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Holy Cross Mission on Spring Street in Melbourne celebrated its patronal feast-day recently, that of the Exaltation of the Cross. It was an especially significant celebration this year, as our much loved Archbishop Hilarion was with us.

The feast day itself was celebrated with the usual Vigil Service with the bringing out of the holy Cross and its veneration; and on the day itself Liturgy was celebrated by Priestmonks Benjamin and Kyril.Continue Reading

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Saint Matthew Passion at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne

Friday, 28 September, 2007
8.30pm at St Patrick’s Cathedral,
East Melbourne

The Australian Premiere of Bishop Hilarion’s (Alfeyev) Saint Matthew Passion.

Performed in the presence of the composer, the Most Reverend Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev) (Russian Orthodox Bishop of Vienna and Austria), this glorious setting of the Passion according to gospel of St Matthew received critical acclaim at its premiere performances both in Moscow and in Rome. Directly inspired by the great choral traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the passions of J.S. Bach, this work for string orchestra choir and soloists will be brought to life in the resonant acoustics and brilliant surrounds of Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Archbishop Hilarion of Australia and New Zealand will also be in attendance at the concert.

We invite you to join us for this unique and special event. All welcome!Continue Reading

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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