“FROM RAINBOW SERPENT TO ORTHODOXY”

ONE MAN’S JOURNEY TO FINDING CHRIST IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion
You are invited to attend the 7th Annual Father Seraphim of Platina Memorial Lecture

When: Friday 3rd of September 2010
Where: All Saints of Russia Russian Orthodox Church Chelmsford Avenue, Croydon
6.30 pm Panikhida for the repose of Father Seraphim
7.30 pm 7th Annual Memorial Lecture in the Church Hall

Followed by supper—bookstall on the night

Guest speaker from Australian Orthodox Indigenous Mission
The Revd Father Seraphim Slade

Enquiries please telephone Father Joachim on 46263945

Its time to email the September timetable of services for Gunning.
In September I will be serving at various other Churches away from Gunning so the last weekend is the only service in Gunning for September.

NOTE: Please note that the regular English Liturgy held the 3rd Saturday at Narrabundah will this month be on SUNDAY 19th Sept @ 9am at St John Baptist Russian Church Narrabundah.
All are welcome.

SEPTEMBER TIMETABLE of SERVICES

Sydney Services
Fri 3rd  6.30pm  Panikhida Memorial Service - All Sts of Russia Church Croydon
Fri 3rd   7.30pm  The 7th Annual Father Seraphim (Rose) Memorial Lecture - All Saints of Russian Orthodox Church Chelmsford, Croydon
Sun 5th  Serving at “Archangle Michael Church  Blacktown

Canberra Services
Sun  12th  9am  Serving at Narrabundah  ‘St Alexander Nevsky’  [Father Alexander's Name-day]
Sat 18th  5pm  -  Vigil in English   St John Baptist  Narrabundah
Sun 19th  9am  -  LITURGY in ENGLISH [a Full English Language Service]

Congratulations to Fr Ambrose Jackson, who converted with his family from the Anglican Church of Australia; he was ordained by Bishop Irenej at the Church of St Sava, Hindmarsh, and is now serving in the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand.

See the news story (translated into English by Google Translate) on the Diocesan Website.

The Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church have a new URL for their website. You can check out their newly-redesigned website at http://www.holyannunciation.net .

The Greek Orthodox Community of St George, South Brisbane, has recently uploaded their website.  You can see it here, at http://www.gocstgeorge.com.au.

Below is an article about missionary work in Melbourne, submitted to Anesti.  We welcome other submissions, particularly regarding other cities: please e-mail admin@anesti.info and we will look to publish your article.

The history of Orthodoxy in Australia begins in the nineteenth century, with the first Divine Liturgy that was celebrated in Sydney in 1820, at the Kirribilli Point, which later became the place of the official residence of the Prime Ministers of Australia[1]. Since then, the Orthodox Church has more and more developed in Australia and the missionary work conducted here continues to the present day.

[1]: Protopopov, 2006, p.1.

Currently, there are six orthodox jurisdictions with local bishops in Australia, including those of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Serbian and the Romanian dioceses. There are also four jurisdictions without local bishop, including the Bulgarian and the Polish Orthodox dioceses[2].

[2]: OrthodoxWiki, “Australia”, 2010.

The missions located in all parts of Australia have as principal objective to spread of God’s Word to as many as possible individuals who are willing to learn about it. The most Orthodox worshipping communities in Australia are located in Melbourne, Sydney and in South Australia[3].

[3]: ROCOR Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, 2010.

The Holy Cross Orthodox Mission in Melbourne was founded in 2003 by several devoted Orthodox Christians and it is currently supported by people who are willing to spread the Universal Orthodox Faith to all[4]. The founding principles of the Holy Cross Orthodox Missions have their origins in the Nazareth House, founded by Archimandrite Lazarus during his stay in Melbourne in the 80s. Archimandrite Lazarus was one of the pioneers of the Orthodox missionary work in Australia and considered nowadays one of the great scholars and missionaries of the 20th century, who fought for the Word of God to be spread in the language of each nation[5].

[4]: Holy Cross Orthodox Mission, 2010a
[5]: Holy Cross Orthodox Mission, 2010b

As a result of his efforts, all the work and the public services of the Holy Cross Orthodox Mission are celebrated in contemporary English. The Mission is involved in the assistance of the members of the community who are in need, without any discrimination. The mission is located right next to the Melbourne Department of Immigration and thus it constantly helps the immigrants and refugees with useful needs[6].

[6]: Holy Cross Orthodox Mission, 2010a

The Holy Ascension Orthodox Christian Mission is another English-speaking Orthodox mission and church located in inner Melbourne. The mission is dedicated to the general public and it is composed of clergy, monastic and lay-people from all backgrounds. The mission centre and the monastic communities assist all people who genuinely seek the true faith of the Orthodox Church[7].

[7]: Holy Ascension Orthodox Christian Mission, 2010

Missionary work is conducted in Melbourne by young people as well, as it happens with the Youth Group of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God Parish. This Orthodox Youth Group was founded in the 90s and since then it has been offering numerous community services. Besides the social events, the Melbourne Youth Group has supported the construction of the new Russian Orthodox Cathedral, participated in conferences and organized various activities for young people who seek the Word of God as a guiding path in their lives[8].

[8]: Holy Protection Cathedral, 2010

Bibliography

Michael Protopopov, 2006, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, Gorgias Press, NJ

OrthodoxWiki, 2010, Orthodoxy in Australia, http://orthodoxwiki.org/Australia

ROCOR Diocesan Administration, 2010, Australian and New Zealand Diocese (ROCOR), http://www.rocor.org.au

Holy Cross Orthodox Mission, 2010a, About Us, http://australianorthodox.org/about-us

Holy Cross Orthodox Mission, 2010b, A Tribute to Fr Lazarus, http://australianorthodox.org/a-tribute-to-fr-lazarus

Holy Ascension Monastic Community, 2010, Holy Ascension Orthodox Mission, http://www.ascensionorthodox.org

Melbourne Orthodox Youth Group, 2010, Melbourne Orthodox Youth Group, http://www.rocor.org.au/holyprotectioncathedral/mainpage/moyg.html

The Chapel of St John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, based in Gunning, NSW and part of the Australian Indigenous Orthodox Mission, have forwarded their program for us to post on our website, including an open invitation to the service celebrating their patron saint on 3 July. All are welcome.

May
Sat 22 May: 6:30pm Vespers
Sun 23 May: 10:00am Divine Liturgy (Pentecost)
No services on 29-30 May - Fr Seraphim serving in Canberra

June
No services on 5-6 June - Fr Seraphim serving in Croyden, Sydney, for the patronal feastday of the Chapel, with Metropolitan Hilarion
No services on 7 June - Fr Seraphim serving in Kentlyn, Sydney, for the patronal feastday of the St John the Baptist Skete, with Metropolitan Hilarion
Sat 12 June: 6:30pm Vespers
Sun 13 June: 10:00am Divine Liturgy (3rd Sunday after Pentecost)
No services on 19 June - Fr Seraphim serving in Canberra
Sun 20 June: 10:00am Divine Liturgy (4th Sunday after Pentecost)
Sat 26 June: 6:30pm Vespers
Sun 27 June: 10:00am Divine Liturgy (5th Sunday after Pentecost)

Patronal Feastday
Sat 3 July: 10:00am Divine Liturgy (2nd Patronal Feastday of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco Chapel). All welcome to the Liturgy and to stay for the following luncheon.

As part of the ROCOR Orthodox Mission to Aboriginal Australia, there will be an English Liturgy celebrated at St John the Forerunner Russian Orthodox Church, Canberra, on the 29th May 2010.

The May service will commemorate the Stolen Generation (as Sorry Day is on the 26th of May) and the 33rd anniversary of the 27th May 1967 Referendum which successfully removed from the Constitution clauses that discriminated against Indigenous Australians.

Liturgy will then be celebrated monthly at 9:30am on the 3rd Saturday of the month from June onward: specifically, on 19 June, 17 July, 21 August, 18 September, 2010.

For further details, please contact Fr Seraphim Slade on (02) 4845 1370.

The Divine Liturgy in English will be celebrated at the Protection of the Mother God Cathedral, 1–7 Albion St, East Brunswick, this Sunday:

Sunday, 9 May – The Sunday of the Man Born Blind

Services start at 8am.

Holy Ascension will also be running a book stall after the Liturgy in the hall. The stall stocks books, cd’s and dvd’s on all aspects of the Orthodox Faith, as well as, crosses, prayer ropes, oil lamps, hand censers and other devotional items. Proceeds go towards Holy Ascension’s missionary outreach activities and monastery building fund.

for more information, contact Fr Kyril, or visit http://www.ascensionorthodox.org.au/

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has announced that there will be a Divine Liturgy in English on most Saturday nights throughout 2010.  The Divine Liturgy will start at 6:50pm and finish at approximately 8:15pm

March 6, 13, 20 (n.b. no Liturgy in English on 27th): Church of Our Lord’s Resurrection; 16-20 Belgrave St, Kogarah; celebrated by Fr Sophronios Konidaris

April 10, 17, 24 (n.b. no Liturgy in English on 3rd): Church of All Saints; Cnr Isabel and Cecelia Sts, Belmore; celebrated by Fr Stavros Ivanos

May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29: Church of St Euphemia; 6-12 East Terrace, Bankstown; celebrated by Fr Panagiotis Protopsaltis

June 5, 12, 19, 26: Church of St Catherine (old parish church); 13-15 Tunbridge St, Mascot; celebrated by Fr Athanasios Giatsios and Fr Stavros Karvelas

July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31: Church of Archangel Michael; 49-59 Holterman St, Crow’s Nest; celebrated by Fr Stavros Karvelas

August 7, 21, 28 (n.b. no Liturgy in English on 14th): Church of St Paraskeve; 47-49 Balmoral St, Blacktown; celebrated by Fr Sotirios Papafilopoulos

September 4, 11, 18, 25: Church of St Stylianos; 806-808 The Kingsway, Gymea; celebrated by Fr Constantine Varipatis

October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: Church of St Spyridon; 72-76 Gardener’s Rd, Kingsford; celebrated by Fr Steven Scoutas and Fr Andrew Joannou

November 6, 13, 20, 27: Church of St John the Baptist; 11 Hassall St, Parramatta; celebrated by Fr Dimitrios Kokkinos

December 4, 11, 18 (n.b. no Liturgy in English on 25th): Church of St Andrew; 20 Wharf Rd, Gladesville; celebrated by Fr Doru Costache