On Saturday 1 April we will have a church clean-up beginning at 8.00am. This will be the major clean-up that we customarily have before Pascha each year. All the furnishings will be removed from the church for washing and polishing and all the icons and service items will be cleaned. We will have lunch together at around midday. Please join us and help, even if only for an hour or two!  There is a great deal to be done, and it will be nice to have the church looking bright and clean for Annunciation, Holy Week, and Pascha.

On Saturday 1 April and Sunday 2 April we will have services for the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent. On this day the Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Mary of Egypt.  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. 

In the Orthodox tradition it is customary to have the General Service of Anointing ("Соборование") during Great Lent.  In this service there are seven readings from the Apostol, seven readings from the Holy Gospel, seven prayers, and the faithful are - if there are sufficient clergy present - anointed seven times with olive oil that is blessed during the service, for the healing of soul and body.  The practice of anointing with oil for spiritual and physical healing is referred to by the Apostle James: "Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14-15).  This year our parish will have this service at 6.00pm on Sunday 2 April.  NOTE: This is a sacrament in which only baptised Orthodox Christians may participate.

On Saturday 18 March and Sunday 19 March we had services for the Third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross. Matins with the bringing out of the Cross was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 18 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, a general panikhida was served before Matins on Saturday evening.  As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods (pasta, rice, pasta sauces, cooking oils, and pantry items) 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 Ukraine.  On Sunday evening we had Vespers with the Third Passia.  At the Passia, chapters 22 and 23 of Saint Luke’s Gospel were read in English.  Following the service, those present venerated the Holy Gospel and were anointed with oil.

At the 2022 Annual General Meeting of our parish, members endorsed a Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and to children’s participation in the life of our parish.  In collaboration with our neighbouring parish of Saint Nicholas, Wallsend, we have now developed new policies and procedures to give effect to these commitments.  Together with general information about child safety in our parish, we have published our policies and procedures online.  Over the next few months our parish will be fully implementing the new arrangements, facilitating training for key people, and revising the policies and procedures in light of experience.  Questions, comments and feedback are welcome!

In the evening on Sunday 12 March we had the service of Vespers with the Second Passia.  At the Passia, chapters 14 and 15 of Saint Mark’s Gospel were read in English.  Following the service, those present venerated the Holy Gospel and were anointed with oil.

On three of the first four evenings of the First Week of Great Lent (February 27-March 2), Great Compline with the reading of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete was served.  There was no service on Wednesday evening.  The canon, psalms and prayers were read in Church Slavonic and English, with those present participating in the reading.  In addition to regular services on Saturday-Sunday 4-5 March, on the evening of Sunday 5 March we had Vespers with the First Passia.  At the Passia, chapters 26 and 27 of Saint Matthew's Gospel were read in English.

On Saturday 4 March and Sunday 5 March we had services for the First Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.  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 Deacon Michal Matys, and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine. In accordance with the practice of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, 'The Order for a Hymn of Supplication for the Conversion of those in Error' was served at the end of Divine Liturgy on Sunday.  During this short moleben, prayers were offered for those who oppose the truth of the Gospel with heresy and for those who have fallen away from the Holy Orthodox Church through schism.

On Saturday 18 February and Sunday 19 February we had services for the Sunday of the Last Judgement.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 18 February was a day of commemoration of the departed, a general panikhida was served before Matins on Saturday evening.  As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods (pasta, rice, pasta sauces, cooking oils, and pantry items) to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless. At Divine Liturgy on Sunday the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys, and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine.  Following Divine Liturgy our Ladies' Auxiliary served pancakes.

Our Autumn 2023 Schedule of Services - covering March, April and May 2023 - 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 2023 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Autumn 2023 Schedule of Services is available here.  Both can also be accessed on our Services page, and printed copies are available in church as of the weekend of 18-19 February.

On Saturday 4 February and Sunday 5 February we had services for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee and in honour of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.  All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and for deliverance from the coronavirus.  In his sermon the parish rector explained the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee and spoke about following “the Pharisee in his virtues and… the Publican in his humility, [hating] what is wrong in each of them: foolish pride and the defilement of transgressions” (Ode 5, Canon of the Triodion).  He also spoke about the example of steadfastness in faith of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

The December 2022 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 edition continues the beautiful glossy colour format introduced in December 2020.  Content includes the text in Russian and English of the Resolution of the Twentieth Diocesan Assembly held in October 2022, together with photographs from the Assembly and a list of clergy who co-served with Bishop George at Divine Liturgy on the final day of the Assembly; directives concerning clergy awards, the closure of a mission in Adelaide, and the opening of a mission on the Mid North Coast of NSW; a biography of the newest priest of our Diocese, Father Pavel Baksheev; reports and photographs on the life of the Diocese; the life and work of Archimandrite Pavel (Gruzdev), a Twentieth Century confessor and elder of the Russian Orthodox Church; and more.  Copies are $5.00.

Updated 12 March 2023: On the weekend of Saturday-Sunday 27-28 May 2022, the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia will celebrate the centenary of the founding of the parish of Saint Nicholas in Brisbane, the first Russian Orthodox parish in Australia.  As all Diocesan clergy will gather in Brisbane that weekend for a pastoral conference on Saturday morning and for participation in the commemorative services on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, there will be no services elsewhere in the Diocese.  An epsicopal ukase, or directive, may be viewed here.  A poster with contact information and booking arrangements is available in English here and in Russian here.