On Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th of May, Brisbane celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first Orthodox parish in Australia. Hundreds of parishioners of this and other Orthodox churches from different cities of Australia and invited high-ranking guests gathered at St Nicholas Cathedral. The service was attended by three bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and about 70 clergy. Orthodox Christians of Brisbane had never seen such a large-scale event.

"This cathedral, having opened its doors for the Orthodox, never closed them, accepting parishioners who arrived from post-revolutionary Russia, and then those who survived the horrors of the Great Patriotic War [World War II ‒ ed.] and for one reason or another ended up here. Throughout the years of its existence, thousands of Orthodox Christians have prayed and received blessings here, wonderful priests have served here, and today the anniversary of this church is our common feast day," said one of the parishioners of the church.

The cathedral building could not accommodate everyone who wished to take part in the celebrations that day, and the clergy organized a live broadcast of the service on a screen in the parish refectory. The hall was filled to capacity with parishioners who had come to Brisbane from the neighboring cities of Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, as well as those who had flown in from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.

Concelebrating Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning were His Eminence Gabriel, Archbishop of Montreal & Canada, His Grace George, Bishop of Australia & New Zealand, and His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan Bishop Luke of Syracuse. The Diocesan Russian Orthodox Male Choir of the under the direction of Nektary Kotlaroff sang beautifully, having specially gathered for this celebration. This choir is well known and loved in the Russian community in Australia. Its choristers sing in various Russian churches in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra.

After the completion of Liturgy, the consecration of the bronze relief of the icon "Two Nicholases" took place in the church courtyard. This unique icon and bas-relief have a close connection with the church. At the time of its foundation, parishioners wanted to build a memorial church in honor of the unjustly murdered Tsar Nicholas II, but he had not yet been glorified as a saint, and the church was named after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker – the tsar’s patron saint. When the Royal Martyrs were recognized as saints, St. Petersburg icon painters, at the request of parishioners, created an icon in 2016 on which are depicted the faces of St. Nicholas and Tsar Nicholas the Passion-Bearer, holding St. Nicholas Cathedral in their hands. Later, the Moscow medal engraver Gennady I. Provotorov made a bronze bas-relief of the icon, which will now be located on the parish grounds.

In honor of the parish’s 100th anniversary, a gramota was received from New York from the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR with congratulations addressed to:

"Archpriest Gabriel Makarov, his pious wife and their entire family, predecessors of Archpriest Gabriel in rectorship, clergy, parish wardens, members of the parish council, sisters, singers, parishioners, and worshippers of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brisbane (Australia)... in connection with the upcoming great and joyful anniversary of the 100th anniversary of the parish. With a kind heart and archpastoral love, we express to all of you the deepest gratitude of the Council of Bishops and invoke God's blessing upon you, prayerfully wishing you all good health, good spirits, and every good haste in your parish life and the labors of the righteous for the glory of God and for the good of the Diocese of Australia & New Zealand of the Russian Church Abroad. To the deceased leaders of the parish - eternal and blessed memory and rest with the saints!"

This gramota was signed by Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York and 12 members of the Council of Bishops

The festal banquet, held at the Brisbane Greek Club, was attended by about five hundred people. There was also a presentation of the book by V. Smolina "The First in Australia," prepared for the 100th anniversary of St. Nicholas parish, and certificates of honor were presented to the rector, Fr. Gabriel, and active and long-term parishioners of St Nicholas Cathedral.

Those present were shown an interesting video created by L. Larkina, capturing the history of the cathedral over the past century.

Greetings to the clergy and parishioners of the cathedral were offered by the archpastors of ROCOR and Russian diplomats. Archbishop Gabriel recalled that, in 1923, the first refugees after the Russian Civil War, the Cossacks, arrived in Australia. "First of all, these people did not even think about their wellbeing, but about creating a parish, a church where they could come and bring their children… Soon a small house was bought, and a Russian school and a library were created," he said.

The parish plans to celebrate its centenary throughout the year, with parishioners organizing various events relating to the history of St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Photos may be viewed here and here.

Vladimir Kuzmin