Our rector, Archpriest James Carles (b. 1969), was appointed to this parish in December 2002. He and his wife, Marie, were received into Orthodoxy at Saint Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Church, Mount Pritchard, on 5 November 1994. They joined the Russian Orthodox parish of Saint Nicholas in Fairfield in 1996.  He was tonsured a reader in May 1997 and ordained subdeacon and deacon in November 1998.  On 23 September 2001 Father James was ordained to the priesthood and assigned to the parish of the Protection of the Holy Virgin in Cabramatta, Sydney, with the additional responsibility of serving what was then the newly-established Russian Orthodox community of Saint Panteleimon, Gosford. In August 2003 he was released from his appointment to the Cabramatta parish and has, since then, served continuously in Gosford and Wallsend.  In October 2015 he participated in a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia accompanying the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God to the Yekaterinburg and Ufa Metropolitanates of the Russian Orthodox Church.  In November 2016 he was raised to the rank of archpriest.  In May 2021 he retired from the Australian Public Service after 32 years' service and in August 2021 he commenced full-time tertiary study in law and theology.  In December 2022 he was appointed to Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission on the NSW Mid North Coast in addition to his responsibilities in Wallsend and Gosford.  In August 2024 he was awarded the right the wear the jewelled pectoral cross.  Father James and Matushka Marie have seven children and two grandchildren.  

Subdeacon Luke Goura is a life-long member of our parish.  Tonsured a reader in May 2004, he was ordained subdeacon by Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) in May 2009.  Luke and his wife Elise were married at Saint Nicholas' in 2006, and have two sons, Daniel and Thomas, born in 2008 and 2012 respectively.  Luke is the senior altar server in our parish and also regularly reads the Apostol at Divine Liturgy.

Reader James Savage (b. 1981) was raised in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, in a family that traces its heritage to the original settlement of the town.  His first intellectual encounter with Orthodoxy was through the Russian martial art Systema in 2005.  Raised secularly, James came to the faith later in life, attending his first Divine Liturgy at the home of parishioners of the Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission, held in Boambee in May 2022.  After attending services regularly for twelve months, he was baptised in our parish in May 2023.  He began singing in the choir, serving in the sanctuary, and reading the Apostol in church shortly after. In March 2024 he was appointed a Child Safety Contact Person for our parish.  He was tonsured a reader by Archbishop George of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand on Sunday 25 May 2025, the Sixth Sunday of Pascha. James remains involved with the Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission, helping with scheduled services and organising regular lay “reader” services on the Mid North Coast.  He is also active in the work being undertaken at the Holy Trinity Monastery site in Monkerai.  

Subdeacon Vitaly Lupish (1935-2024) was the eldest son of the ever-memorable Archpriest John Lupish and a founding member of our parish.  An indispensible helper to his father in parish life, he was the designer of our church and hall and a participant in both building projects, an active member of the Parish Council for many years, and our choir director and reader.  Tonsured a reader and ordained subdeacon by the ever-memorable Archbishop Paul (Pavlov) in 1984, Vitaly assisted the many clergymen assigned to serve our parish after his father's repose in 1977.  It is impossible to over-estimate Vitaly's contribution to our parish over the course of nearly 75 years. In October 2017 Vitaly and his wife Irene were awarded the prestigious Diocesan Cross, and in 2023 they received the Diocesan medal commemorating 75 years since the establishment of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese. Vitaly departed this life on 9 June 2024.  His funeral was served in our church on 18 June 2024 and he was afterwards laid to rest in Sandgate Cemetery.  May his memory be eternal!