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 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, and in 2025, 17 February-14 June 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 14 December and Sunday 15 December we will have services for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Prophet Habbakuk (+7th C. BC). 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. These will be our final services for 2024.
On Tuesday 3 December and Wednesday 4 December we had quiet services for the Great Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Tuesday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Wednesday morning. Our church was beautifully vested in blue. At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. As always, a highlight of the services was the singing of “Христос Раждается” (“Christ is Born”), hymnody from the service for the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) that is customarily sung from this day onwards in anticipation of that feast.
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On Sunday 1 December our parish held its 2024 Annual General Meeting. The 2024 Annual Report was presented and accepted. Anna Kourbatov, Anne Nielsen, Nina Golovin, Kate Marcotrigiano and Matthew Shvetsoff were elected to serve together with our parish clergy and our Warden, Vladimir ("Rick") Golovin, on the 2024-25 Parish Council.
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On Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December we had services for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Martyr Platon of Ancyra (+c.302 AD) and Hieromartyr Romanus, deacon of Caesarea (+1st C. AD). 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 our parish choir sang beautifully under the direction of Nikolai Morozow. Prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land. Following Divine Liturgy, an announcement was made concerning the parish Annual General Meeting to be held that afternoon.
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Our 2024 Annual Report, including the independently audited 2023-24 Financial Statements, is now available. It includes information about the governance of our parish and gives a little parish history. It also summarises the life and activity of the parish in 2023-24, reflects on challenges and accomplishments, and sets out plans for the year ahead. A copy of the report, which will be formally presented to our parish Annual General Meeting on Sunday 1 December 2024, is available here. We encourage our parishioners and friends with questions or comments concerning our Annual Report to contact us.
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Our Summer 2024-25 Schedule of Services - covering December, January, and February - is now available in PDF format. A copy of the English-language Summer 2024-25 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Summer 2024-25 Schedule of Services is available here. Printed copies are available in church as of the weekend of 16-17 November. Services of note over the summer will be the Great Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple on 3-4 December; the Great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany) on 18-19 January; and the Great Feast of the Meeting of the Lord on 14-15 February. Note: Regrettably, there will be no services in our parish for Orthodox Christmas on 6-7 January in 2025.
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On Saturday 16 November and Sunday 17 November we had services for the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint Joannicius the Great of Bithynia (+846 AD) and Hieromartyr Nicander, bishop of Myra (+1st C. AD). 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 Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land. Following Divine Liturgy, an announcement was made concerning the parish Annual General Meeting to be held, God willing, on Sunday 1 December 2024.
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On Saturday 2 November and Sunday 3 November we had services for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint Hilarion the Great. Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. As Saturday 2 November was Saint Demetrius Saturday, a day of commemoration of the departed, a general panikhida was served immediately before Matins. At the panikhida we commemorated the ever-memorable Metropolitan Hilarion (+2022), 3 November being his name-day, together with all our departed founders, benefactors, parishioners, family members and friends. As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods and personal care items to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless. At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. Following Divine Liturgy, an announcement was made concerning the parish Annual General Meeting to be held, God willing, on Sunday 1 December 2024.
