CHRIST IS RISEN!

Our Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Oceania includes all jurisdictions in the region – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Zealand and Exarchate of Oceania, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, Russian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand, Ukrainian Orthodox Consistory in Australia and New Zealand, Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of USA, Canada and Australia, and Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Australia and New Zealand. As you may be aware, the last Synaxis of the Assembly mandated the initiation of work on a website representing the Assembly.

On Sunday, 26 April 2015, His Grace Bishop Irinej, celebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the concelebration of the Very Reverend Fathers Jovan Vesic and Velibor Bojicic, the Reverend Father Nikola Stefanov and Protodeacon Petar Mrakic.

Sunday, April 26th 2015
Serbian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas

The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2015

IRINEJ

BY THE GRACE OF GOD BISHOP OF THE METROPOLITANATE OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

Beloved monastics, clergy, all sons and daughters, faithful spiritual children of our Holy Church in Australia and New Zealand, from a paternal heart overflowing with Paschal joy, We greet all of you on this great and most radiant Feast of Feasts greeting all with the inspired words of the Venerable John of Damascus:

St Sava's parish at Elanora Heights has successfully hosted its fifth Saturday evening Vespers service with Bible Study session in the English language for the faithful of our community.

The Pan-Orthodox Vespers on the Sunday of Orthodoxy was held at the Church of St Nicholas in Marrickville, Sydney on 1 March 2015. Various Orthodox Churches in Sydney came together to pray and to jointly declare their Orthodox Faith with a Procession of icons around the Church.

By Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)

Within this developed pattern of Great Lent, what precisely do the rules of fasting demand? Neither in ancient nor in modern times has there ever been exact uniformity, but most Orthodox authorities agree on the following rules:

Holy Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, accept from me, Your unworthy servant, this prayer for my enemies and our enemies. Forgive us all our sins. Have mercy on all our enemies who hate us, or insult us, or persecute us, or torture us, and do not judge them as they deserve, but according to Your great mercy turn them all: turn the nonbelievers to true faith and godliness, and may the believers step away from evil and do good — so that none of them die because of us, Your unworthy servants.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, under the aegis of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Oceania, hosted the 32nd Annual Opening of the Law Term for 2015 with a Pan-Orthodox Prayer Service held at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Sydney on Tuesday evening, 10 February 2015. Many notable participants, including clergy and lay, legal professionals from the Inter-Orthodox community, were present to pray with and for dignitaries from the judiciary, including distinguished Supreme Court judicial officers, headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, The Honourable Tom Bathurst QC, as well as Mr John Eades, President of the New South Wales Bar Association.