On Saturday 22 November and Sunday 23 November we will have services for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Holy Apostles Erastus, Olympus, Herodian, Sosipater, Quartus and Tertius of the Seventy.  Matins will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.  As Saturday 22 November will be the anniversary of the repose of Archpriest John Lupish (+1977), Matins will be preceded by a panikhida at 5.15pm.

Our 2025 parish Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 12.00pm on Sunday 23 November.  A formal Notice concerning the AGM is available here.  The Notice includes the AGM agenda, an explanation of why AGMs are held, information about preparation for and participation in the AGM, and an explanation of the role of Parish Councils and Parish Council members.  A nomination form for parish office-bearers is available here.  A form for those wishing to renew their parish membership or become parish members is available here.  All members of and regular worshippers at our parish are encouraged to attend the AGM.

On Saturday 1 November and Sunday 2 November we had services for the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Great-Martyr Artemius at Antioch (+362).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  At the Prayer before the Amvon, prayers of blessing were read over an ornate new protodeacon’s orarion and cuffs, a gift from our parish to be presented to Deacon Michal Matys.  Following the dismissal, a litia was served for the newly-reposed Archpriest Alexander Skorik (+25 October 2025) and a collection was taken up to benefit his family.  An announcement was then made concerning the parish Annual General Meeting to be held on Sunday 23 November 2025.

Our 2025 Annual Report, including the independently audited 2024-25 Financial Statements, is now available.  It includes some parish history, an overview of our governance arrangements, and a summary of our activity and accomplishments in 2024-25.  A copy of the report, which will be formally presented to our parish Annual General Meeting on Sunday 23 November 2025, is available here.  We encourage our parishioners and friends with questions or comments concerning our Annual Report to contact us.

On Saturday 11 October and Sunday 12 October we had services for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the finding of the relics of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco (1993).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 11 October was for us a day of commemoration of the departed, there was a general panikhida before Matins.  As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods and new personal care products to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  Following Divine Liturgy "Many Years" was sung for Matushka Marie Carles, it being her name-day, and our Head Sister Irene Lupish presented her with flowers.  An announcement was then made concerning the parish Annual General Meeting to be held on Sunday 23 November 2025.

On Friday 10 October our parish rector served the funeral of Urick (“Eric”) Katonin.  The Katonin family has a long and important association with our parish – both Urick and his father Michael (+2015) were amongst the builders of our church.  Urick, who was born in Germany in 1946, departed this life on 20 September 2025.  He was laid to rest in Wallsend Cemetery, a short distance from his father, his mother Maria (+2005), and his sister Valentina (+2022).  We offer heartfelt condolences to Urick's sons Stephen, Peter and David; to his grandchildren; and to his sister Anna.  Memory eternal!

In 2024-25 the Parish Council finalised a plan for major improvements to our church and grounds including new and refurbished outside toilets, new entrances at the front and on both sides of the church, new access ramps to the church and hall, a small office (or, alternatively, an apartment for clergy accommodation), and new paving.  Implementation of the plan was delayed for most of 2025 as we undertook urgent repairs to our church roof and cupolas.  A Development Application (DA) is now being prepared for lodgement.  The parish received a very generous donation in September 2025 that will allow us, upon approval of the DA, to extend and refurbish the outside toilet block.  Overseeing the initial stage of this work and fundraising for subsequent stages will be a priority for the Parish Council that will be elected at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November.

On 4 December this year it will be the fiftieth anniversary of the ordination to the priesthood of Mitred Archpriest Nikita Chemodakov.  Father Nikita, who is the senior-most priest of our Australian-New Zealand Diocese by ordination, is rector of the parish of Saint Nicholas, Fairfield, and Dean of the Central (NSW & ACT) Deanery of the Diocese.  He was ordained priest by the ever-memorable Archbishop Averky (Taushev) at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, where he was then completing his theological studies.  He has served as rector of the Fairfield parish for an exemplary 47 years.  Details of divine services and a celebratory luncheon to be held on Sunday 9 November 2025 are available in Russian here and in English here. 

On Saturday 25 October and Sunday 26 October services for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the 'Iveron' Icon of the Mother of God and the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council were held at Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield, NSW.   All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As almost the entire complement of the clergy of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese was in Sydney for the Twenty-First Diocesan Assembly, most of our parishes and missions had no services.  Our parish rector served at the cathedral together with Archbishop George, Archbishop Gabriel of Montral and Canada, and forty-nine priests and deacons from across the Diocese.  On Sunday morning a number of clerics received ecclesiastical awards.  At the end of Divine Liturgy a moleben of thanksgiving was served for the work of the Diocesan Assembly and a litia was served for Archpriest Alexander Skorik, a cleric of the New Zealand Deanery who had reposed on Saturday evening.

This year, 2025, is the centenary of the repose of two great hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church:  Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (31 January 1865 - 7 April 1925, canonised 1981) and Saint Jonah, Bishop of Hankow (17 April 1888 - 20 October 1925, canonised 1996).  In recognition of this significant anniversary, the Synod of Bishops of our Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has called upon the bishops and clergy to make a particular effort to remember these two holy bishops.  To this end, they are to be commemorated at the dismissal of each Divine Liturgy up until the Great Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (4 December, the day of the Patriarchal enthronement of Saint Tikhon in 1918) and to remember Saint Tikhon in a sermon and with a moleben on Sunday 6 April, the Fifth Sunday in Great Lent and the eve of the anniversary of his repose.  As there will not be a service in our parish on that Sunday, arrangements for a moleben to Saint Tikhon and another to Saint Jonah will be made later in the year.  Holy Hierarchs Tikhon and Jonah, pray to God for us!