Australian and New Zealand Diocese (ROCOR)

Jakarta, Indonesia – Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand arrived in Indonesia today and served a liturgy in Jakarta were he ordained 2 Indonesians deacons to the Priesthood. During the course of his visit to Indonesia His Eminence will ordain 4 priests and 1 deacon. In the ROCOR mission of Indonesia there are already over 2500 Indonesian Orthodox parishioners. The Dean of the Indonesian Orthodox mission Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro held a press-conference with www.pravoslavie.ru to describe the difficult situation in the rapidly expanding Orthodox mission in Indonesia. (more…)

Warrnambool, Australia – On the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 1st Eccumenical council, the Russian Orthodox community in the Australian city of Warrnambool celebrated their Parish feast day and a 10 year jubilee since the day the parish was converted from a historical Anglican Church to a thriving Russian Orthodox Parish. In mark of this event, Protopriest Michael Protopopov gives an interview to www.pravoslavie.ru to discuss the reasons why Catholics, Protestants and Anglicans are deserting their churches. (more…)

3rd Sunday after Pentecost

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

“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt.6:33).

Everything necessary for our earthly existence will be added: food, drink, clothing. But not just added; there is one condition: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.”

What does “seek” mean?  It means that the Lord requires from us actions, an effort of our will. Remember the Gospel readings for the last two weeks (‘The Week of All the Saints” and “The Week of All Saints Who Shone in Russia”) and also what was said in today’s Gospel. These are like steps by which all the saints ascended to the heavenly dwellings, and by which we too must all ascend. Indeed, there is no other way. The way to the Lord is the same for everyone. And it is this: Confess Christ before people, love Him more than everyone and everything else, and take up our cross and follow Him, in the same way the Apostles followed Him, leaving everything behind: their families, nets and boats. And not care about what we eat or drink or about what to wear, because our Heavenly Father knows that we need all these things. The Gospel gives us wonderful examples: “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap … yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them…. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Mt. 6:26, 28-29). (more…)

3rd Sunday after Pentecost

MATINS (III)

Mark 16:9-20

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (more…)

2nd Sunday after Pentecost – All Saints of Russia

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

Brothers and sisters, today the Holy Church opens before us our native heaven  —  all the Saints who shone in Russia. They shine as bright stars before us. And the first among them is St. Vladimir. He was a gifted military leader, statesman, a man of penetrating mind and strong will. The political situation among the Russian Slavs required just such a man. Many Slavic tribes were living at that time on the shores of the Dnieper River, and all of them had already been influenced by the Christian message  —  the dawn of a new life was approaching. Only our forefathers remained pagans. But by that time they too had lost faith in the pagan gods and actually had no religion at all. And the thirst for the One, True, Almighty God more and more strongly took possession of their souls. Vladimir himself was experiencing the same thing: his great soul was tired of the lie and, as a bird from its cage, was straining towards Truth, towards Light.

The same was required in the political situation as well; enlightenment and culture were in Christianity. Paganism was dying out and Christianity was becoming the new, all-powerful movement in contemporary culture and life. The acceptance of Christianity became a necessity, something which could not be put off if the Russian nation wanted to keep in step with other nations. (more…)

2nd Sunday after Pentecost – All Saints of Russia

Troparion, tone 8: As a beautiful fruit of the sowing of Thy salvation, the land of Russia offers to Thee, O Lord, all the Saints that have shone in it. By their prayers keep the Church and our land in deep peace, through the Mother of God, O Most Merciful One.

Kontakion, tone 3: Today the choir of the Saints who pleased God in our land stands before us in Church and invisibly prays for us to God. With them the Angels glorify Him, and all the Saints of the Church of Christ keep festival with them; and they all pray together for us to the eternal God. (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…)

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…)

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…)