Brief History

 

Back



The Church was founded in 1974 as a Parish of the Orthodox Church of America (OCA) by Fr. Gregory Malisheff who had been received into the OCA from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR).

Fr. Gregory Malisheff, who had been elevated to Archpriest, died on 23 April 1976. The spiritual needs of the parish were served by the other OCA priests in Australia, Archimandrite Benjamin (Garshin) and Archpriest Theodore Michaluk, who undertook pastoral visits from Sydney, where they had their own parishes. Priests from the Serbian Orthodox Church also held services at the church. Finally, Abbott Dimitry (Obukhoff) was appointed rector of the Holy Annunciation Church; he continued in this position until his death in 1982.

In 1984 Metropolitan Theodosius appointed Fr. John Jillions as rector. He arrived from America and conducted his first service on the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. One of Fr. John’s instructions from the OCA was to investigate the possibility of establishing the use of the English-language in divine services. He was able to achieve this and since that time has used English in the divine services. When his term ended in 1988 and he was replaced by Fr. John Bartholomew for a brief period during 1988.

After another interval in the liturgical life of the parish, Fr. Ian Bojko was appointed rector. Having been a deacon for many years, Fr. Ian was ordained to the priesthood in 1989 by His Eminence the Most Reverend Gabriel, Archbishop of Sydney and Australia of the Antiochian Orthodox Church (at the request of Metropolitan Theodosius). Fr. Ian continued his ministry (in both English and Russian) until 2005 when ill health forced his effective retirement from the rectorship.

The Orthodox Church in America was unable to assign a priest to the parish and in 2009 the Parish Council approached Metropolitan Hilarion, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand to accepted under his omophorion. Metropolitan Hilarion agreed to this on the condition that the parish received a canonical release from the OCA.

Metropolitan Jonah, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, granted the Parish release in May 2009 after which it was received under the omophorion of Metropolitan Hilarion.

Back