Our next services will be All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves at 6.00pm on Thursday 20 September and Divine Liturgy at 9.00am on Friday 21 September, the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God.

At 7.00pm on Thursday 27 September, the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, we will have a moleben and akathist to Saint Panteleimon, the heavenly patron of our parish and an unmercenary healer.  This service will be entirely in Church Slavonic.  At akathists in our parish all of our parishioners, benefactors and friends are commemorated by name.  Others wishing to be commemorated at this service – or who wish to put forward names for commemoration – are welcome to contact us.  Our next moleben and akathist to Saint Panteleimon in English will be on Thursday 25 October.

In accordance with a 2015 resolution of the Synod of Bishops, on Sunday 16 September and Sunday 30 September a collection will be taken up to support the work of the Synodal Liturgical Music Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.  Envelopes for this purpose will be available in church as of Sunday 16 September 2018. Please give generously!

This year we will again have our annual parish picnic and BBQ at Heazlett Park, Avoca Beach, on Monday 1 October, the Monday of the October Long Weekend.  It will be between 10.00am and 3.00pm.  The cost will be $5.00 for children, $10.00 for adults, or $25.00 for a family of two adults and three children.  The day is always an enjoyable one, and parishioners and friends are warmly encouraged to join us.  If you will be attending please call Rick Golovin on 0402-631472 or send him an email.  As usual we will be at the western end of Heazlett Park.

On Saturday 15 September and Sunday 16 September we had services for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Right-believing Prince Peter and Princess Febronia (+1228 AD), Wonderworkers of Murom and patrons of family, love and faithfulness.  Prior to All-night vigil on Saturday evening a general panikhida was served for all Orthodox Christians slain on the field of battle during the Great War.  At Divine Liturgy on Sunday, prayers were offered for Orthodox Church unity, for relief from drought in Australia, and for peace in Ukraine.  Following the Prayer before the Amvon we served a brief moleben to the saints at which all the married couples in our parish were commemorated by name.  After Divine Liturgy a collection was taken up to assist the Synodal Liturgical Music Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

On Saturday 1 September and Sunday 2 September we had services for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the Afterfeast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and the day of commemoration of the Holy Prophet Samuel (+11th Century BC).  Prior to the evening service on Saturday a panikhida was served for the ever-memorable Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) (+2 September 1982), a modern ascetic, translator and writer of great note.  During the services the faithful venerated the beautifully-adorned shroud of the Mother of God.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were again offered for peace in Ukraine and for rain. 

Our Spring 2018 Schedule of Services - covering September, October and November - is now available.  A copy of the English-language Spring 2018 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Spring 2018 Schedule of Services is available here. Printed copies are available in both languages in church.  Services of note during Spring are those for the Great Feasts of the Nativity of the Mother of God on 20-21 September and the Exaltation of the Cross on 26-27 September.

On Saturday 18 August and Sunday 19 August, the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, we had services for the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  All-night Vigil with the blessing of five loaves, wheat, wine and oil was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy with the blessing of grapes, apples and other fruit was served on Sunday morning.  We were joined on Sunday by friends from Newcastle and from Sydney.  In accordance with Bishop George’s directive, prayers were offered at Divine Liturgy for relief from drought.  Our small church was beautifully decorated with white vestments and fresh flowers and the feast-day was celebrated in our newly-renovated parish centre with great joy.  Many remained behind after the Sunday service for refreshments and conversation in the church hall.

On Monday 13 August and Tuesday 14 August we had services for the feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and in honour of the Holy Maccabean Martyrs (+166 BC).  Prior to Matins on Monday evening a panikhida was served to mark the anniversary of the repose of the ever-memorable Archbishop Theodosy (Putilin) (+13 August 1980) and the fortieth day of the repose of Bishop Ilia (Kazantsev) of Birsk and Beloretsk (+5 July 2018).  Following Divine Liturgy on Monday the Lesser Blessing of Water was served and there was a blessing of honey.

On Wednesday 8 August and Thursday 9 August we had services in honour of the Great-Martyr and Healer Panteleimon.  All-night vigil was served on Wednesday evening and the Lesser Blessing of Water, Divine Liturgy, and a moleben to Saint Panteleimon were served on Thursday morning.  Concelebrating at All-night vigil, Divine Liturgy and the moleben were Archpriest Alexander Korjenevski , Rector of the parish of Saint George in Carlton, NSW, and Priest Dionysios Halim, a cleric of Saint John the Baptist Skete in Kentlyn, NSW.  Following the services on Thursday those present enjoyed a festive meal in the newly-renovated church hall.

On Saturday 4 August and Sunday 5 August we had services for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God.  These were the first services following the completion of a choir-loft in our parish centre that has greatly increased the size of our small church.  Prior to All-night vigil on Saturday evening our parish rector served a panikhida to mark the fortieth day of the repose of Archpriest Simeon Kichakov (+25 June 2018).  Joining us on Sunday morning in anticipation of our parish feast-day on 9 August were Bishop George, Protodeacon Alexander Kotlaroff, and a great many friends from Newcastle and from the Sydney parishes.  In his sermon at Divine Liturgy Bishop George spoke about the history of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God and of the importance of seeking help in prayer from the Mother of God, Saint Panteleimon and all the saints.  Following a moleben to Saint Panteleimon “Many Years” was intoned for the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church and for the parish, its clergy and office-bearers.  The parish rector then presented Protodeacon Alexander with an embroidered protodeacon’s orarion, a gift from the Gosford parish to mark the twentieth anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate.  All later enjoyed a festive banquet at the East Gosford Progress Hall.

The July 2018 issue of the official journal of the Australian-New Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia is now available in our parishes.  As usual, it contains a range of interesting articles in both Russian and English.  In Russian: Послание митрополита Восточно-Американского и Нью-Йоркского Илариона, Первоиерарха Русской Зарубежной Церкви, по случаю 100-летия мученической кончины святых и благоверных Царственных Страстотерпцев; "Прислужник Св. Иоанна Шанхайского - История Русского рассеяния"; "Созерцатель или созидатель" - памяти прот. Симеона Кичакова; and more.  In English: "Why do we pray for the dead on the second, ninth and fortieth day of a person's repose, and what is the basis for the practice?"; "Eight tips for Christian parents on raising chldren in today's world"; "The life story of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir"; and more.  Copies are $5.00.

In view of ongoing severe drought conditions in significant parts of Australia, His Grace Bishop George issued a directive on 1 August 2018 that all parishes and monasteries of the Diocese offer prayers for God’s mercy and for rain.  These prayers will continue until further notice.

This year our Diocese is again convening a Diocesan youth conference or "Syezd".  Established in 1965 at the instigation of the ever-memorable Archbishop Sava (Raevsky, +1976), these conferences have been an important spiritual and social event for the youth of our Diocese ever since.  This year’s conference – the theme of which is ‘The Life and Wisdom of the Holy Fathers’ – will be held from 27-31 December in Melbourne and is open to young people aged 18 - 30.  More information is available here.

On Tuesday 26 March and Wednesday 27 March 2019 the clergymen of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese will gather in Sydney for their customary Great Lenten Pastoral Conference.  On Tuesday evening the clergy will meet at the church of All Saints of Russia in Croydon for the Rule of Preparation for Holy Communion at 5.00pm and Lenten Matins and confession at 6.00pm.  On Wednesday morning from 8.00am the Hours and the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts will be served at Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield with Bishop George presiding and the clergy concelebrating.  Those of the faithful who wish to do so are welcome to attend the service on Wednesday morning and – if properly prepared – to receive Holy Communion.  Following Divine Liturgy the clergy will meet to discuss a range of pastoral and liturgical matters.