Some exciting news for the Antiochian Christian Orthodox people of the south-eastern suburbs with the opening of our new church, St Paul’s, in Wheelers Hill. This church marks a critical milestone in the growth of the Antiochian Orthodox faith. Our youth have been the "lost generation" for quite some time now, with the main problem being a language barrier. With the actual liturgy spoken in English and a mix of Arabic/English in the choir, the aim is not only to allow our youth to hear His Word, but also to fully understand it week by week. By doing so, St Paul’s has attracted positive feedback from many of our youth and parents alike.

The very first liturgy at St Paul’s was held on the 26th August 2001. As Father Geoff discussed the Gospel reading to the congregation, he held up an "L Plate" explaining the "5 Ls" (Love, Light, Laughter, Learning, and Liturgy). It was heart lifting to see children of all ages listening attentively. A week after the liturgy, I asked a nine year-old girl and a twelve year-old boy if they remembered what the "5 Ls" stood for. I was very impressed as they each recited them, along with their meanings!

Born in England, Father Geoff Harvey is our dedicated and enthusiastic priest at St Paul’s. He conducted his Orthodox priesthood training at both St Nicholas’ and St George’s. He understands that our youth have been drifting away from the church, especially over the past few years, and that there was an urgent need to draw them closer to their faith again. "Our youth play a vital role in the spread of our faith, the church depends on them today for the success of tomorrow" -- Fr Geoff. It is up to us today to reinforce ourselves with The Truth, which our Orthodox faith historically provides, so as to pass it on to others and the generations that come after us.

We have been anticipating this turning point in the Antiochian Orthodox structure for a long time here in Melbourne and now that it has arrived, we need everyone’s support to sustain it and help it flourish. St Paul’s appreciate all the help we can get, volunteers for Youth Group involvement, Sunday School, Choir, Ladies Committee, etc are more than welcome!

What a fantastic night! I am sure all those who attended the Mid-Year Ball, would agree that this Ball was the best yet.

The youth of St. Nicholas and St. George, once again came together at the St. George Hall, to enjoy an evening filled with plenty of dancing and laughter.

The youth of both Churches and other welcomed visitors, provided excellent company for the night whilst the d.j. supplied the great entertainment for the night, playing the greatest past and present tunes.

This was definitely a night to remember!

For those who didn't attend The A.C.O.Y. Mid-Year Ball, well, you missed out! But never fear because the A.C.O.Y. Committee are constantly organising interesting and fun events for the youth of St. Nicholas, St. George and now St. Paul. So get involved, meet new people and have heaps of fun. We hope to see YOU at the next event.

Dear Mr. Snow ,

I just wanted to write to you to say thanks for letting me and the youth from St George and St Nicholas come and visit the other day.

Everybody had heaps of fun (despite the fact we had to get up so early) tobogganing and skiing on your wonderful slopes. When we went tobogganing I stood at the top of the hill and bombed everybody coming up with what can only be described as "snow boulders". I was too scared to go skiing, last time i did you kept on tripping me up and making me fall over and I didn’t want you to play the same joke on me again. But don’t let me take anything away from you, you still managed to trip me up on a toboggan. It was unfortunate, however, that you had to leave in the middle of the afternoon.

Some of us went to sit down and relax in front of the fire at one of the local shops. When we went outside again you had gone. I guess you had some shopping to do or something. The water that had taken your place didn’t even tell us where you had gone. I did like that fire though. JP and me had a sleeping competition in front of it.

We all thanked God and now I am personally thanking you, that nobody was hurt, lost, cried, sad, or angry. That was also due to the expert care provided from the ACOY Group.

Yours truly
Mr. Dan

PS just to let you know, we all got home safe and sound. Most slept on the way back but some person started singing Elvis songs and woke everybody up.

Fathers’ Day is always a special celebration, but when it falls on the same day as the beginning of the Church New Year and with the presence of our father, his Eminence Metropolitan Paul Saliba, the meaning of the celebration was heightened.

The Antiochian Orthodox Church in Melbourne Celebrated Fathers’ Day at a special dinner dance held at St. George’s Church Reception. It was a great gathering of members from the 5 parishes that are currently established, and we are praying for the continued incline in parishes and Orthodox Christians next year.

With the blessing of his Eminence the evening was underway but not without a glaring speech that left many thinking. The driving force behind his Eminence is the nourishment of our Youth; it is the youth that we need to embrace. This is because it is from the youth that our Church will prosper, it is from our youth that generations will be born, it is from our youth that our faith will carry on. His message focused on the importance of teaching our Children the faith and directing them along the correct path. We tend to get caught up in the teaching of our children, whether it is education, sport or worldly matters and often forget the most important nourishment of all Faith

The evening befitted the occasion with sensational entertainment of both Eastern and Western Music. The Eastern band was led by the veteran singer, the talented, Mr. Ibrahim Salem and the evening was ended to the echoing voice of Mr. Nassrawi. It was great to see many generations stomping their feet to the same beat. We hope the unification of footsteps continues the journey along the path set for us by our Christian forefathers.

A special thanks is extended to Mrs. Samira Hanna for a wonderful job as MC and to the organising committee from St. George and St Nicholas parish for their ongoing effort in delivering a well-organised and entertaining event.

Monasteries are the lungs of the Church, a continuous source of instruction for all the faithful. We have countless accounts from the past: from Lebanon, Scotland, Ireland, England, Russia, Greece, Iraque, Egypt, Palestine, etc., when our Orthodox people all over the world, loved their monasteries. New monasteries would attract people, who would then begin to settle next to it, forming a village, and in time these villages turned into cities. For the last 2,000 years, Holy Orthodoxy has stood its ground, confronting and defeating all adversaries and their despicable persecution. Tyrants have come and gone, but the light of the Orthodox Church cannot be extinguished, be it from the yoke of Islam, godless invaders, or murderous God hating regimes and even the pagan world itself.

Our monasteries were always and still are the seedbed of faith, spiritual teaching and example of the uncompromising, undiluted, spiritual life. They have been the unbending defenders of true Tradition and true Worship as lived and taught by our Fathers, even in times faced against unspeakable odds.

Monasteries have always been there for the Orthodox faithful who desire to see and participate in true Orthodoxy, not influenced or affected by the false teaching and theology of men. Traditionally, Orthodox people would always go to a monastery either to live in what has become to be known as, "the Angelic life", or go on a pilgrimage to venerate holy objects and icons and receive blessings.

We in Melbourne are not left out from this most ancient tradition. We have our own monastery called the "Monastery of the Prophet Elias", in Adelaide run by our much-loved monk, Father Benjamin. A true Orthodox monk-Priest who displays the attributes and grace of those called.

But both the monastery and Father Benjamin need our help to complete accommodation buildings for himself, the monks, and visitors. So what has all this got to do with our youth?

Don’t be shy... do it! Get it off your chest. There is no language problem; he only speaks English.

As Orthodox faithful, we all need our monastery.....

The Bishop, our very busy Priests, new converts, Orthodox men and women and especially our youth and young adults. This is the only place we have to take our young and immerse them in true worship, theology and power to stand up to the false world and its anti-Orthodox attack. This is the place where they can learn all that is truly Orthodox and learn to live in Orthodox directives. It is our monastery and we need to finish it because like our Fathers of old...... we love it and it loves us.

Should there be a desire to pick up this need and donate due to the prompting of the Holy Spirit: Contact Details:

Saint Theophane the recluse wrote:
"Monasteries are especially noted for Church services which are orderly, and complete.... The Church is revealed there clothed in all her beauty."

Beloved in Christ,

It is with great sadness and the deepest sense of shock that we learned this morning of the devastating and cowardly attack on our country. We write to you now, in a sense of disbelief, that two great landmarks of New York City and the entire United States, the "Twin Towers" of the World Trade Centre, located a short distance from the Archdiocese Headquarters and only a few miles from our mother Cathedral in Brooklyn, have been levelled with countless victims and casualties, four airplanes full of innocent civilians destroyed, the Pentagon greatly damaged and God knows what else.

At this most difficult time in the life of our great country, we beseech the faithful of this Archdiocese and people of faith throughout the country, to offer their prayers to the Almighty God asking that the souls of those who lost their lives in this vicious attack are resting in peace where there is "neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting." We also ask for your prayers for the living victims of these attacks, their families and all those who are labouring to look for survivors during this national crisis.

We encourage the beloved clergy of this Archdiocese to remember the living and departed victims of these attacks during the divine services and to hold special Paraclesis services where possible to pray for those that are trapped in the rubble of these buildings.

Praying that the Good Comforter, the All-Holy Spirit, will grant you solace during this difficult time, we remain,

Your Father in Christ,
Metropolitan PHILIP
Primate
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

Dear All,

It seems like since the terrorist attacks on Tuesday, I've spent most of the last three days at the news station I work at in Boston. I was searching the AP wires when I found the slug entitled Attacks-Australia. It talked about a school bus of Muslim children that was attacked in retaliation for what happened in New York. Further down in the story was this paragraph: "In Sydney overnight, vandals attempted to set fire to the St. Mary's Antiochian Orthodox church - which has a Lebanese congregation - and racist slurs and swastikas were scrawled on the walls of another Lebanese church, said police inspector Norm Russell."

If you didn't know, there was a small Orthodox Church right behind the Twin Towers - St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. I actually just met one of the priests that served there earlier this week. I'm not sure if the church is still standing, but we pray for those that served in it.

God Bless!
Adam