On Saturday 18 January and Sunday 19 January we will have services in honour of the Great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany).  All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours and  Divine Liturgy with the Great Blessing of Water will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.

On Saturday 4 January and Sunday 5 January we had services for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday after Pentecost and the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.  On this day, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Fathers, all the righteous men and women who pleased God from the days of Adam down to Joseph, the betrothed husband of the Mother of God.  All-night vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy our parish choir sang beautifully under the direction of Nikolai Morozow and prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  A great many people confessed and received Holy Communion.  At the end of the service a prayer of blessing was read over new icons of Saint Savva of Serbia and of All Saints of Saint Petersburg, both gifts to our parish from the Douriaguine family.

This year was one in which we celebrated a significant milestone – twenty years of parish life in our church and purpose-built parish centre at West Gosford!  To our great joy, we began the year with our beautiful new iconostasis finally in place and newly consecrated.  Sadly, one of our earliest parishioners were laid to rest early in the year: Tatiana Johansson (+13 February 2024).  We had twelve baptisms – four of adults and teenagers, and the rest of children.  For the first time, we had no midnight Paschal service or early alternative – but a great many people came to Vespers on the morning of Pascha to celebrate then instead.  We continued to pray for an end to the fratricidal war in Ukraine and for peace in the much-suffering Holy Land. In August, on the day of commemoration of Saint Panteleimon, we welcomed Archbishop George to preside at Divine Liturgy – he tonsured Alexey Douriguine a reader, awarded Father James the jewelled pectoral cross, and presented a number of our parishioners and friends with beautiful Certificates of Appreciation.  All the news from 2024 can be read here.  Glory be to God for all things!

On Saturday 14 December and Sunday 15 December we had services for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Prophet Habbakuk (+7th C. BC).  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 Protodeacon Martin Naef and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  These were our final services for 2024.

On Tuesday 3 December and Wednesday 4 December we had quiet services for the Great Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple.  All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Tuesday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Wednesday morning.  Our church was beautifully vested in blue.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  As always, a highlight of the services was the singing of “Христос Раждается” (“Christ is Born”), hymnody from the service for the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) that is customarily sung from this day onwards in anticipation of that feast.

On Sunday 1 December our parish held its 2024 Annual General Meeting.  The 2024 Annual Report was presented and accepted.  Anna Kourbatov, Anne Nielsen, Nina Golovin, Kate Marcotrigiano and Matthew Shvetsoff were elected to serve together with our parish clergy and our Warden, Vladimir ("Rick") Golovin, on the 2024-25 Parish Council.

On Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December we had services for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Martyr Platon of Ancyra (+c.302 AD) and Hieromartyr Romanus, deacon of Caesarea (+1st C. AD).  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 Protodeacon Martin Naef and our parish choir sang beautifully under the direction of Nikolai Morozow.  Prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  Following Divine Liturgy, an announcement was made concerning the parish Annual General Meeting to be held that afternoon.

“Christmastide always evokes feelings of deep love and gratitude in a faithful heart. In these days, let us also raise up our prayerful thanks to God, offering our love to Him and our neighbours. Gratitude and love are always a sacrifice. These are the two mites of the Gospel widow.”  Metropolitan Nicholas’s Epistle is available in full in English here and in Russian here.

“I ask all of the faithful to make an effort to extend a helping hand to all those in need, giving alms to the poor, donations to the churches, helping them to bring the Word of God and grace to the world, helping others in whatever way you can, thereby showing love to your fellow man and fulfilling the commandment of God.”  Archbishop George’s Epistle is available in full in English here and in Russian here.

The November 2024 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 is a combined third and fourth issue for 2024, and so the final issue for the year.  Content includes articles in Russian and English about the seventy-fifth anniversary of Melbourne’s Holy Protection Cathedral and the bestowal of a prestigious Patriarchal award, the Order of Saint Sergius of Radonezh (First Degree) upon our Diocesan Chancellor, Mitred Archpriest Michael Protopopov; articles in Russian on the blessing of a memorial to Saint John of Kronstadt in Dandenong, Victoria, and youth matters; articles in English on the missionary parish of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Dardanup, WA and a tour of Serbia by the Russian Orthodox Male Choir of Australia; a beautiful colour supplement of photographs from Azerbaijan; notice of the ordination of a new priest for Saint John the Baptist Skete in Kentlyn, NSW, Father Apostolos Condoleon; and more.  Copies are $5.00.

From December 6-9, 2024, the final session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia for 2024 was held in New York.  Amongst other things, the Synod considered the administration of the Mystery of Holy Communion to those who suffer from certain ailments such as coeliac disease and the associated condition of gluten-intolerance.  The Synod “considered this a welcome opportunity to restate its age-old confession on the reception of this Sacrament, which remains unchanged: Namely, that in the Divine Liturgy we, as Christians grafted into the Body of Christ through Baptism, receive our Lord in His own Precious Body and Life-creating Blood. Not only is communion in the full offering of His Body and Blood together not a source of illness or danger, but it is instead the very source of Life, healing and sanctification. As such, those suffering from any condition relating to either of the earthly gifts offered in the Liturgy, namely bread and wine, should have no fear in approaching the Chalice to receive therefrom both the Body and Blood of their Saviour, for that which was offered in human frailty is transformed by Divine Grace into that which bestows Life unto all. For any further practical counsel based on personal circumstances or concerns, the individual should, as always, seek the guidance of his or her priest.”  A full report on the meeting of the Synod is available in English here and in Russian here.