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.

The first wave of Lebanese, then called Syrian, immigration was in the 1880-1890s, where work was found in hawking and peddling goods in the country areas of the eastern states of Australia. The first place of worship was usually in the capital cities of Sydney and Melbourne, with a Greek priest who spoke Arabic.

Sydney

The Antiochian Orthodox faithful took part in the construction of a community church dedicated to the Holy Trinity in Surry Hills with the Greek and Russian Orthodox faithful. A priest was 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 then took to meeting in individual homes, only 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 intervened meaning 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, Redfern, and the first Antiochian Orthodox church was built there and placed under the patronage of Saint 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 never saw it built. In 1951, aged 56, he reposed.

Melbourne

By the early twentieth century, an amount of Lebanese had settled in Melbourne. These families kept contact with each other, working as hawkers, shopkeepers or wholesalers during the week and using the weekend for social activities and, on Sundays, meeting in the Exhibition Gardens.

The first Greek Orthodox Church in Melbourne, Holy Annunciation, was established in East Melbourne; the establishment of this was aided by the Antiochian Orthodox. The services were in both Greek and Arabic, the altar boys were of Greek and Lebanese descent, some of the icons were donated by Lebanese, and the first warden was Lebanese. By the 1920s, however, Holy Annunciation became a predominately Greek church with a priest who could not speak Arabic.

Special services at Holy Annunciation were attended by the Lebanese, such as weddings, baptisms and funerals; and some would choose to attend Sunday school at Protestant churches, but neither of these met the needs of the Lebanese community: despite lacking their own place of worship for up to forty years, the desire to establish their own church was not dimmed. By the late 1920s, it was deemed the right time to found a church.

In 1929, James Batrouney visited Lebanon, met Archimandrite Antonios (Mobayed), and on his return to Melbourne, Archim. Antonios was recommended as a suitable priest for the church in Melbourne. Patriarch Arsanios of Antioch commissioned Archim. Antonios as the first priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Victoria, arriving on 12 Nov 1931.

Archim. Antonios was well suited, having graduated from Balamand Theological Seminary and Kiev Theological Academy and speaking fluent Arabic, Russian and Greek. Formerly representative to the Church of Russia for 15 years, the Communist Revolution forced Archim. Antonios to return to Lebanon in 1929. On his arrival in Melbourne, Archim. Antonios brought and donated everything essential for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy; some of these items can be found at St. Nicholas Church today.

The first services were held in St. George's Anglican Mission, the beginning of a long and amicable relationship between Anglicans and Orthodox in Victoria. In March 1932 the community purchased a church, where St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church stands today, using four £125 donations from John Batrouney, Joseph & Walter Davis, and Alex Malouly. The iconostasis, based on St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Japan, was completed by Palm Sunday, 1932, when the first service was held in the Church.

At the first council meeting of May 1932, the majority favoured the name St. Anthony, in honour of the first priest; however, many preferred St. George. To settle the dispute, Archim. Antonios placed 12 names in a bag on the altar and George Facoory, the oldest member of the community, drew out St. Nicholas. The church was consecrated on 1 October 1933 by Metropolitan Timotheos, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia. The consecration, attended by Rev. F.E. Maynard (Anglican) and the Greek and French consuls, was chanted in Arabic, English, Greek and Slavonic.

St. Nicholas included both Arabic members and Russian members, the latter group contributing to bringing Archim. Antonios to Australia, converting the church into an Orthodox church, writing icons and organising a choir, which would chant the Liturgy in Slavonic on every fourth Sunday. When the Russians established their first church in Melbourne in the early 1950s, the committee of St. Nicholas donated a Slavonic Bible in memory of Archim. Antonios.

Archim. Antonios did many things, organising choirs and teaching the youth the service in Arabic, travelling to Sydney, Adelaide and New Zealand to raise funds, making the church complete with all necessities and trappings for Orthodox services, organising a youth society which provided for Orthodox youth growing in their faith, marrying in the Church and acclimatising to their country of residence.

Archim. Antonios, after a short illness, reposed on November 9, 1943. He was buried by Metropolitan Timotheos and assisted by Archimandrite Theophylactos and Fr Michael Shehadie. He was replaced by Exarch George Haydar.

• Source

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 regularly church-going 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 says that SCCOCA, after being moribund for quite a number of years, finally became defunct in the year 2000. Recent reports of SCCOCA still being active are mere puffs in the wind.

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 (Ramlawey), 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