On Sunday 7 June 2026, the Sunday of All Saints and the Day of Youth of the Russian Church Abroad, the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served at the Coffs Harbour Scout Hall.  Between the Hours and Divine Liturgy, the handmaiden of God Janelle was, with Archbishop George’s blessing, received into the Holy Orthodox Church by Chrismation and given the name Genevieve in hour of Saint Genevieve of Paris.  At the end of Divine Liturgy there was a brief moleben for the youth of our mission, our Diocese, and our Russian Church Abroad.  All then shared a common meal.  Following lunch, our Mission youth presented a delightful and heart-warming play about Saint Paisios of Mount Athos, a righteous ascetic who visited Australia in 1977.

On Sunday 29 March we had services for the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent and in honour of Saint Mary of Egypt.  The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning at the Port Macquarie Sea Scout Hall with approximately 40 people present.   Prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  Between the Hours and Divine Liturgy, prayers of blessing were read over icon-cards of Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye and some new icon banners that will form an iconostasis whenever Divine Liturgy is served.  After the services many stayed for a Lenten lunch.

This year, nine members of our Mission were received into Orthodoxy, six at Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church in Brisbane, QLD, and three at Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Newcastle, NSW.  Divine Liturgy was served twice in Wauchope (March and August), once in Bellingen (June), and once in Coffs Harbour (November).  We had monthly public reader services in Coffs Harbour from August-December.  In November we had our first Annual General Meeting and elected an expanded Mission Committee to oversee Mission life and development.  We published this website and received a generous donation of $20,000 to support the work of our Mission.  All the news from 2025 can be read here.  Glory be to God for all things!

On Sunday 30 November our Mission held its inaugural Annual General Meeting.  The 2025 Annual Report and an overview of mission life were presented by the Mission rector and a report on the Twenty-First Diocesan Assembly was presented by Mission delegate Reader James Savage.  Katerina Cotten, Tatiana Tobin, Evgeniya Biryukova, Reader James Savage, Nathan Reah, Rebecca Isgrove Reah and Chantelle McKenna were elected to serve on the 2025-26 Mission Committee together with the Mission rector.

On Sunday 30 November we had services for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint Gregory of Neo-Caesarea (+266 AD).  The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning at the Coffs Harbour Scout Hall with 40 people present, a great many of whom confessed and received Holy Communion.  Prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  At the end of Divine Liturgy, a Certificate of Appreciation awarded in December 2024 was formally presented to Liubov Sleaford and an announcement was made concerning the inaugural Mission Annual General Meeting to be held that afternoon.  Prior to the meeting, a sumptuous Lenten lunch was served.

Our 2025 Annual Report, including the 2024-25 Financial Statements, is now available.  This is our first Annual Report.  It includes some an overview of our governance arrangements and a summary of our activity and accomplishments from 2019 through until 30 June 2025.  A copy of the report, which will be formally presented to our inaugural Annual General Meeting on Sunday 30 November 2025, is available here.  We encourage Mission members and friends with questions or comments concerning our Annual Report to contact us.

On Sunday 31 August we had services for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, the Afterfeast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and the day of commemoration of the Martyrs Florus and Laurus of Ilyria (+Second Century AD).  The services were held at the Wauchope Community Arts Hall, the Mission’s Port Macquarie-Hastings region ‘home’ since April 2023.   The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning with approximately thirty-five people present, many of whom were attending an Orthodox service for the first time.  Prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land.  At the end of Divine Liturgy, it was announced that the inaugural Annual General Meeting of mission members would be held on Sunday 30 November 2025.  As is customary, many of those present afterwards shared a common meal.

On Sunday 29 June we had services for the Third Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of Saint Tikhon, bishop of Amathus on Cyprus (+425).  The services were held at the Bellingen Neighbourhood Centre.  The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning with approximately thirty people present.  At Divine Liturgy Protodeacon German Polorotoff of the Tweed Heads parish served together with the mission rector - this was the first time that a deacon had served in our mission.  We were also joined by others from Tweed Heads, by friends from Newcastle, and by newcomers interested in the Orthodox faith.  Afterwards, those present shared a common meal.

On Sunday 30 March we had services for the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, the day of commemoration of Saint John of the Ladder (+649AD).  The services were held at the Wauchope Community Arts Hall, the Mission’s Port Macquarie-Hastings region ‘home’ since April 2023.  The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning with approximately thirty people present.  Prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine and peace in the Holy Land, and many of those present confessed and received Holy Communion.  As Saturday 29 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, Divine Liturgy was followed by a litia for the departed and the blessing of kutiya.  As is customary, those present afterwards shared a common meal.