Please note that our church will now be closed until Saturday-Sunday 14-15 October.  This is to allow completion of the work to install our new iconostasis, extend our altar area, and replace the church floor.  We apologise for any inconvenience.  Please visit this website and our parish Facebook page for regular updates.

Our Spring 2023 Schedule of Services - covering September, October and November - is now available in PDF format.  In addition to our regular services on the first and third Sundays of each month, during Spring 2023 we will have services for the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God on Wednesday-Thursday 20-21 September and for the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on Tuesday-Wednesday 26-27 September.  A copy of the English-language Spring 2023 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Spring 2023 Schedule of Services is available here. 

On Saturday 19 August and Sunday 20 August we had services for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, for the Afterfeast of the Transfiguration, and in honour of Monk-Martyr Dometius of Persia (+363 AD).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and Deacon Michal Matys and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine.  Following Divine Liturgy a panikhida was served for Jean-Philippe Blanloeuil, a dear friend of our parish who was killed in a tragic accident in France on Sunday 13 August.  Jean-Philippe and his wife Elena Fauris were married in our church in November 2010, and their son Maxime was baptised here.  They later moved to France and were living in Lyons.  We offer heartfelt condolences to Elena and their boys Roman and Maxime.

On Friday 18 August and Saturday 19 August we had services for the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves were served on Friday evening, and the Hours and Divine Liturgy  were served on Saturday morning.  At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michael Matys and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine.  On Saturday we were joined by friends from Newcastle and Sydney, and the newly baptised infant Ciara Jeloudev received Holy Communion for the first time.  At the Prayer before the Amvon, there was a blessing of fruit, as is customary on this day, and also a blessing of honey.

On Tuesday 8 August and Wednesday 9 August we had services in honour of Great Martyr Panteleimon (+305 AD), the heavenly patron of our parish.  All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Tuesday evening, and the lesser blessing of water, the Hours, Divine Liturgy, and a moleben to Saint Panteleimon were served on Wednesday morning.  At Divine Liturgy and the moleben, the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and Deacon Michal Matys.  Following the services on Wednesday there was a festive meal in the church hall for our clergy, parishioners and friends.

On Saturday 5 August and Sunday 6 August we had services for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Right-believing Passion-bearers Boris and Gleb (+1105 AD).  These were our first services in over a month.  All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Protodeacon Martin Naef and Deacon Michael Matys.  Prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine.

The second part of our Winter 2023 Schedule of Services - covering August - is now available.  The most important services during this period will be for our patronal feast of Saint Panteleimon on Tuesday-Wednesday 8-9 August and the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Friday-Saturday 18-19 August.  A copy of part 2 of the English-language Winter 2023 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of part 2 of the current Russian-language Winter 2023 Schedule of Services is available here.  Printed copies in both languages will be available in church as of the weekend of 5-6 August.

In the evening of Tuesday 1 August 2023, a meeting of the Parish Council was held.  This was our first meeting since April 2023.  The main item for discussion was our new iconostasis, recently arrived in Australia and presently awaiting customs clearance and quarantine.  Reports were heard concerning the process of shipping the iconostasis from Europe, arrangements for its installation and blessing, and the overall cost of the project.  The parish rector tabled a report on the life of the parish and aspects of Diocesan life for the period April-August 2023.  The treasurer presented a detailed financial report.  Consideration was thengiven to arrangements for services in honour of Saint Panteleimon on 8-9 August, fundraising, a service plan for 2024, and various other matters.  The Parish Council will next meet early in September 2023.

The Russian Orthodox parish of the Resurrection of Christ in Auckland, New Zealand, was established in October 1950, now over 70 years ago.  Throughout the years since, services have been held in a tiny church in the suburb of Balmoral.  This arrangement has become increasingly unworkable in recent years as the parish has grown, primarily through post-Soviet emigration to New Zealand.  After many years of searching, the Auckland parish has recently been able to secure a four-storey building with ample off-street parking in which to establish large church, a library, a community hall, and a residential apartment.  Work has already commenced to remodel the building for parish use.  Bishop George has appealed to all parishes of our Diocese to collect funds during September to assist the Auckland parish with this work.  We commend this worthy endeavour to our parishioners and friends.  As we will not have any services during September, those who wish to contribute to our collection may do so online (BSB: 032-596, Account number: 140923, “Auckland donation”) or make direct contact with the Auckland parish for its Australian bank account details.

Our Australian-New Zealand Diocese recently learned with sorrow of the repose of Protodeacon Peter Metlenko, a clergyman of the Diocese for over 40 years.  Born in China in 1938, Peter Ivanovich Metlenko arrived in Australia in 1962.  He immediately became a key figure in the establishment of the parish of Our Lady’s Dormition in Dandenong, Victoria; the parish worshipped for a number of years in a chapel established in his garage and he also served as the first Starosta (or Warden) of the parish.  In 1982 the ever-memorable Archbishop Paul (Pavlov) ordained Father Peter to the diaconate, and in 2002 then-Archbishop Hilarion (Kapral) raised him to the rank of Protodeacon.  In 2010 he retired to Sydney and was assigned to the parish of Saint Vladimir, Centennial Park, of which his son, Archpriest Daniel Metlenko, is the rector.  Father Peter reposed in the Lord on 24 August 2023, and has been laid to rest beside his wife, Matushka Elizabeth (+2020), in Springvale Cemetery, Victoria.  We offer heartfelt condolences to Father Daniel and his family and pray that God will give his good and faithful servant, the newly-reposed Protodeacon Peter, rest with the saints.  Царство ему Небесное!

The August 2023 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. Content includes news of clergy assignments; the Russian-language text of Patriarch Kirill’s Appeal to religious leaders and representatives of international organisations in view of the persecution of the Father-Superior of the Kiev-Caves Lavra; a greatly abbreviated Russian-language text of Patriarch Kirill’s Address to the Bishops’ Conference held at the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Monastery on 19 July 2023; information in English and Russian about the centenary celebrations of Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Brisbane, held in late May 2023; Russian-language material on the Royal Martyrs of Russia, commemorated on 17 July; a brief article noting the repose of Michael Baden-Powell, Fourth Baron Baden-Powell, the grandson of the founder of the Scout Movement and an official of Scouts Victoria who took an interest in Russian Scouting in Australia; extracts from the Holy Fathers on the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, celebrated on 28 August; and more.  Copies are $5.00.

The 2023 Teen Retreat of our Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outisde Russia will be held in Collaroy, NSW, from Sunday 17 December until Thursday 21 December.  More information and a link to online registration is available in the attached image.  The ROCOR Teen Retreat Facebook page can be accessed here.