The 16th Conference of Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand
The 16th Conference of Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand was held at SS Peter and Paul Cathedral in Strathfield, Australia on the 26th-27th of December.
His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Australia and New Zealand spoke to the Editor of the Unification newspaper on the events planned for the conference:
“This diocesan conference is held every three years. It is a very important part of diocesan life. The participants in these conferences gather from various parts of Australia and New Zealand and get the opportunity to socialize as well as discuss ongoing matters. Such meetings unify the clergymen and laity of our diocese. The conferences include reports on recent events in the diocese since the previous conference, and more important questions which affect the entire diocese are discussed and resolved. A new Diocesan Council is elected at these conferences, consisting of five priests and five laypersons. The members of the Council become the closest advisors of the diocesan ruling bishop. Between conferences, the Council convenes every two or three months and makes decisions on important administrative and managerial matters.”Continue Reading
November 21, the feast day of the Synaxis of Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers, marks the 25th anniversary of the repose of Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) of blessed memory, the third Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, one of my predecessors on the Cathedra of the Eastern American Diocese, who consecrated my unworthiness to the episcopate in 1984. On this day, I will celebrate Divine Liturgy in Archangel Michael Church in Paterson, NJ, after which a memorial trapeza will be held in the parish hall, where a lecture on the biography of the esteemed Vladyka Philaret will be read with a presentation of rare photographs. That same day His Grace Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, will perform a memorial service at his crypt in Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.