Saint Panteleimon's is an Orthodox Christian parish of East Slavic tradition serving the New South Wales Central Coast and the northern suburbs of Sydney. Our parish includes Orthodox Christians of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, and other backgrounds. We are a parish of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church, is completely independent in pastoral, educational, administrative, management, property, and civil matters. Our parish is doctrinally Orthodox, liturgically traditional, and welcoming to all. In our services we use English, the language of this country, together with Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Slavic peoples. Established in 2000, our parish is one of the newest in our Diocese.
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We have services on the first and third Sundays of each month and on the preceding Saturday evenings. We also have services on some major feast-days during the week. Our current Schedule of Services can be viewed here. Our church is generally only open when we have services. Visitors are always welcome! If you would like to contact us before visiting, it is best to send an email. We check this inbox regularly and will respond to messages as soon as we can. You can also contact us in the same way to arrange baptisms and memorial services. Please note: The telephone number that has been listed on Google is a private number and messages or unknown calls to this number will not be responded to or answered.
Our parish priest, Archpriest James Carles, serves in a voluntary capacity. Like many clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, he has secular employment during the week. He is also presently undertaking full-time tertiary study. In addition to our parish, Father James has responsibility for Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Newcastle and Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. As a result, his pastoral availability is strictly limited to scheduled services in the three communities and “needs” such as baptisms, weddings, end-of-life care, and funerals. Confessions are only heard during evening services or before Divine Liturgy. Molebens and memorial services may be arranged after Divine Liturgy on Sundays. Father James can be contacted by email here.
Our parish is a small one that relies on community support and the voluntary service of our clergy to make ends meet. If you find this website to be of interest or of assistance, please consider helping us. Donations may be made directly to our bank account:
St Panteleimon Russian Orthodox Community of Gosford
BSB: 032-596 Account number: 140923
May the Lord bless you!
On Saturday 20 June and Sunday 21 June we will have services for the Third Sunday after Pentecost and in honour of the Translation of the Relics of Great-Martyr Theodore the General (4th C. AD). All-night Vigil will be served from 6.00pm on Saturday, and the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served from 9.00am on Sunday. These will be our only services during June.
On Saturday 30 May and Sunday 31 May we had services for the Great Feast of Pentecost. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. Our church was decorated beautifully with green branches in the honour of the Life-giving Trinity. On both days we were joined by friends from Newcastle. At Divine Liturgy the customary prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. In accordance with Orthodox custom, Divine Liturgy was followed immediately by Vespers and the special "kneeling prayers" appointed to be read on this day.
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Our Winter 2026 Schedule of Services - covering June, July and August - is now available. Services of note during this period include those for our patronal feast of Saint Panteleimon on Saturday-Sunday 8-9 August; for the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Tuesday-Wednesday 18-19 August; and for the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on Thursday-Friday 27-28 August. A copy of the English-language Winter 2026 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Winter 2026 Schedule of Services is available here. Printed copies in both languages are available in church from the weekend of 30-31 May.
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On Wednesday 20 May and Thursday 21 May we had services for the Great Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Wednesday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Thursday morning. We were joined on Thursday by a number of friends from the Wallsend parish. As it was on this feast-day in 2007 that canonical communion was re-established within the Russian Orthodox Church, the Prayer for the Prosperity of the Russian Church was read at Divine Liturgy.
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On Saturday 16 May and Sunday 17 May we had services for the Sixth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Blind Man. All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy we were joined by friends from Sydney and Newcastle and prayers were offered for Orthodox unity and peace in Ukraine. As it was nineteen years to the day since canonical communion was re-established within the Russian Orthodox Church, the Prayer for the Prosperity of the Russian Church was read.
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On Saturday 2 May and Sunday 3 May we had services for the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Paralytic. All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy our choir sang under the direction of Ludmilla Alexandrovsky and the customary prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.
The June 2026 issue of “Word of the Church” (“Церковное Слово”), the official journal of the Australian-New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), is now available in our parishes. This is the second issue for 2026. Content includes articles in English and Russian on the reception into our Diocese of the Protection of the Holy Virgin parish in South Yarra, Melbourne; the centenary of ROCOR’s German Diocese; the late ever-memorable Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia (+2026); newcomers to Orthodoxy; episcopal directives; and more. Copies are $5.00.
