Australian and New Zealand Diocese (ROCOR)

On Sunday 1/14 June, the Feast of All the Saints, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion served Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the old monastery Church of All Saints, Kentlyn. The church is part of the original building of Our Lady of Kazan Monastery at Kentlyn. The congregation at All Saints worships in English and is served by Hieromonk Joachim, superior of the neighbouring St John the Baptist Skete.

Serving with His Eminence on Sunday were Hieromonk Joachim, Archpriest Vladimir Boikov (visiting from Auckland, New Zealand), Father Seraphim Slade, Protodeacon Christopher Henderson, Deacon Constantine Tzortzis and Deacon Adrian Augustus. During the Small Entrance His Eminence ordained Deacon Father Constantine to the rank of Protodeacon in recognition of his long service to the Skete congregation worshipping at All Saints. (more…)

This year, the parish of Saint Nicholas in Wallsend, an outer suburb of Newcastle, NSW, celebrated its patronal feast on Sunday May 24, the Sunday after the feast.

Two important occurrences made this year’s feast-day particularly memorable.  The first was the visit of our beloved First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion.  The second was the formal observance of the unification of a parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in Newcastle, the Theophany parish in Mayfield, with our parish in Wallsend. (more…)

The 2009 R.O.C.O.R. Directory is now available in Australia at a cost price of $20.00 per book. (more…)

1st Sunday after Pentecost – Sunday of All Saints

Homily From “The One Thing Needful,” Sermons of Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko)

Brothers and sisters! Last week the Holy Church placed flowers in our hands, as if saying to us: See how soulless nature is obedient to its Creator. Starting with the days of Christmas, the earth has been turning toward the sun, which began to bestow upon the earth its life-giving warmth. And nature does not prove itself ungrateful toward its Creator. In answer to His caress, she has produced this glorious beauty, these flowers, and further on, will produce fruits. And what about us? In answer to the spiritual warmth of God’s Grace, so abundantly poured out on us, do we bring to our Creator spiritual beauty, flowers, fruits of virtues? After all, He became Man for our sake, died for us, rose for us, ascended into Heaven in order to send down to us His Holy Spirit. And what about us? Is not this beauty of nature around us a reproach to our conscience? Let us answer honestly. Yes, it is. But more than this, we want to justify our negligence, our ingratitude. The commandments of Christ are wonderful, we say; and if people would begin to fulfill them, then the whole earth would be transformed into a wonderful divine garden. But is this possible for weak human strength? And here this Sunday, the Sunday of All the Saints, answers this question loudly so that the whole world hears: Yes, it is possible. (more…)

1st Sunday after Pentecost – Sunday of All Saints

Troparion, tone 4: In all the world, O Christ our God, Thy Church is adorned with the blood of Thy martyrs as with purple and fine linen. Through them she cries to Thee: Send down Thy compassion to Thy people, grant peace to Thy community, and to our souls the great mercy.

Kontakion, tone 8: The universe offers to Thee, O Lord, as the Planter of Creation, the God-bearing martyrs as the first-fruits of nature. By their prayers, O Most Merciful One, through the Mother of God keep Thy Church, Thy estate, in deep peace. (more…)

By decree of The Council of Bishops,
Sunday of All Saints has been designated the
Day of Youth
of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

To celebrate this day, Metropolitan Hilarion
invites all Russian Orthodox Youth to a luncheon hosted by
St Peter and Paul Cathedral in Strathfield
at the Church hall on
Sunday 14 June 2009 at 12 pm.

There will be a BBQ lunch

Fee: no cost

Socialising
Meet new friends
Catch up with old friends
Last day for meat before lent begins (more…)

(more…)

Holy Trinity Sunday – Pentecost

Homily From “The One Thing Needful,” Sermons of Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko)

Brothers and sisters! See how the Holy Church teaches our conscience. The flowers today represent our conscience. Because when all of nature was still dead, when the time of our yearly cycle was approaching, the Holy Church revealed to us a great mystery: the mystery of our redemption. She then opened before us the cave of Bethlehem and the Lord Who had just been born. And we were told through the reading from the Epistle to the Galatians that this cave is our entrance in to a new yearly cycle, that at the manger of Christ our soul is renewed, and that in this renewal of spirit we receive the spirit of adoption (sonship), which unites us into the one family of Christ (Gal. 4:4-7).

And these are not just words. The Holy Church convinces us of this, comparing our spiritual life with what goes on in nature: the death of nature in winter, its revival in the beauty of spring and summer, and the yielding of fruit in fall. It is the same with the soul of a human being. After the sluggishness of spiritual slumber, a person receives the spirit of adoption in order to unite in one family and to receive what the Lord gives in His plan of salvation  —  His Body and Blood, the Mystery of the Tree of Life, which Adam lost in Paradise. (more…)

Sunday of Pentecost – The Kneeling Prayers at Vespers

Prayer 1

O pure and blameless Lord, Who art without beginning, invisible and incomprehensible, unchangeable, immeasurable, and unbounded, Who art without evil and alone immortal, who dwellest in the unapproachable light, Maker of heaven and earth and the seas and all that was created therein, Who grantest to all their petitions before asking, to Thee we pray and of Thee we ask, O philanthropic Master, the Father of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and of the ever-virgin Mary, the noble Theotokos; Who first didst teach by word, and then gave testimony in deed while bearing the saving Passion, teaching us Thine unworthy, sinful, and miserable servants, to offer Thee our supplications with bent head and knee, for our sins and human ignorance. (more…)

Day of the Holy Spirit – Monday after Pentecost

LITURGY

Ephesians 5:9-19

9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (more…)