On Saturday 9 December and Sunday 10 December we will have services for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the wonderworking Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God.  Matins will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.  Following Divine Liturgy on Sunday the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the parish will be held.

Our 2023 parish Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 12.00pm on Sunday 10 December.  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 is available here.

Our 2023 Annual Report, including the independently audited 2022-23 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 2022-23 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 10 December 2023, is available here.  We encourage our parishioners and friends with questions or comments concerning our Annual Report to contact us.

Our Summer 2023-24 Schedule of Services - covering December, January and February - is now available in PDF format.  A copy of the English-language Summer 2023-24 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Summer 2023-24 Schedule of Services is available here.  Printed copies will be available in church from the weekend of 25-26 November.   Services of note will be for Saint Nicholas on 18-19 December and for the Great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany) on 18-19 January, a day on which we will have a Great Blessing of Water and commemorate Newcastle's former Theophany parish (1994-2009).

On Sunday 26 November a meeting of the Parish Council was held.  The usual pastoral, administrative and financial reports were heard.  A decision was made to engage an architect to prepare plans for the replacement of the church entrances and for other works on the church grounds, including construction of an accessible toilet and new paving.  It was agreed that the Parish Council would meet again briefly before the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 10 December 2023 to endorse the final 2023 Annual Report.

On Saturday 25 November and Sunday 26 November we had services for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople (+407 AD).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys and prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  Following Divine Liturgy, a memorial litia was served for the ever-memorable Archpriest John Lupish (+22 November 1977), Kenneth Cross (+18 November 2018), Alexander Evteev (+8 December 2018), and Eugenia Kallaur (+19 November 2021).  At the completion of the services on Sunday, an announcement was made concerning the Annual General Meeting of the parish to be held on Sunday 10 December 2023.

On Saturday 11 November and Sunday 12 November we had services for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Hieromartyr Zenobius, bishop of Aegae in Cilicia, and his sister Zenobia (+285 AD).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At both services the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys.  At Divine Liturgy our small church was full, with visitors joining us from Sydney, the Central Coast, and the Mid North Coast.  Prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  Following Divine Liturgy, an announcement was made concerning the Annual General Meeting of the parish to be held on Sunday 10 December 2023.

The 2023 Teen Retreat of our Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outisde Russia will be held in Collaroy, NSW, from Sunday 17 December until Thursday 21 December.  More information and a link to online registration is available in the attached image.  The ROCOR Teen Retreat Facebook page can be accessed here.

The 2023 Orthodox Youth Conference (“Syezd”) of our Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outisde Russia will be held in Melbourne, Victoria, from Tuesday 26 December until Saturday 30 December.  More information and a link to online registration is available in the attached image.

The November 2023 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. Content includes a letter of congratulations from the editor, Mitred Archpriest Michael Protopopov, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of our diocese; a brief biography of the first bishop of our Diocese, the ever-memorable Archbishop Theodore (Rafalsky)(+1955); material on the recent rediscovery in Russia of the original Kazan Icon of the Mother of God; articles in Russian on the Nativity Fast, the symbolism of icons of the Nativity of Christ, and the history of the Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York; the fascinating account by Mitred Archpriest Nicholas Karipoff of an Orthodox baptism and burial in the Northern Territory, with the burial having taken place on remote Yolngu land; news of the ordination of a new deacon, Father Apostolos Condolean; the decision of the Synod of Bishops in the case of Abbot Sergius (Shatrov), the respected former rector of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Bombala, NSW; news of Russian community debutante balls in Sydney and Adelaide; and more.  Copies are $5.00.

From 25 June to 1 July 2024 the Fourteenth All-Diaspora Orthodox Youth Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) will be held in Stuttgart, Germany.  The All-Diaspora Youth Conferences, which began in Montreal, Canada, in 1972, bring together ROCOR youth from around the world.  Over the years, many important friendships have been formed at these conferences.  The theme of the 2024 Conference is “Preserving our Orthodox Identity and Heritage in the Diaspora”.  It will be held at a retreat in the mountains near Stuttgart and lectures will be in Russian, English, and German.  The conference program will also include excursions, sports, cultural activities, and a youth ball.  Youth (aged 18-24) of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese who wish to attend should email youth.rocor.anz@gmail.com for further information.