Welcome! 'St Spyridon' is a canonical Orthodox Church serving the spiritual and community needs of South East Sydney. It functions through the authority of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. St Spyridon Parish is also responsible for the founding and continuing development of St Spyridon College.

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this week ::	St Spyridon parish church services and activities
MONDAY 01	TUESDAY 02	WEDNESDAY 03	THURSDAY 04	FRIDAY 05	SATURDAY 06	SUNDAY 07
						Pentecost - Trinity Sunday
					Matins and Divine Liturgy 07.30 - 09.45am	Matins, Divine Liturgy and Kneeling Service 07.15 - 11.00am

TODAY'S SAINTS AND FEASTS Justin the Philosopher & Martyr and his Companions Pyrros the Hieromartyr		TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READINGS
news and events		focus on the faith
Saturday of Souls - 6 June 2020 We need to pray for our departed loved ones as regularly as possible. Beyond our personal prayers for their souls, Memorial Services are conducted at the church or the cemetery on the 40th day, the 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, the 12th month, and annually thereafter. There are also four 'Saturdays of Souls' on which we are asked to remember all members of our family and our friends who have departed this world - three before Easter and one after Easter. What do we do? We sit down contemplatively, preferably with the whole family, and write down the names of those for whom we would like the Church to pray for. The list of names should be titled either with a cross (+) or with the word 'Departed'. We come to church on the day with a small plate of boiled wheat (kollyva) (at St Spyridon Church such plates of kollyva are available at the entrance) and place it on one of the designated tables and light a candle on the kollyva. During the service, the names will be read out by the Priest and prayed for. The Feast of Holy Pentecost - 7 June 2020 Sunday, 7 June is the Feast of Holy Pentecost and at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, we celebrate the Kneeling Service. It's a moving and often emotional Service during which we ask God to forgive us our sins and to grant repose to the souls of our loved ones in the other dimension of life. The Kneeling Service also reminds us that the Church, which is pre-eternal by nature i.e. it existed in God the Holy Trinity before the creation of the universe, became manifest in the material world at Pentecost. Download the English text of the Kneeling Service and read along. Requesting the lighting of candles and prayers In these challenging times for the whole world, our prime concern at St Spyridon has been to ensure that our beautiful people remain connected with the Church and find strength and peace through Her. The isolation from the church building of all our faithful has caused much pain. Nonetheless, during this Covid-19 crisis, we have been working hard to make our Church more accessible spiritually. Now, you can submit the names of your loved ones, both living and departed, so that our Priests may pray for them in the Holy Altar during the Divine Services. Click here to light a candle and submit names for commemoration in the Holy Altar. Livestreaming of Services As we face the extraordinary circumstances of the Corona epidemic together, and in view of the very strict regulations imposed by the Australian Government, St Spyridon Parish is live-streaming the main Services through Facebook or YouTube. Let us remain united with love and this crisis will pass. Program of Holy Services for June Download the English program and Greek program of Holy Services during June to be held at St Spyridon Church. Like us on Facebook St Spyridon Parish is using all possible means to reach out to its people which is why St Spyridon Parish has a Facebook page. And as many of you already know, our Parish Priest Fr Steven Scoutas is also on Facebook.		The Feast of Holy Pentecost The Feast of Holy Pentecost is celebrated each year on the fiftieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter) and always on a Sunday. The Feast commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost and the establishment of the Church through the preaching of the Apostles and the baptism of the thousands who on that day believed in the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ. [Learn more] Twelve Apostles Jesus Christ endowed His Church with Himself and His divine Message. He handed it down to His Apostles, who constituted His Church, to carry on with authority His Gospel, and He sent them to preach it and to baptize converts all over the world [Learn more] Seeing and Believing: The Thomas Incident There is a special episode preserved by the Gospel of John that stands out from among the post-resurrection scenes - the incident of the appearance of the risen Lord to Thomas. A story deeply human and divine, it culminates in the supreme dominical proclamation 'Blessed are those who have not seen and (yet) believed.' [Learn more] Orthodox Spirituality The sources of Orthodox spirituality are the Holy Scriptures, sacred Tradition, the dogmatic definitions of the Ecumenical Synods, and the spiritual teachings of the Greek Orthodox Fathers. Orthodox spirituality is mainly expressed through prayer, daily Christian living, and worship, which ultimately lead to union with the divine uncreated Light. [Learn more] Who is Jesus Christ? Who do we say that Jesus Christ is? Who is this Jesus Christ in whom we believe as baptised members of the Orthodox Church? Is Jesus Christ a mere man? Is He only God? Or is He rather, as the Orthodox Church teaches, both truly God and truly man.  [Learn more]