65th Annual Patronal Feast Day Celebration in Hobart

On Sunday, 28 September 2014 the Orthodox Community celebrated its 65th Annual Patronal Feast, the Elevation of the Honourable and Life-giving Cross at the Russian-Serbian Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross in Hobart, Tasmania.

The Patronal celebration began on Saturday evening with the Service of Vespers celebrated by the Very Rev. Mitred Protopresbyter Dr Michael Protopopov, Vicar General of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in the presence of His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church. His Grace joined in the service for the carrying out of the Holy Cross and bestowed his blessings upon the gathered Russian, Serbian, Greek and Australian Orthodox Christians.

The following day, on Sunday, His Grace Bishop Irinej, with the concelebration of Fr Michael Protopopov, celebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Given the diversity of this small, but faithful group of Orthodox Christians living on the southern most point of Australia, the Island State of Tasmania, the services were conducted in Church Slavonic, Serbian, Greek and English. His Grace greeted all of the faithful assembled in Russian and Greek, then delivered a homily on the theme of bearing one’s cross and the meaning of sorrow, pain and suffering through which we gain strength from Lord, who bore His Cross for us, in the Serbian and English languages.

After the Divine Liturgy, a festal procession was held with the cruciform blessing with holy water according to the Russian tradition, and the memorial service for the departed clergy and faithful benefactors of the parish church, as well as the Rite of the Patronal Feast, with the blessing of the festal wheat, bread and wine according to the Serbian tradition.

The host for the this year’s Patronal Feast was Mr Milutin Ivkovich together with his family. This unique parish has both a Russian church community board and a Serbian mission parish council that equally share in the stewardship of this parish and its diverse faithful. The Serbian parish council takes it upon itself, among all else, to host the annual celebration of the Patronal Feast.

Following the liturgical celebration everyone enjoyed the warm hospitality of the community at the Agape meal, joined by the Rev. Fr Timothy Evangelinidis together with his presbytera of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

Source: www.soc.org.au