On Saturday 8 April and Sunday 9 April our parish will take up a collection to benefit the Russian Eccelesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.  This collection is customarily taken up at this time every year in all the parishes, monasteries and missions of our Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.  Many places of immense spiritual and historical significance in the Holy Land have been entrusted to the our Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, and we have many monastics there who care for these holy places, undertake good works, and pray for the whole world.  Those who wish to make a donation online direct to the Mission may do so via Paypal through the Mission's website.

On Saturday 8 April and Sunday 9 April we will have services for Palm Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Great Lent and the Great Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.  All-night vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil, and five loaves and the blessing of palms and pussy-willows will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.  At both services a collection will be taken up to benefit the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jersualem.

On Saturday 25 March and Sunday 26 March we had services for the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 25 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, a general panikhida was served before Matins on Saturday evening.  As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods (tinned vegetables and fruit, long-life milk, pasta and pasta sauces, rice, cooking oils, and pantry items) to be passed to local charitable organisations for relief of the homeless. At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine.

At the 2022 Annual General Meeting of our parish, members endorsed a Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and to children’s participation in the life of our parish.  In collaboration with our neighbouring parish of Saint Panteleimon, West Gosford, we have now developed new policies and procedures to give effect to these commitments.  Together with general information about child safety in our parish, we have published our policies and procedures online.  Over the next few months our parish will be fully implementing the new arrangements, facilitating training for key people, and revising the policies and procedures in light of experience.  Questions, comments and feedback are welcome!

On Saturday 11 March and Sunday 12 March we had services for the Second Sunday of Great Lent.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 11 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, a general panikhida was served before Matins on Saturday evening.  As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods (tinned vegetables and fruit, long-life milk, pasta and pasta sauces, rice, cooking oils, and pantry items) to be passed to local charitable organisations for relief of the homeless. At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine.  At the end of Divine Liturgy prayers of blessing were read over new gold sets of altar and church vestments, priest’s vestments, and chalice covers.

Updated 12 March 2023: On the weekend of Saturday-Sunday 27-28 May 2022, the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia will celebrate the centenary of the founding of the parish of Saint Nicholas in Brisbane, the first Russian Orthodox parish in Australia.  As all Diocesan clergy will gather in Brisbane that weekend for a pastoral conference on Saturday morning and for participation in the commemorative services on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, there will be no services elsewhere in the Diocese.  An episcopal, ukase, or directive, can be viewed here. A poster with contact information and booking arrangements is available in English here and in Russian here.