On the third Sunday before Christmas, also known as ‘Children’s Day’ in the Serbian Orthodox tradition, His Eminence Metropolitan Siluan visited St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox church in the Western Sydney suburb of Blacktown, where a program was held following the Divine Liturgy, marking the church’s recently celebrated patronal feast day.
The day began with Divine Hierarchical Liturgy, celebrated by Metropolitan Siluan with the concelebration of Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Nikola Bilić, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Jovan Vesić from Brisbane, Protopresbyter Đorđe Veselinović, former parish priest at Blacktown, Priest Samuel Višnjevski, Sydney parish priest of the Moscow Patriarchate, Blacktown parish priest Priest Nemanja Mrđenović, and Protodeacon Petar Mrakić. Protopresbyter Goran Ćećez, along with conductor Protopresbytera Jelena Cecez and the choir members of the Cathedral choir, led the singing, while numerous subdeacons, readers, and alter servers assisted.
Among the distinguished guests at the Liturgy were Her Excellency Mrs. Zarina Felixovna Gabieva General Consul of the Russian Federation, representatives from Blacktown municipality Mr. Susai Benjamin and Mr. Mohit Kumar, Mr. John Shedid, former Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Mr. Mihailo Mijatović, councilor from Fairfield municipality, President of the church council at St George Cathedral in Cabramatta Mr. Mirko Kukić, representatives from the Returned and Services League (RSL), and others. In total, just under three hundred people gathered that day in Blacktown, one of the smaller parishes in Sydney.
At the end of the Liturgy, His Eminence blessed the new oil lamps specially made in Belarus for the Church of St. Nicholas. These oil lamps were a gift from the Bojanović and Đurašinović families in memory of the late Priest Nenad Đurašinović, the former parish priest of Blacktown. During this occasion, thanks were given to the donors, as well as to Mrs. Nikolina Branežac for her significant contributions to education. Hierarchical grammatons were awarded to Mr. Stanley Kriaris, a great benefactor, and Mrs. Ljubica Mansel, a long-time organiser of the entire educational program in Blacktown.
This year’s host of the Slava, Mr. Antony Jeffrey, prepared an exceptionally rich feast for all present. The students of the Serbian school “Bogdan Bolta,” which operates within this parish, welcomed the Metropolitan and guests at the door with bread and salt. Later, as part of the Children’s Day celebration, one of the students, symbolically tied with the Serbian tricolor, was “freed” by his classmates from the folk dance ensemble “Kalenić,” who performed with both a small and large group. As a token of gratitude from the parents, poet Dijana Jovićić read several poems from her latest book, a collection of Australian-Serbian poetry.
Most of the distinguished guests addressed the gathering with words of congratulations and gratitude, among whom special mention should be made of Mr. Kumar from Blacktown Municipality and Her Excellency Mrs. Zarina Felixovna, who emphasised that the reception she received in the Serbian community was the best proof that true friends are recognised in difficult times. The President of the Blacktown Church Parish, Mr. Dragoljub Brkljač OAM, thanked everyone who made sure everything went as planned. His Eminence Metropolitan Siluan gave the final word, encouraging those gathered to remain firm in their faith, which is best demonstrated through our dedication to the sacramental life and love for every human being.
On this occasion, the Metropolitan congratulated the parish on its feast day and particularly praised the dedication of the members of the charitable Metropolitan Missionary Society “Saint Nicholas,” which grew out of the Blacktown parish and is actively involved in feeding the homeless and providing charitable assistance to the needy in Sydney.
This truly holy day concluded in an orderly fashion through fraternal fellowship in a festive atmosphere, with pleasant conversations lasting into the afternoon hours. The host of the feast later gifted the Metropolitan with a symbolic token of attention from the Metropolitan’s workshop, Riza, as a reminder of the day and the liturgical commemoration. The host for the next year’s feast will be the Serbian Chetniks of Australia, who also made a contribution to the church on this occasion.
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