Fr. Geoff’s Blog

Will my family circle be unbroken at Pascha?

Truly blessed are those families whose multiple generations can come together to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Many of us know the heartache of having beloved members of our family absent from Pascha. And too many of us suffer the heartache of seemingly entire generations absenting themselves from communion. The following article, by Abbot Tryphon of the All Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island, explores why so many in this generation have gone missing.

Discover the Journey to Joy

Congregation of The Good Shepherd Orthodox Church Parish

The world presents happiness as the ultimate good, and the pursuit of happiness as the ultimate human right. Philosophers extol happiness as the greatest virtue, and a famous and powerful nation was founded to serve its attainment.1 Yet experience shows us that direct pursuit of happiness leaves an aftertaste of misery.

Come to “Timeless Wisdom” Melbourne’s Lenten Retreat

Timeless Wisdom: Orthodox Spirituality Today A Lenten Retreat—16th to 18th March 2018, Belgrave Heights Come join the English-speaking Orthodox parishes of Melbourne for a weekend of spiritual feasting. People will be flocking to experience the “Timeless Wisdom” of ancient Orthodox Spirituality in a thoroughly modern setting. But for those who cannot make it, remember that all weekend services will be served at The Good Shepherd Orthodox Church.

Finding Grace in Great Lent

Fr. Geoff serves the Akathist to the Theotokos in the Small Chapel at Lent

Well, we’re approaching the end of the first week of Great Lent in 2018. God’s been good, very good to us. And the season of Great Lent is rewarding! Let me relate a little of what is happening in the parish and what God is doing in our lives. Beauty and Charity Just in time for Great Lent, our re-covered Gospel Book arrived. It was covered by an Orthodox monastery in Belarus, and it is a gorgeously beautiful covering.

Patriarchal Letter for Great Lent 2018

Patriarch John X at St. Paul's Orthodox Church, Dandenong, on 20 December 2017

By the Grace of God, John X Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Antioch To My brothers, the hierarchs and Shepherds of the Holy Church of Antioch, My spiritual children throughout the Apostolic See, My brethren and beloved spiritual children:

How to prepare for Great Lent in 2018

St. George Orthodox Church in NYC, featuring Christ the Pantocrator icon on the ceiling

The Orthodox mind is a prepared mind. We never just “do an event.” We prepare for the event. And we never just prepare for an event, we prepare to prepare to prepare for the event! The fulcrum of our liturgical year is Pascha. Holy Week Prepares us for Pascha. Lent prepares us for Holy Week. And the week following Zaccheaus Sunday is when we prepare for Lent. So, today is the day we prepare to prepare to prepare for Pascha. What follows are six questions we can ask ourselves to see if we’re truly ready for Great Lent.

How Calvin thought to reinvent God

Artist’s depiction of John Calvin in his study.

John Calvin’s ideas are both celebrated and mourned. Some present them as the first flowering of rational Christianity; by others as a terrible deformation of the doctrine of God. Yet no matter the genius of the idea: logic alone won’t perpetuate itself in the lives of succeeding generations.

Six adults baptised, received into the Orthodox Church

God is on the move. He is calling people from all backgrounds and walks of life into communion with His Church. And He is calling members of His Church to cooperate with Him in this saving activity (1 Corinthians 3:9). The Good Shepherd was witness to this Divine activity on the weekend before the Nativity. Six adult catechumens were baptised on the Friday and received into communion on Christmas Eve.

Meet Metropolitan Basilios

Patriarch John X and Metropolitan Basilios

Meet the new Metropolitan Archbishop of the Antiochian Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, His Eminence, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Basilios (Kodseie). Metropolitan Basilios was elected by the Holy Synod of Antioch to the Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines on 4 October 2017, and was ordained as Metropolitan Archbishop at the Lady of Balamand Cathedral, Lebanon, on 19 November 2017.

Fr. Geoff’s Christmas Address

As this calendar year comes to a close, I am enormously grateful to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit for all the many and varied blessings we have received this year. Truly His mercy abounds. The Good Shepherd parish, located as we are in the centre of Melbourne’s population, has a mission to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all Australians. We model the ancient tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy in a modern, secular culture. We conduct our services in English so that Australians of all backgrounds can learn, grow and find healing in their body and soul.

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