Sydney, August 13, 2024
By Aleksandar Mladenovski
Photo: macedonianorthodoxdiocese.org.au
On Thursday, August 8, when the holy Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Great Martyr Paraskeva of Rome, the Macedonian Orthodox parish of St. Petka in Sydney, Australia, celebrated its patronal feast day. To the great joy of all present, this year’s feast day was enriched with the arrival of the miracle-working Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God.
The miracle-working Kursk Root Icon was brought to the parish personally by His Eminence Archbishop George of Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Abp. George was greeted at the front of the church, after which the holy icon was led into the parish, accompanied by the faithful in a triumphal procession as befits such occasions in the Orthodox Church.
Photo: macedonianorthodoxdiocese.org.au With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Timotej, Metropolitan of Debar-Kičevo and administrator of the Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Australia (Sydney), Abp. George presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on the feast day. Concelebrating were clergy from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the Serbian Оrthodox Metropolitanate оf Australia and New Zealand, and the Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Australia (Sydney), including Very Reverend Fr. Boris Ignatievsky, Very Reverend Abbot Joachim Ross, Reverend Fr. Dionysios Halim, Reverend Fr. Andrew Morgan, and Deacon Basil Konstantinidis from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; Very Reverend Fr. Miodrag Peric, Very Reverend Fr. Nikola Bilic, Reverend Fr. Veselin Svorcan, and Reverend Fr. Jovan Jovic from the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate; and Very Reverend Fr. Aleksandar Ivanovski and Reverend Fr. Vlado Nedeski from the Macedonian Orthodox Diocese.
In his sermon, Abp. George spoke about the significance of the miracle-working Kursk Root Icon, the history of the icon and its journey from Russia, to Serbia, Crimea, and to the United States. He emphasized the importance of love and sacrifice in the life of every Orthodox Christian and underscored how the Mother of God gathered us all together for the patronal feast.
Photo: macedonianorthodoxdiocese.org.au
The parish rector, Reverend Fr. Vlado Nedeski, expressed profound gratitude on behalf of His Eminence Metropolitan Timotej, the parish council, and the faithful present for the love, care, and generosity bestowed upon them by Abp. George on their patronal feast. With great love, gifts befitting the occasion were presented to Abp. George, including a wonderful hand painted Icon by Matushka Daniela Nedeska, a blessing cross, and a bishop’s pectoral set. A jumper with the insignia of the Macedonian Orthodox Youth of NSW was also presented to Abp. George by members of the Macedonian Orthodox Youth Committee of NSW. In honor of his recent elevation as Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand, the parish sisterhood prepared a special cake for Abp. George.
It was a truly remarkable and blessed day, now forever etched in the history of the parish of St. Petka in Sydney, Australia.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!