai Morozow. A great many people - amongst whom were friends from Newcastle and Sydney - received Holy Communion on Sunday, and many stayed on after the service for a festive meal.
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On Saturday 4 January and Sunday 5 January we had services for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday after Pentecost and the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ. On this day, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Fathers, all the righteous men and women who pleased God from the days of Adam down to Joseph, the betrothed husband of the Mother of God. All-night vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy our parish choir sang beautifully under the direction of Nikolai Morozow and prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. A great many people confessed and received Holy Communion. At the end of the service a prayer of blessing was read over new icons of Saint Savva of Serbia and of All Saints of Saint Petersburg, both gifts to our parish from the Douriaguine family.
Updated 16 February 2025: On Tuesday 18 March and Wednesday 18 March 2025 the clergy of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese will gather in Melbourne for their customary Great Lenten Pastoral Conference. On Tuesday the clergy will meet at the Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral for the Rule of Preparation for Holy Communion at 5.00pm and Lenten Matins and confession at 6.00pm. On Wednesday from 8.00am the Lenten Hours, the Typika and the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts will be served at the Cathedral with Archbishop George presiding and Diocesan clergy concelebrating. Those of the faithful who have the opportunity to do so are welcome to attend the services on Wednesday morning and may – if properly prepared – receive Holy Communion. Following Divine Liturgy the clergy will meet in the cathedral hall for lunch, to hear a number of short talks, and to discuss pastoral, liturgical and administrative matters.
