On Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July we had services for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Twelve Apostles: Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, his brother John, Philip, Batholomew, Thomas, Mathew, James the son of Alpheus, Jude the brother of James (also known as Thaddeus), Simon the Zealot, and Matthias.  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.  At the end of Divine Liturgy prayers of blessing were read over a new sticharion and cassocks, gifts from the parish that were then presented to Reader James Savage.  An announcement was also made concerning the Extraordinary Parish Meeting to be held on Sunday 10 August 2025.

A man and a woman who meet the requirements of the both the Australian Marriage Act 1961 and the Marriage Regulations 2017 (the “legal requirements”) and of the Russian Orthodox Church (the “church requirements”) may be married in our parish and other Australian parishes of our Diocese.  In conjunction with Saint Panteleimon Russian Orthodox Church, Gosford, our parish has developed a helpful summary of the legal and church requirements for marriage that includes links to important forms and other resources.  This information, which can be accessed at our Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals page, has been prepared to help our parishioners and friends when planning weddings in parishes of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Should anyone have any questions or concerns about this information, please contact us.

On Saturday 14 June and Sunday 15 June we had services for the First Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday of All Saints.  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.  As the Sunday of All Saints was in May 2008 designated the Day of Youth of the Russian Church Abroad, a brief moleben was served at the end of Divine Liturgy on Sunday for the children and youth of our parish, our Diocese, and our whole Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

In conjunction with Saint Panteleimon Russian Orthodox Church, Gosford, our parish has developed an explanation of the reasons why weddings cannot be celebrated on certain days and dates and during certain seasons.  It incorporates a list of Sundays and Fridays on which weddings can be celebrated that has now been updated to include Sundays and Fridays in 2025, 2026 and 2027.  This information, which can be accessed either here or via our Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals page, has been prepared to help our parishioners and friends when planning weddings in parishes of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Should anyone have any questions or concerns about this information, please contact us.

On Monday 9 June, the Second Day of Pentecost and the Day of the Holy Spirit, the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served at the site of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Monkerai, New South Wales (NSW).  Our parish rector presided at the services.  As Monday 9 June 2025 was the King’s Birthday public holiday in NSW, approximately thirty friends of the monastery from Newcastle, the Central Coast, Sydney, and the Mid North Coast were able to be present.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land, and most of those present received Holy Communion.  At the end of Divine Liturgy a brief moleben was served for the monastery founders, benefactors, and workers, and prayers of blessing were read over icon-cards depicting the Holy Monastic Fathers in whose honour the monastery chapel is dedicated.   After the services those present enjoyed a festive lunch.

On Saturday 7 June and Sunday 8 June we had services for the Great Feast of Pentecost.  All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Saturday evening, and the Hours and Divine Liturgy was served on Sunday morning.  Prior to the services our small church had been beautifully decorated with flowers and green branches in honour of the life-giving Holy Spirit.  Immediately before the evening service on Saturday, a panikhida was served for the ever-memorable Subdeacon Vitaly Lupish (+9 June 2024) in anticipation of the first anniversary of his repose.  On Sunday morning, the Hours and Divine Liturgy were followed by Vespers with the reading of the customary "kneeling prayers".  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church and peace in Ukraine.

"The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia finds it necessary to raise its voice out of bitter necessity, for we find that in a time of crisis and growing confrontation amongst nations, aspects of the Russian state and society are wandering onto an extremely dangerous path: instead of the promulgation of Christian repentance and purification, we observe in certain circles a return to a false, God-opposing ideology that prevailed in the last century. This return is fraught with harmful consequences. Should it continue, we fear that modern Russia risks being considered a dark stain amongst the nations, marked by a revival of spiritual corruption, instead of her being a radiant beacon of Orthodox Truth, which is surely the calling to which her long history of Christian piety directs her."  The full text of this important statement, released by the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on Thursday 5 June 2025, can be read in English here and in Russian here.

“The history of the Church is not only academic studies of the events of the past and narratives about the affairs of bygone days, the legends of ancient times, which are like the pages of a dusty book darkened by time. In the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit lives and acts, guiding us into all truth (John 16:13). That is why the study of Church history – to which I urge all of you – helps us to better understand many phenomena in contemporary religious life, teaches us to separate the main from the secondary and to distinguish spirits (1 Cor. 12:10), comprehending the all-wise Providence of God for the Church.”  Patriarch Kirill’s Epistle is available in full in Russian here.  A complete English-language translation will be shared as soon as it becomes available.

Amended 26 June 2025: On Saturday 24 May and Sunday 25 May we had services for the Sixth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Blind Man.  Matins was served on Saturday evening.  On Sunday morning, His Eminence Archbishop George of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand arrived, visiting our parish in honour of our patronal feast of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bari. Following the greeting and vesting of the archbishop, the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served.  During the Sixth Hour our parishioner and altar server James Savage was tonsured a reader.  Concelebrating with Vladyka George were the parish rector and Protodeacon Alexander Kotlaroff.  At Divine Liturgy the choir sang under the direction of Ludmila Alexandrovsky.  A moleben to Saint Nicholas was served at the end of Divine Liturgy, and a festive meal was held in the church hall afterwards.  As it was Archbishop George’s seventy-fifth birthday, at lunch he was presented with a birthday cake and flowers, and all present sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and wished him many years.

On Wednesday 21 May and Thursday 22 May we had services commemorating the Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bari, Italy, in 1087 AD.  This was the patronal feast-day of our church.  All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Wednesday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Thursday morning.  Divine Liturgy was preceded by the Lesser Blessing of Water.  As the weather was inclement and many of our parishioners had work commitments, attendance at the services was modest.  On Thursday morning the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys.

The Twenty-First Diocesan Assembly of our Australian-New Zealand Diocese is to be held at Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield, NSW, from the evening of Thursday 23 October until the afternoon of Sunday 26 October 2025.  As all Diocesan clergy will be participating in the Assembly, the only services in our Diocese on Saturday-Sunday 25-26 October will be at the Strathfield Cathedral.  A news article about the Twentieth Diocesan Assembly may be read here.  A delegate from amongst the laity to join the parish rector in representing our parish at the Assembly will be chosen at a parish meeting to be convened on Sunday 10 August 2025.  Further information about the parish meeting and the Twenty-First Diocesan Assembly will be made available in due course.

Our Winter 2025 Schedule of Services - covering June, July and August - is now available.  Services of particular note during this period will be All-night Vigil and Divine Liturgy on Saturday-Sunday 7-8 June for the Great Feast of Pentecost and All-night Vigil and Divine Liturgy on Wednesday-Thursday 27-28 August for the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God.  A copy of the English-language Winter 2025 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Winter 2025 Schedule of Services is available here.  Printed copies will available in church as of Wednesday 21 May.

Our parishioners and friends will be saddened to learn that as of 29 April 2025, parish cleric Deacon Michal Matys has been formally transferred to Saint George Russian Orthodox Church in Carlton, NSW.  Father Michal was ordained to the diaconate in the Carlton parish on 6 May 2017 and served there until moving to the region and beginning to serve with us in October 2021.  He was formally assigned to our parish in February 2023, the first deacon assigned here in our long history.  We plan to formally recognise Father Michal's service at a later date. 

On Saturday 10 May and Sunday 11 May we had services for the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Paralytic.  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 and peace in Ukraine.

On Saturday 26 April and Sunday 27 April we had services for Thomas Sunday, the Second Sunday of Pascha.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served at 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.  In place of a sermon, the parish rector read aloud the Paschal Epistle of Archbishop George in Russian and English. At the end of Divine Liturgy the Prayer at the breaking of the Artos was read and pieces of the Artos were distributed to the faithful.

The April 2025 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 the first issue for 2025.  Content includes the 2025 Paschal Epistle of Archbishop George in Russian and English; articles in Russian and English concerning the March 2025 Pastoral Conference of our Diocese convened at the Holy Protection Cathedral in Brunswick (Melbourne), Victoria, during Great Lent; the text in Russian and English of a paper presented at that conference by Archpriest Nicholas Karipoff, ‘The Image of the Pastor: The Bible, Vitae of the Saints and Pastoral Theology’;  announcements concerning various awards bestowed on Diocesan clergy by the Synod of Bishops and by Archbishop George; articles in Russian marking the centenary of the repose of Patriarch Tikhon; articles in Russian and English about the December 2024 Diocesan Youth Conference (“Syezd”); a colour supplement of photographs from Chersonesus (near Sevastopol, Crimea); and more.  Copies are $5.00.

This year, our parish had just two traditional Holy Week services.  Matins with the reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels was served in the evening on Thursday 17 April and Vespers with the bringing out of the Shroud of Christ was served in the afternoon on Friday 18 April.  As our parish rector was serving in Gosford for Pascha this year there were no Resurrectional services in our church, and our parishioners attended festive services at either the Greek Orthodox or Serbian Orthodox parishes in Newcastle or travelled to Gosford.  God willing, we will have Paschal services in our parish again in 2026.

“Let us appreciate and sincerely give thanks unto God for His great loving-kindness and mercy shown towards fallen mankind by redeeming us from sin through His suffering on the cross and glorious Resurrection, making us heirs of His heavenly kingdom. … Let us not be tempted by the so-called pleasures and riches of this temporal world, but let us always strive for spiritual riches which do not fade away. Our way of life now will have eternal consequences." Archbishop George’s Epistle is available in full in English here and in Russian here.

“May the present celebration, for which we have been preparing with prayer and fasting, renew the right spirit, that is, a healthy spirit, in our hearts, in order to understand the mystery of Christ's Resurrection, to enjoy the "riches of goodness" of which Chrysostom writes, and to anticipate "eternal joy"! ...  May our feast be united with the general yearning of the faithful to God for peace and for the persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. For "if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it," says the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 12:26).”  Metropolitan Nicholas’s Epistle is available in full in English here and in Russian here.

On Saturday 12 April and Sunday 13 April we had 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 was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for peace in the Holy Land and a collection was taken up to benefit the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.  As this was the final Divine Liturgy in our parish for Great Lent, a great many people confessed and received Holy Communion.  At the end of the service on Sunday prayers of blessing were read over a set of new red covers for the Holy Table, Table of Oblation, and icon stands.  The new covers are the work of the sisters of Saint Elizabeth Convent in Minsk, Belarus.

On Sunday 30 March our parish rector visited Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission on the NSW Mid North Coast and conducted services for the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, the day of commemoration of Saint John of the Ladder (+649AD).  The services were held at the Wauchope Community Arts Hall, the Mission’s Port Macquarie-Hastings region ‘home’ since April 2023.  The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning with approximately thirty people present.  Prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land, and many of those present confessed and received Holy Communion.  As Saturday 29 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, Divine Liturgy was followed by a litia for the departed and the blessing of kutiya.  As is customary, those present afterwards shared a common meal.

On Saturday 22 March and Sunday 23 March we had services for the Third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross. Matins with the bringing out of the Cross 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.  Many people received Holy Communion.  Following the dismissal at Divine Liturgy all venerated the Precious and Life-giving Cross of our Lord.

On Saturday 8 March and Sunday 9 March we had services for the First Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, and in honour of the finding of the head of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John.  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.  Many people received Holy Communion.  In accordance with the practice of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, 'The Order for a Hymn of Supplication for the Conversion of those in Error' was served at the end of Divine Liturgy on Sunday.  During this short moleben, prayers were offered for those who oppose the truth of the Gospel with heresy and for those who have fallen away from the Holy Orthodox Church through schism.

This year, 2025, is the centenary of the repose of two great hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church:  Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (31 January 1865 - 7 April 1925, canonised 1981) and Saint Jonah, Bishop of Hankow (17 April 1888- 20 October 1925, canonised 1996).  In recognition of this significant anniversary, the Synod of Bishops of our Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has called upon the bishops and clergy to make a particular effort to remember these two holy bishops.  To this end, they are to be commemorated at the dismissal of each Divine Liturgy up until the Great Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (4 December, the day of the Patriarchal enthronement of Saint Tikhon in 1918) and to remember Saint Tikhon in a sermon and with a moleben on Sunday 6 April, the Fifth Sunday in Great Lent and the eve of the anniversary of his repose.  As there will not be a service in our parish on that Sunday, arrangements for a moleben to Saint Tikhon and another to Saint Jonah will be made later in the year.  Holy Hierarchs Tikhon and Jonah, pray to God for us!

Our Autumn 2025 Schedule of Services - covering March, April and May 2025 - is now available in digital format.  It includes services for Great Lent, Holy Week, and our patronal feast-day of Saint Nicholas.  Our parishioners and friends are reminded that there will be no Paschal services in our parish this year.  A copy of the English-language Autumn 2025 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Autumn 2025 Schedule of Services is available here.  Printed copies are available in church as of the weekend of 22-23 February.

On Saturday 22 February and Sunday 23 February we had services for the Sunday of the Last Judgement.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  As Saturday 22 February was a day of commemoration of the departed, Matins was preceded by a general panikhida.  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 and milk alternatives, bottled water, packaged crackers) and new personal care products (soaps, shampoos and conditioners, wipes, toothbrushes and toothpaste, combs and brushes, female sanitary items) to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.

On Saturday 8 February and Sunday 9 February we had services for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee and in honour of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Matins and Divine Liturgy the parish rector was assisted by Deacon Michal Matys.  To the great joy of our small parish, the choir at Divine Liturgy was formed by the Russian Orthodox Male Choir of Australia (ROMCA).  At the conclusion of the Sunday service the parish rector congratulated ROMCA conductor Reader Nektary Kotlaroff and his choristers on their important and edifying work, wishing them God’s continued help and a successful trip to Russia later this year.  Following the service many of the faithful took the opportunity to speak with members of the choir and purchase recordings of their work.  A collection taken up during the service and a donation from the Parish Council raised $1500 to assist the choir.

Updated 16 February 2025: On Tuesday 18 March and Wednesday 18 March 2025 the clergy of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese will gather in Melbourne for their customary Great Lenten Pastoral Conference.  On Tuesday the clergy will meet at the Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral for the Rule of Preparation for Holy Communion at 5.00pm and Lenten Matins and confession at 6.00pm.  On Wednesday from 8.00am the Lenten Hours, the Typika and the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts will be served at the Cathedral with Archbishop George presiding and Diocesan clergy concelebrating.  Those of the faithful who have the opportunity to do so are welcome to attend the services on Wednesday morning and may – if properly prepared – receive Holy Communion.  Following Divine Liturgy the clergy will meet in the cathedral hall for lunch, to hear a number of short talks, and to discuss pastoral, liturgical and administrative matters.

On Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January we had services for the Thirty-First Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday after Theophany, and in honour of Martyrs Hermylus and Stratonicus of Belgrade (+c.315 AD).  Matins was served on Saturday evening and the Hours, Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of Water were served on Sunday morning.  It being Australia Day, prayers for the civil authorities and a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings bestowed upon us in this country were offered at Divine Liturgy.  A prayer of thanksgiving was also offered for the work of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Theophany, a parish in Mayfield (Newcastle) that existed from 1994-2009.

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. 

“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.