On Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January we will have services for the Thirty-First Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday after Theophany, and in honour of Martyrs Hermylus and Stratonicus of Belgrade (+c.315).  Matins will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours, Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of Water will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.  Note:  There will be no refreshments in the hall after Divine Liturgy on Sunday.

On Sunday 12 January we had services for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday after Pentecost and the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ.  There was no service on the preceding Saturday evening.  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 end of the service a prayer of blessing was read over a new icon of New Hieromartyr Silvester of Omsk (+1920), a gift to our parish from Lidia Stroud-Watts.

On Monday 6 January and Tuesday 7 January we had services for Christmas, the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.   All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Monday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Tuesday morning.  These were our first Christmas Day services since 2019.  On both days our small church was full to overflowing.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  A great many of the faithful received Holy Communion, and Archbishop George’s Nativity Epistle was read in place of a sermon.  Following the services on Tuesday many people gathered in the church hall for a festive meal and a visit from Father Christmas. 

This year was one in which we celebrated a number of major anniversaries in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Hunter Valley – 75 years since the first Russian Orthodox service on the Great Feast of the Dormition in Greta in 1949; 60 years since the consecration of our current church of Saint Nicholas; 30 years since the establishment of the Theophany parish in Mayfield and 15 years since its closure and unification with our parish; 40 years of service as a reader and subdeacon by Vitaly Lupish; and 20 years of service as a reader and subdeacon by Luke Goura.  To our great sorrow, Subdeacon Vitaly departed this life in June – he had been a key figure in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church in the region since 1949 and in our parish from its foundation in 1952.  We had three weddings and ten baptisms this year - five of the baptisms were of adults, and five were of children.  Our parish continued to grow and for the first time in many years our church was regularly full.  In November we welcomed Archbishop George on his first visit to our parish since 2019 and held an exhibition of icons, sacred items and photographs from across the 75 years of Russian Orthodoxy in the region.  By the end of the year, the Parish Council had effectively finalised a ‘Master Plan’ for improvements to our church and grounds incorporating reconstruction of our church porches, improvement of our outside toilet facilities, and better paving.  All the news from 2024 can be read here.  Glory be to God for all things!

On Saturday 21 December and Sunday 22 December we had services for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Conception by Saint Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy our small church was full, and prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. These were our final services for 2024.

On Wednesday 18 December and Thursday 19 December we had services in honour of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, archbishop of Myra in Lycia (+342 AD), the heavenly protector of our parish.  All-night Vigil with the blessing of five loaves, wheat, wine and oil was served on Wednesday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Thursday morning.  At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys and prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land.  Following Divine Liturgy there was a moleben to Saint Nicholas.   The parish rector then congratulated our Warden Nikolai Goura and our Parish Council member Dean (Nicholas) Crawford on their name-day, and altar-server Daniel Goura on his recent birthday and forthcoming name-day.  After ‘Many Years’ was sung for them, those present gathered in the church for a festive meal.

On Sunday 8 December our parish held its 2024 Annual General Meeting.  The 2024 Annual Report was presented and accepted.  Nikolai Goura was elected Warden for a further three-year term, and Irene Lupish, Olga Bogacheva, Lucea Szabunia and Dean (Nicholas) Crawford were elected to serve on the 2024-25 Parish Council.

On Saturday 7 December and Sunday 8 December we had services for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, the Apodosis of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple, and in honour of Hieromartyr Clement of Rome (+101 AD).  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. It being the Nativity Fast, a great many people received Holy Communion. Following the services on Sunday the third and final announcement was made concerning the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the parish.

Our 2024 Annual Report, including the independently audited 2023-24 Financial Statements, is now available.  It includes information about the governance of our parish and gives a little parish history.  It also summarises the life and activity of the parish in 2023-24 and provides details of some future plans.  A copy of the report, which will be formally presented to our parish Annual General Meeting on Sunday 8 December 2024, is available here.  We encourage our parishioners and friends with questions or comments concerning our Annual Report to contact us.

“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.

On Sunday 29 December, the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost and the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers,  the Hours and Divine Liturgy  were celebrated at Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission on the NSW Mid North Coast.  As in December 2023, the services were held at Boambee Memorial Hall, a short distance from Coffs Harbour.  In anticipation of the main feast of Saint Symeon on 31 December, a moleben to the saint was served immediately after Divine Liturgy and the faithful were given blessed icon-cards.  As 2024 was the fifth anniversary of services on the Mid North Coast, Father James then announced the bestowal of special Certificates of Appreciation on mission founders, benefactors and hosts Tatiana Tobin, Evan and Katerina Cotten, Evgeniya Biryukova and Ashish Sinha, and Liubov Sleaford.  Those present, amongst whom were both new faces and guests from further afield, then shared in a festive meal.

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.