At 7.00pm on Thursday 26 April we will have a moleben and akathist to Saint Panteleimon.  This service will be entirely in English.  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 in Slavonic will be on Thursday 24 May.

Our next services will be All-night vigil at 6.00pm on Saturday 28 April and Divine Liturgy at 9.00am on Sunday 29 April, the Fourth Sunday of Pascha.  As the appointed Gospel reading (John 5:1-15) concerns the raising of the paralysed man by the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem, this Sunday is known as the Sunday of the Paralytic.

On Saturday 14 April and Sunday 15 April we had services for the second Sunday of Pascha, Thomas Sunday.  At Divine Liturgy on Sunday the newly-baptised child Teagan (Katerina) Rochtchina received Holy Communion for the first time.  Following the Prayer before the Amvon at the prayer at the breaking of the Artos was read.  In place of a sermon, the parish rector read aloud the Paschal Epistle of Metropolitan Hilarion in Russian and in English.  At the dismissal, pieces of the blessed Artos were given to the faithful.

On Sunday 15 April, Thomas Sunday, the parish rector baptised Amelia Bolonin, the infant daughter and first child of Yuriy and Eugenia Bolonin.  Amelia was baptised in honour of Righteous Emmelia of Caesarea.  Her godparents were Alexei Kozlovski and Svetlana Bolonina.  We warmly congratulate Yuriy, Eugenia, Alexei and Svetlana and wish the newly-baptised handmaiden of God Amelia many years!

On Saturday 14 April, Bright Saturday, the parish rector baptised two year-old Teagan Rochtchina, the daughter of Marina Rochtchina.  Teagan was given the name Katerina in baptism in honour of Great-Martyr Katherine of Alexandria.  Her godmother was her maternal aunt, Anastasia Jeboult.  We warmly congratulate Marina and Anastasia and wish the newly-baptised handmaiden of God Katerina many years!

As is customary, this year our parish had a number of traditional services for Orthodox Holy Week and Pascha.  Matins with the singing of "Behold, the Bridegroom comes" ("Се, Жених грядет") and the exapostilarion “Thy Bridal chamber” ("Чертог твой") was served in the evening on Sunday 1 April, Monday 2 April, and Tuesday 3 April.  Vespers with the bringing out of the Shroud of Christ was served at midday on Friday 6 April and Matins with Lamentations before the Tomb of Christ was served that evening.  On the morning of Saturday 7 April, Great and Holy Saturday and the Great Feast of the Annunciation, Divine Liturgy was served.  On Saturday evening we had an early Midnight Office and procession followed by Paschal Matins and the blessing of Easter eggs and cakes.  The Paschal Hours and Vespers were served on the morning of Sunday 8 April and festive foods were again blessed. Divine Liturgy was served on the morning of Monday 9 April, Bright Monday.

On Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April we had services for the Great Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday.  All-night vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil, five loaves and pussy-willow branches was served on Saturday evening, during which a great many people took the opportunity to confess their sins in preparation to receive Holy Communion on the following day.  Prior to Divine Liturgy on Sunday the Lesser Blessing of Water was served.  Our church was full to overflowing on the day of the feast, with well over 100 people present.  Receiving Holy Communion for the first time was the newly-baptised infant Alexei Morozoff.  Following the service a collection was taken up to assist the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.

On Saturday 31 March the parish rector baptised Boston Morozoff, the infant son and first child of Alexei and Carly Morozoff.  In baptism Boston was given the name Alexei in honour of Saint Alexei the Man of God.  His godparents were Alexander Mavritsky, Laura Barandiaran and Amaya Barandiaran.  We warmly congratulate Alexei, Carly, Alexander, Laura and Amaya and wish the newly-baptised servant of God Alexei many years!

On Thursday 29 March we had our final Great Compline for Great Lent in 2018.  A small congregation gathered to read the psalms and prayers and to sing the familiar hymns.  On the following morning, Friday 30 March, we had a clean-up of our parish centre in preparation for Holy Week and Pascha.  The opportunity was also taken to decorate the church with palm branches in readiness for the Palm Sunday services on 31 March-1 April.

Our services during the fifth week of Great Lent were Matins with the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete and the reading of the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt on the evening of Wednesday 21 March and the General Service of Anointing on the evening of Sunday 25 March.  At Matins on Wednesday 21 March the odes of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete were read alternately in Slavonic and English, and the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt was read in full in English.  Known colloquially as “Saint Andrew’s Standing” (“Андреево стояние”), this solemn and edifying service commenced at 6.00pm and finished just before 10.00pm.  On the evening of Sunday 25 March forty-six parishioners gathered for the General Service of Anointing.  Although this service is ideally served by seven priests together, our distance from other parishes meant that it was served by our rector alone.  Both Slavonic and English were used during the service.

In addition to services on the weekend of 17-18 March, our services during the fourth week of Great Lent were Great Compline on the evening of Thursday 15 March and Vespers with the Fourth Passia on the evening of Sunday 18 March.  At Vespers with the Fourth Passia on Sunday evening the akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ and chapters 18 and 19 of Saint John’s Gospel were read in Church Slavonic.

On Saturday 17 March and Sunday 18 March we had services for the departed and for the Fourth Sunday in Great Lent, the day of commemoration of Saint John of the Ladder (+649 AD), Abbot of Mount Sinai and author of the The Ladder of Divine Ascent, a spiritual book of great and enduring significance in Orthodox spirituality. As Saturday 17 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, the service on Saturday evening was preceded by a general panikhida at which the ever-memorable Metropolitan Laurus (Skurla) (+16 March 2008), fifth First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, was commemorated, together with many departed hierarchs and clergymen of our Diocese, parishioners, relatives and friends.  After the panikhida, koliva and other foods were blessed and shared.  In his sermon on Sunday the parish rector made particular reference to Saint John's advice in The Ladder of Divine Ascent to laymen: "Do all the good you can; do not speak evil of anyone; do not steal from anyone; do not lie to anyone; do not be arrogant towards anyone; do not be absent from divine services; be compassionate to the needy; do not offend anyone; do not wreck another man's domestic happiness, and be content with what your own wives can give you.  If you can behave in this way, you will not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven" (Step 1:21).

Our services during the third week of Great Lent were Great Compline on the evening of Thursday 8 March and Vespers with the Third Passia on the evening of Sunday 11 March.  At Vespers with the Third Passia on Sunday evening the akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ and chapters 22 and 23 of Saint Luke’s Gospel were read in English.  

In addition to services on the weekend of 3-4 March, our services during the second week of Great Lent were Great Compline on the evening of Thursday 1 March and Vespers with the Second Passia on the evening of Sunday 4 March.  Great Compline is a simple, solemn and characteristically Lenten service of psalms and prayers, and in our parish it is the custom for all who wish to share in the reading to do so.  At Vespers with the Second Passia on Sunday evening the akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ and chapters 14 and 15 of Saint Mark’s Gospel were read in Church Slavonic.

On Saturday 3 March and Sunday 4 March we had services for the Second Sunday of Great Lent and in honour of Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica (+AD 1359).  As Saturday 3 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, the service on Saturday evening was preceded by a general panikhida at which a great many departed clergymen of our Diocese, parishioners, relatives and friends were commemorated by name.  After the panikhida koliva and other foods were blessed and shared.  Following Divine Liturgy on Sunday a collection was taken up to benefit the Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, NY.

On Sunday 29 April 2018 at 2.00pm at the Russian Club, 7 Albert Road, Strathfield, Orthodox Action Sydney will present its seventeenth charity concert, “Heart of Gold” 2018.  The program will feature a mixture of classical music, Russian folklore, humour, and dancing.  All funds raised will benefit orphaned and abandoned children and the needy in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.  Tickets are $30.00 for adults, $25.00 for pensioners and students, and $10.00 for children 5-10 years of age.  More information can be obtained by contacting Vera on 9747-3109 or Natasha on 9730-2367.

At 5.00pm on Sunday 20 May 2018 a fundraising dinner will be held in the church hall at Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 3 Vernon Street, Strathfield, to assist the Presentation Sisterhood in Bungarby, NSW, a monastic community of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.  A French-themed dinner will be served, and during the evening well-known Serbian Orthodox priest Father Rade Radan will give a talk entitled 'Serpents and Doves'.  Child-minding will be available.  Tickets are $50.00 for adults, $40.00 for pensioners, and $15.00 for children aged 15 and younger.  Seating will be at tables of 8.  More information is available at https://cabrapokrov.org/fundraising-for-monasteries.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Institute (SCMOI) is the newly-established theological and higher learning institute of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.  It provides undergraduate and postgraduate award courses by arrangement with the Adelaide College of Divinity and the Uniting College for Leadership and Theology.  SCMOI is offering a free online lecture series on "Sexuality, Homosexuality and the Bible" beginning on Thursday 19 April 2018.  Online registration is available here: https://www.scmoi.edu.au/free-lecture-series.