Paschal Epistle of His Grace, Archbishop Hilarion
†
Paschal Epistle
of His Grace, Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney
Australia & New Zealand
The Lord’s Pascha 2007
Beloved in the Lord, Clergy and Faithful
of the Australian & New Zealand Diocese!
C h r i s t . i s . R i s e n !
With great joy and spiritual gladness Orthodox Christians in all corners of the world radiantly glorify today the Vanquisher of death, our Lord Jesus Christ Who rose from the dead. For those who believe in Christ, death no longer evokes fear, for death is no more, it has been destroyed by His death on the Cross at Golgotha and by His glorious Resurrection.Continue Reading
Sunday Night at the Movies…
This Sunday 18th of March Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral will be featuring the latest blockbuster – Ostrov
The movie will be showing in the church hall at Strathfield commencing after the evening service (with Passia) and an introduction by Fr George.
The Cross of Christ
Professor I.M. Andreyev
“O Invincible and incomprehensible and divine power of the precious and life-giving Cross, forsake not us sinners.”
(From the order of Great Compline)
The Cross is the mighty and profound symbol of Christianity, a symbol whose meaning is inexhaustible. The eight-pointed Cross is the symbol of Orthodoxy.
Gazing upon the Cross with his mind and heart, the Christian goes deeper into that symbol and grows spiritually.Continue Reading
A Homily on Fasting and Dispassion
Spoken at the beginning of the Great Fast by St Theodore the Studite
Brethren and fathers, the season of Lent, when compared to the whole year, may be likened to a storm-free harbour, in which all who are sailing together enjoy a spiritual calm. For the present season is one of salvation not for monks and nuns only, but also for lay people, for great and small, for rulers and ruled, for emperors and priests, for every race and for every age.Continue Reading
Service of Holy Unction in the Sydney area during Great Lent 2007
Is any among you sick, let him call for the presbyters of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed (Jas 5:14-16; see also Mk 6:13).
During the time of Great Lent, His Grace, Archbishop Hilarion, assisted by Sydney clergy, will serve the Service of Holy Unction (the Anointing of the Sick) at various parish churches.Continue Reading
Triumph of Orthodoxy
“This is the Apostolic faith, this is the faith of the Fathers,
this is the Orthodox faith – confirm this universal faith.”
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, you will hear these solemn and significant words in the Rite of Orthodoxy which the Holy Church has established to be served on this day. The first week of Holy and Great Lent has ended a week of intensifled prayer and ascetical repentance. Now the Holy Church, desiring to encourage and console us, has established for us in this first week of Great Lent, on its first Sunday, a spiritual celebration, one most dear and close to our hearts – The Triumph of Orthodoxy.Continue Reading