With the blessing of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, the Parish of St Sophrony of Essex, Hectorville, celebrated, for the second time since its inception, the feast day of its patronal Saint – Saint Sophrony of Essex.
The celebrations included the festal Vespers on Wednesday night, led by Bishop Silouan of Sinope and assisted by several of the clergy from across Adelaide. A hierarchical Divine Liturgy was held on the feast day itself (Thursday 11th of July 2024), followed by a morning tea. Finally, in order to honour the patron saint for those who were not able to attend on a weekday due to work commitments, the Parish also held a barbeque after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 14th of July. All these events had strong attendance and support from neighbouring parishes and from the entire Metropolitan area.
Established in January 2023 as an exclusively English-speaking parish for the people of the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide, the parish of St Sophrony of Essex has proved to be a productive missionary ground for Orthodoxy in South Australia. Already in its 18-month history it has grown to the point that the committee of the fledgling parish has been compelled to consider some renovations in order to expand the capacity of the Church. These renovations are centred around the creation of a modest, standalone hall with attached kitchen and washroom facilities. This will then allow the parish to reclaim the existing kitchen and restore it to its original function as the church’s sanctuary, which will in turn restore more space to the nave for the congregation. Plans for this are well advanced and the parish is engaged in ongoing fundraising efforts to help realise this important expansion project in the near future.
In the calendar of the Orthodox Church, the feast day of St Sophrony is followed by the feast of the patron Saint of our Archdiocese – St Paisios of Mt Athos (12th of July). Although this was a day that was already widely celebrated by parishes in our Archdiocese, this year was significant as it was the first celebration of his feast since his appointment by our Archbishop as “Protector of Australia and our Holy Archdiocese.”
In honour of this occasion, with the blessing of Archbishop Makarios, the District of Adelaide held a Hierarchical Vespers service at the Archiepiscopal Church of St Sophia (Holy Wisdom of God) on the evening of Thursday 11th of July 2024, followed by Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the morning of Friday 12th. Both services were presided by Bishop Silouan of Sinope and strong attendance from local and neighbouring parishioners. The Liturgy was followed by a luncheon where the faithful in attendance stayed to share food and fellowship in honour of our nation’s newly designated protector. May we always have his intercessions and protection.
