In conjunction with the Nineteenth Diocesan Assembly of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, all Diocesan clergy will concelebrate Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Strathfield, on Sunday 17 November.  His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada will preside at Divine Liturgy together with His Grace Bishop George of Canberra.  The meeting of Archbishop Gabriel will take place at 9.00am on Sunday.

On the weekend of 16-17 November, the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, there will be no services in our parish.  This is because all Diocesan clergy will be participating in services at Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral, Strathfield, in conjunction with the Nineteenth Diocesan Assembly of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese.

On Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December we will have services for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Martyrs Platon of Ancyra (c.+302 AD) and Romanus of Caesarea (+303 AD).  All-night Vigil will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.

From the evening of Thursday 14 November until the afternoon of Sunday 17 November, our parish clergy Archpriest James Carles and Protodeacon Martin Naef, together with parish delegates Vladimir Golovin, Anna Kourbatov, and Nina Golovin, participated in the work of the Nineteenth Diocesan Assembly of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the associated divine services.  The Assembly was held on the grounds of Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield, NSW.  On Friday and Saturday the Assembly heard reports and considered proposals concerning the life and administration of the Diocese and its various parishes, missions, monasteries and organisations.  Consideration was also given to the Diocesan observance of two significant anniversaries in 2020: the two hundredth anniversary of the first Russian Orthodox services in Australia, and the centenary of the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.  On Saturday a Diocesan Council was elected to assist His Grace Bishop George of Canberra administer the Diocese over the coming three years.  On Sunday morning the gathering of clergy and delegates from across Australia and New Zealand culminated in Divine Liturgy at which His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada presided together with Bishop George.  During the Divine Liturgy a number of clergymen received awards for their service to the Holy Orthodox Church.  Photographs of the service are available here.

On Saturday 2 November and Sunday 3 November, we had services for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint Hilarion the Great of Gaza (+371 AD).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 2 November was Saint Demetrius Saturday, a day of commemoration of the departed, there was a general memorial service prior to Matins on Saturday evening.  At Matins and Divine Liturgy we were joined by Protodeacon German Polorotov of Saint Xenia Russian Orthodox Church, Tweed Heads.  Following the Prayer before the Amvon, new blue vestments for the altar and table of oblation, the church and altar servers were blessed.  At the dismissal, the protodeacons intoned Many Years for Metropolitan Hilarion – whose name-day it was – and for the parish rector – in anticipation of his name-day on 5 November.  A collection was then taken up for the Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, raising $233.00.

On Saturday 19 October and Sunday 20 October we had services for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Syria (+290-303 AD).  All-Night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  In his sermon the parish rector spoke about the life and witness of another saint commemorated on this day, Saint Jonah, bishop of Hankow, Manchuria (+1925).

On Saturday 5 October and Sunday 6 October we had services for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Conception of Saint John, the Forerunner and Baptiser of the Lord.  All-Night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  In his sermon the parish rector spoke about the wondrous events surrounding the conception of Saint John (Luke 1:5-25), of the moment of conception as the beginning of each life, and of the ways in which God’s will can be accomplished through love in marriage.  Following the service the 2019 Annual General Meeting of our parish was convened.

On Sunday 6 October our parish held its 2019 Annual General Meeting.  The 2019 Annual Report was presented and accepted.  Vladimir (“Rick”) Golovin, Anna Kourbatov, Anne Nielsen, Nina Golovin, Kate Marcotrigiano and Alla Karmadonoff were elected to serve on the 2019-20 Parish Council.  Alla Karmadonoff and Ludmilla Alexandrovsky were elected Child Safety Contact Persons, and Rick Golovin and Anna Kourbatov were chosen as parish delegates to the Nineteenth Diocesan Assembly. 

On 29 May 2019 His Grace Bishop George of Canberra advised parish rectors and monastic superiors that the Nineteenth Diocesan Assembly of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese would be convened at the Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield, NSW, in November 2019.  Commencing on the evening of Thursday 14 November and concluding on the afternoon of Sunday 17 November, the Assembly will coincide with Diocesan celebrations of the thirty-fifth anniversary of Metropolitan Hilarion’s consecration to the episcopacy on 10 December 1984.  As all Diocesan clergy will be participating in the Assembly and associated commemorative activities, the only services in our Diocese on Saturday-Sunday 16-17 November will be at the Strathfield Cathedral.  Information about the Eighteenth Diocesan Assembly, held in Cabramatta in November 2016, is available here.

A group of young families working under the auspices of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin parish in Cabramatta, NSW, is again organising a camp for Russian and other Orthodox children and young people aged 8-17 to be held in Toukley, NSW - here on the Central Coast - from 15 December - 20 December 2019.  The cost will be $425.00 per person, or $399.00 if payment is made by 30 September 2019.  For those interested, more information is available here.