On Saturday 21 December and Sunday 22 December we will have services for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Conception by Saint Anna of the Mother of God. Matins will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Sunday morning.  As we will not have services this year on 18-19 December, the day of commemoration of Saint Nicholas, a moleben to Saint Nicholas will be served following Divine Liturgy on Sunday.

With the blessing of Bishop George, our parish rector will be making a pastoral visit to the New South Wales Mid North Coast on the weekend of Saturday-Sunday 28-29 December. On Sunday, the Twenty-Eighth Sunday after Pentecost and Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, Divine Liturgy will be served in Baraganyatti, a small town approximately 75 kilometres north of Port Macquarie. Following Divine Liturgy there will be a festive meal. God willing, through these visits a Russian Orthodox mission under the heavenly protection of Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye will be established in the area. Those interested are welcome to contact us.

On Sunday 8 December the parish rector baptised Maximus Regan, the infant son of Matt and Katy Regan and a younger brother to Oliver.  Maximus, whose godparents were Natasha Goura and Andrew Regan, was baptised in honour of Saint Maximus the Confessor.  We warmly congratulate Matt, Katy, Natasha and Andrew, and wish the newly-baptised servant of God Maximus many years!

On Saturday 7 December and Sunday 8 December we had services for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, the Leave-taking of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple, and in honour of Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Rome (+101 AD). Matins was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  During Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine, and for Orthodox unity, and for rain. As Sunday 8 December was the first anniversary of the untimely repose of our parishioner Alexander Evteev, a pannikhida was served before the evening service on Saturday and a memorial litia was served following Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Following the litia his family and friends gathered in our church hall for a commemorative meal.

On Saturday 23 November and Sunday 24 November we had services for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Martyrs Menas of Egypt (+304 AD), Victor at Damascus (Second Century AD), and Vincent of Spain (+304 AD), together with Venerable Theodore the Studite (+826 AD). Matins was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning. As Friday 22 November was the anniversary of the repose of the founder of our parish, the ever-memorable Archpriest John Lupish (+1977), a panikhida was served before Matins on Saturday evening and a litia was served after Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. During Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine, and for Orthodox unity, and for rain. In his sermon the parish rector spoke about Venerable Theodore the Studite, a lesser-known saint who was nevertheless of immense significance in the history of the Orthodox veneration of icons, monasticism and liturgics. At the dismissal a collection was taken up to benefit the Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia,with $140.00 raised.

Our Summer 2019-2020 Schedule of Services - covering December, January and February - is now available.  A copy of the English-language Summer 2019-2020 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Summer 2019-2020 Schedule of Services is available here.  Printed copies in both languages will be available in church from the evening of Saturday 23 November.

From the evening of Thursday 14 November until the afternoon of Sunday 17 November, our parish rector Archpriest James Carles, together with delegate Paul Pereboeff, participated in the work of the Nineteenth Diocesan Assembly of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and the associated divine services.  The Assembly was held on the grounds of Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield, NSW.  On Friday and Saturday the Assembly heard reports and considered proposals concerning the life and administration of the Diocese and its various parishes, missions, monasteries and organisations.  Consideration was also given to Diocesan observance of two significant anniversaries in 2020: the two hundredth anniversary of the first Russian Orthodox services in Australia, and the centenary of the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.  On Saturday a Diocesan Council was elected to assist His Grace Bishop George of Canberra administer the Diocese over the coming three years.  On Sunday morning the gathering of clergy and delegates from across Australia and New Zealand culminated in Divine Liturgy at which His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada presided together with Bishop George.  During the Divine Liturgy a number of clergymen received awards for their service to the Holy Orthodox Church.  Amongst those receiving awards were two clergymen who have served in our parish, Abbot Benjamin (Forbes) and Archpriest Daniel Metlenko, both of whom received the right to wear the jewelled pectoral cross.  Photographs of the service are available here.

On Saturday 9 November and Sunday 10 November we had services for the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint Job of Pochaev (+1651 AD). Matins was served on Saturday evening and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  After the Prayer before the Amvon a moleben was served before a copy of the “Unburnt Bush” Icon of the Mother of God for the deliverance of the New South Wales Mid North Coast and other place from cruel fires.  In His sermon the parish rector spoke about the significance of Saint Job of Pochaev and the Pochaev Monastery in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church and people.

A group of young families working under the auspices of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin parish in Cabramatta, NSW, is again organising a camp for Russian and other Orthodox children and young people aged 8-17 to be held in Toukley, NSW - here on the Central Coast - from 15 December - 20 December 2019.  The cost will be $425.00 per person, or $399.00 if payment is made by 30 September 2019.  For those interested, more information is available here.