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The Meeting of the Icon

It was not long ago that the Australian land said goodbye to a great Russian sacred relic – the Kursk Root Icon of the Virgin Mary, which returned to its place of residence in the USA.

Now, once again, the Most Holy Virgin Mary has willed to grace upon the faithful Orthodox people in the faraway land of Australia that they be communicants of yet another unforgettable and most joy-filled visitation.

On Saturday, 22 September, for the first time in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the holy Reigning Icon of the Virgin Mary (read the history here) arrived in the city of Sydney.

By the blessing of His Holiness, the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Alexis II, a special delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (ROC MP), headed by His Eminence, Metropolitan Onuphry of Chernovtsy & Bukovina, His Grace, Archbishop Evgeny of Verea, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, the Very Reverend Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov, the superior of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow), together with a select group of clergy and the choir of the Sretensky Monastery accompanied the Reigning Icon.Continue Reading

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On September 19, 2007, the members of the official delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate and the singers of Sretensky Monastery Choir, accompanying the “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God, arrived in Melbourne, Australia. They were welcomed at the airport by the Rector of Holy Protection Church, Protopriest Nikolai Karipoff and the Chairman of the Music Committee of the Diocese of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, NN Kovalenko, who greeted the guests with the following words:

“Allow me, on behalf of our Church Music Committee, on behalf of all the singers of the Diocese and from me personally to express our welcome and gratitude to all the participants of today’s celebrations on Australian soil.Continue Reading

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Russian voices echo a vast landscape

John Slavin, Reviewer
September 25, 2007

 

There is a late Fassbinder film in which a composer is locked in a soundproof room by his enemies. The torture they devise is to play the song Lili Marlene over and over again until he goes mad. I dreaded something similar in the one concert that the male a cappella ensemble from the Sretensky Cathedral in Moscow gave at St Paul’s.

It was the memory of visits by the Red Army Choir during the Cold War with dull liturgy added that aroused dread. I needn’t have worried.Continue Reading

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Как сообщает Объединенная пресс-служба Движения «За Веру и Отечество» и Московского Георгиевского отдела РИС-О по материалам Канцелярии Е.И.В. и Генерального представительства РДС в Австралии и Новой Зеландии, официальная часть визита Государыни Великой Княгини Марии Владимировны в Австралию началась 18 сентября 2007 года прибытием из Мельбурна в столицу страны. В поездке Ее Императорское Высочество сопровождают Директор Канцелярии Главы Российского Императорского Дома Личный Секретарь Императорской Семьи Александр Закатов, начальник Управления межрегиональных связей Канцелярии князь Вадим Лопухин и статс-дама Ольга Галкина.Continue Reading

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The meeting of the Icon was arranged for 8.30 pm at the Cathedral on Sunday 12 August. The moving spirited chanting of the Akathist that evening, attended by our English theological group, parishioners and visitors, set the tone for daily services with the Icon over the next two weeks culminating with the patronal feast of Holy Dormition in Dandenong. In that period the icon was also taken to Churches in Warrnambool, Geelong, Hobart, Keysborough (Serbian), mission Churches of the Holy Trinity (Parkville) and The Holy Cross (Spring Street, Melbourne). Many sick and infirm people received the blessing of the Icon in hospitals and in their homes which brought joy, healing and consolation.Continue Reading

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September 19, Wednesday, Melbourne-Brunswick
8:45 pm – Moleben to the “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God at the new Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection

September 20, Thursday, Dandenong
6:00 pm – All-Night Vigil Service at the Church of the Dormition

September 21, Friday – Nativity of the Theotokos, Melbourne-Brunswick
9:00 am – Divine Liturgy at the new Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection

September 22, Saturday, Croydon
1:00 pm – Moleben to the “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God at the Archbishop’s Chapel

September 22, Saturday, Cabramatta
6:00 pm – All-Night Vigil Service at the Church of the Holy Virgin Protection in Cabramatta

September 23, Sunday, Sydney
9:00 am – Divine Liturgy at the Peter and Paul Cathedral

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In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Esteemed Brother Archpastors, Reverend Fathers, God-loving Brothers, Sisters and Children!

The Lord, in His great mercy, has enabled us to experience the joy of the reestablishment of prayerful and Eucharistic communion between the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church, held in the city of Moscow, the heart of our Fatherland during the days when the Holy Church sings the praises of Christ our Savior Who ascended to the Heavens. St John Chrysostom, the 1600th anniversary of whose repose is being celebrated this year, in explaining the meaning of the Ascension of the Lord, said: “Today God has reconciled with mankind, the long enmity has now ceased and the long war has ended, now a wondrous world has appeared.”Continue Reading