Saint Panteleimon's is an Orthodox Christian parish of Russian tradition serving the New South Wales Central Coast and the northern suburbs of Sydney. Our parish includes Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians, and Orthodox Christians of other backgrounds. We are a parish of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church. We use Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Slavic peoples, and English, the language of this country, in our services. 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 secular employment on two days per 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 2024, 19 February-15 June and 22 July-16 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!
Our parish will have Matins at 6.00pm on Sunday 28 April and at 7.00pm on Monday 29 April, Tuesday 30 April, and Wednesday 1 May. The Hours, Typika and Vespers with Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Great Thursday, 2 May. On Great Friday, 3 May, Vespers with the bringing out of the Shroud of Christ will be served at 12.00pm and Matins with Lamentations before the Tomb of Christ will be served at 6.30pm. On Great Saturday, 4 May, Hours, Typika and Vespers with Divine Liturgy will be served at 8.00am. At 11.00am on Sunday 5 May we will have the Paschal Hours and Vespers with the blessing of easter eggs and cakes. This year, the midnight Paschal service will be at Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Wallsend (Newcastle) and there will be no early Paschal service in Gosford. The only opportunity for the blessing of kulichi in our parish this year will be on the morning of Sunday 5 May after Paschal Vespers.
On Saturday 27 April and Sunday 28 April we had services for the Sixth Sunday in Great Lent, Palm Sunday. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves and the blessing of pussy willows and palms was served on Saturday evening. The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. The parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys on Saturday and by Protodeacon Martin Naef and Deacon Michal on Sunday. At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land and peace in Ukraine. Our small church was full to overflowing on Sunday morning, with visitors from Sydney and Newcastle joining us and a great many people receiving Holy Communion. Following Divine Liturgy a collection was taken up to benefit the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.
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On Friday 26 April and Saturday 27 April we had services for the Sixth Saturday of Great Lent, Lazarus Saturday. On this day the Orthodox Church commemorates the raising of Lazarus from the dead after four days in the grave (John 11:1-45). Matins was served on Friday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Saturday morning. At Divine Liturgy on Saturday the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys, and prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land and peace in Ukraine. Following Divine Liturgy, the church was decorated with palm branches in preparation for our Palm Sunday services.
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On Saturday 13 April and Sunday 14 April we had services for the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Saint John of the Ladder. Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. As Saturday 9 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, Matins was preceded by a general panikhida. As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought tinned foods (baked beans, spaghetti, soup) and instant noodles to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless. At Divine Liturgy on Sunday the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and Deacon Michal Matys, and prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land and peace in Ukraine. In his sermon on Sunday the parish rector made particular reference to Saint John's advice in The Ladder of Divine Ascent to laymen: "Do all the good you can; do not speak evil of anyone; do not steal from anyone; do not lie to anyone; do not be arrogant towards anyone; do not be absent from divine services; be compassionate to the needy; do not offend anyone; do not wreck another man's domestic happiness, and be content with what your own wives can give you. If you can behave in this way, you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven" (Step 1:21).
The Fund for Assistance (FFA) to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has issued a Great Lent 2024 Appeal to the Faithful of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese. The appeal has been made with support for needy clergy particularly in mind, and an undertaking that any donations made will be matched up until a target of US$10,000 is reached. Donations can be made via the FFA website here. Questions about the appeal can be asked here.
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Updated 29 April 2024: This year Bright Monday, the second day of Pascha, will fall on 6 May, the day of commemoration of the Holy Great-Martyr and Trophy-Bearer George. The clergy of the Greater Sydney region have been asked to not schedule services in their own parishes on this day, but rather to celebrate Divine Liturgy together with Bishop George on the occasion of his name-day. Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy will be served at Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield on Monday morning, beginning at 8.00am. The faithful who wish to do so may also attend this service.
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With Bishop George's blessing, from late May 2024 the English-language Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, a parish of our Diocese in Brisbane, will be offering an online course of religious instruction in Orthodox theology and practice. This course consists of 17 sessions, each comprising an online video (which can be watched at each participant's convenience), a revision task, and an interactive Q&A session via Zoom on Sunday evenings. The course is suitable for inquirers, catechumens (i.e. those preparing for baptism), and those who are already Orthodox Christians. The first Zoom session will be held on Sunday 26 May, with the course scheduled to finish in October 2024. For more information please visit: HolyAnnunciation.net/Catechism. To enrol, please visit: https://forms.gle/ce5DDCFxRitzuoAz6.
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The April 2024 issue of “Word of the Church” (“Церковное Слово”), the official journal of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, is now available in our parishes. This is the first issue for 2024. Content includes the Great Lenten Epistle of Metropolitan Nicholas in both Russian and English; edifying articles by Mitred Archpriest Nicholas Karipoff and Priest Gennady Baksheev of the Holy Protection Cathedral in Melbourne; information about the Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Institute; a profile of Priest John Sullivan, rector of the Nativity of the Mother of God Mission in Dardanup, WA; a profile of Priest John Symons, rector of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross parish in Hobart, Tasmania; a beautiful colour supplement, with text in Russian and English, showcasing the magnificent New Jerusalem Monastery near Moscow; a directory of Diocesan parishes, monasteries and missions; details of various recent clergy movements and awards; and more. Copies are $5.00.
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From 25 June to 1 July 2024 the Fourteenth All-Diaspora Orthodox Youth Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) will be held in Stuttgart, Germany. The All-Diaspora Youth Conferences, which began in Montreal, Canada, in 1972, bring together ROCOR youth from around the world. Over the years, many important friendships have been formed at these conferences. The theme of the 2024 Conference is “Preserving our Orthodox Identity and Heritage in the Diaspora”. It will be held at a retreat in the mountains near Stuttgart and lectures will be in Russian, English, and German. The conference program will also include excursions, sports, cultural activities, and a youth ball. Youth (aged 18-24) of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese who wish to attend should email youth.rocor.anz@gmail.com for further information.
