On Thursday 12, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 December the Diocese of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia held its seventeenth triennial Diocesan Conference. Representing our parish at the Conference were the rector, Priest James Carles, and the lay delegate elected by parish members, Mr Vladimir (“Rick”) Golovin. Delegates to the Conference heard reports from the Ruling Bishop, Metropolitan Hilarion, and from the Diocesan Treasurer, Mr Nicholas Nedachin, before discussing a range of legal, administrative and pastoral matters. On the third day of the Conference our rector, Father James, was chosen by delegates to be one of the five members in priestly rank of the new Diocesan Council. The other members of the Diocesan Council are Mitred Archpriest Michael Protopopov, Archpriest Nicholas Karipoff, Archpriest Gabriel Makarov, Archpriest George Lapardin, Protodeacon Alexander Abramoff, Nicholas Nedachin, Dimitri Roudenko, Nicholas Wirubow, and Lubov Cowall.  A photo-report of the proceedings of the Diocsan Conference and the text of the Conference Resolution can be viewed on the Diocesan website here.