Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines

Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and All Oceania
Jurisdiction	Antioch
Diocese type	Archdiocese
Founded	1969
Current bishop	Metr. Abp. Paul
See(s)	Sydney
Headquarters	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Territory	Australia, New Zealand, and All Oceania
Liturgical language(s)	Arabic, Belarus, Bulgarian, English, Greek (church), Greek (Modern), Macedonian, Moldovan, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slavonic (Church), Ukrainian
Musical tradition	Bulgarian, Byzantine, Russian & Znamenny Chant; Russian & Western Choral
Calendar	Revised Julian and Julian Calendar (depending on parish)
Population estimate	7,525 (Defective Federal Census 2001); 37,490 (2005 internal Archdiocesan census)
Official website	Antiochian Archdiocese

The Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand, and All Oceania, with headquarters in Sydney, is an archdiocese of the Church of Antioch. Its current primate is His Eminence Paul (Saliba), Metropolitan Archbishop of Australia, New Zealand, and All Oceania.

History

Similar to most other jurisdictions in Australia, and other parts of the 'diaspora', a detailed pre-history of the Archdiocese is better told in terms of cities which later formed a diocese, rather than the other way around.

Sydney

The Syrian Orthodox (as the Antiochian Orthodox were then known as) took part in the construction of a church in Surry Hills with the Greek and Russian Orthodox faithful, with a priest later provided by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Due to various difficulties regarding the 1898 election of an Arabic patriarch of Antioch, the Syrian community took to meeting in individual homes, going to the church in Surry Hills for necessities.

In 1913, Father Nicholas Shehadie was sent to Australia as Exarch to determine the extent of the problem and to find possible solutions. However, while this was intended to be temporary, World War I meant that Father Nicholas could not return to Lebanon where his family was; hence, his stay became permanent. He realised the need for a church for the Antiochian Orthodox, and determined to built it, with the Divine Liturgy being held in parishioners' homes until that time.

The State Government leased a block of land to the Church on the corner of Walker and Redfern Sts, and the first Antiochian Orthodox church was built and placed under the patronage of St George.

In 1934, Exarch Nicholas Shehadie reposed, in his early 70s. Then his second son, Michael, became a priest. During the time of his presbyterate at the Church of St George, the government lease expired; Fr Michael worked with the government to find a new site and, in 1950, they were granted land at the corner of Walker and Cooper Sts, Redfern, where the church - now cathedral - stands today. However, Fr Michael would never see it built: in 1951, at 56, he reposed.

Melbourne

• St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church. A history of the Archdiocese in the city of Melbourne.

Diocesan and Archdiocesan

Following in the footsteps of his father and elder brother, John Shehadie became a priest. Fr John served at St George church for a short time, after which he founded St Nicholas Church, Punchbowl, following one of the first directives of Bishop Gibran. Fr John served here until his 1987 retirement.

• The History section of the Archdiocesan website.
• History of St Paul's Antiochian Orthodox Church. A history of the Archdiocese in the city of Brisbane.

Recent History

• Recent news of the Archdiocese can be found here.

Organisation

The Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese is a single archdiocese spanning a number of countries. The Archbishop resides in Australia, there is a Deanery for New Zealand, and presences in other countries of the region. There are 25 parishes and missions across Australia, 8 parishes and missions in the Deanery of New Zealand, and approximately 37,500 faithful in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and All Oceania. The Archdiocese also has one female monastery of St Anna in Victoria, and founded the multi-jurisdictional Melbourne Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies.

The Antiochian Orthodox Diocese of Australasia (as it was then called) was a founding member of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Churches in Australia. The Antiochian Archdiocese believes that SCCOCA, after being moribund for quite a number of years, finally became defunct in the year 2000.

The Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand, and All Oceania, was a founding member of Eastern Hierarchs. The Antiochian Archdiocese believes that this is a friendly, effective organisation, working for the love of God spreading throughout the whole mystery of His Church.

The Episcopacy

Current Episcopacy

• Metropolitan Archbishop Paul (Saliba) of Australia, New Zealand and All Oceania.
  • Dean of New Zealand is Archpriest Jack Witbrock.
  • Vicar-General and Dean of the Cathedral is Right Reverend Archimandrite Nabil (Kachab)
  • Dean of Clergy for the Archdiocese is Archpriest George Nasr.

Primates in Australia and New Zealand

• Bishop Gibran (Rimlawi), Bishop of Australia and New Zealand, 1969-1999.
• Metropolitan Archbishop Paul (Saliba) of Australia, New Zealand, and All Oceania, 1999-present.

See Also

• Antiochian parishes in Australasia

External

• Official website of the Archdiocese
• Official website of the New Zealand Deanery
• Official website of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch