They were few in number, but their faith was strong.
The invited priest held the very first Russian service at an Anglican church in 1950. And the official opening of the parish took place on April 1st, 1952.
Three years later, the Russian community was comprised of 35 Russian families, and they were joined by the Greeks and the Serbs. With such a small number of believers, the desire to have their own church was enormous.
Collections for the construction of the church began, and people donated as much as they could from their very meager means to the common cause. It should be noted that, as in all parts of the Russian diaspora, there were no sponsors, and it was impossible to hope for financial assistance. Everyone understood that only their own labour and initiative would allow them to build the church.
First, they bought the land and quickly built a barrack in which they held services and various events to raise money. In November 1955, the foundation of the new church was consecrated. They bought building materials with modest funds, and parishioners worked with their own hands on the construction of the church on weekends. The construction of the church was completed in 1962.
That same year, a new wave of immigrants from China began to arrive in Australia, including in Geelong. Those who arrived were happy that they could go to the church, so they actively joined in parish life. A Russian Orthodox school was set up in the barracks where services had previously been held.
Thus, the parish life began to flourish.
The church was consecrated in 1968. In 1979 the barracks were demolished and a hall with an adjacent school were built.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, new immigrants continued to arrive in Geelong. Generally, when they visit the church, they are pleasantly surprised and join the parish.
This is how the Russian Orthodox live in Geelong (and in many other parts of the world) - not forgetting their Faith and their Homeland, and spreading the Word of God among the local community.
Parish life today
These days, our church organises many activities that unite Russian immigrants, people of Russian descent and the Orthodox believers from Geelong and beyond.
We run the Russian Orthodox School which is held every Saturday during Australian school terms and offers language classes to students of all levels, such as Russian, the Law of God, Russian history, Russian geography, Russian literature, and other subjects that expand the knowledge of the Motherland.
We organise many events throughout the year, such as Christmas and Maslenitsa. Our Easter traditions include kulich decoration masterclasses for kids and sale of pre-ordered kulich and paskha. We do fundraising activities, spiritual and educational talks that are accompanied by delicious lunches in traditional Russian cuisine, following the Liturgy.
Wedding receptions, wakes and christenings are often held in the hall.
In such fellowship, the community unites, everyone can share their joy or sorrow, find out local news, socialize in their native language.
Every February, towards the end of the hot hemisphere summer, the city of Geelong organizes the international folklore festival "Pako Festa" and we are proud to join the community walk - in folk Russian costumes, to the tunes of the traditional Russian music, in the company with the gigantic Russian bear which dances and shares the joy with the Australians. In 2019, the Russian group had 70 participants, and the parish community was awarded the first prize out of more than sixty groups!
