A Light set on a hill in the South Coast

St PETER & St PAUL

Coptic Orthodox Church

NEWS & EVENTS

A Church without youth, is a Church without a future. Pope Shenouda III

Ministries

Fellowship

Ancient Faith

Transformation

A sacred space where families can grow & be sanctified in a loving community.

Authentic worship in continuity with the earliest Church. Ancient faith in a modern world.

Empowering everyday people to love God, others & themselves. All things made anew.

THE CHURCH

The Orthodox Church worships God in continuity with the earliest Church, and as such is the oldest Church.

It is a Church of balance: between the mystical and the real; between spirituality and theology; between worship and service of humanity. Everything is in balance, otherwise known as "right worship" (Orthodox).

It is not a denomination, but rather pre-denominational. It is not a religion but rather a life with God in Christ.

The Orthodox Church worships God in "spirit and truth" and dynamically incarnates that truth in every age - empowering all people from all walks of life to love God, others, and themselves.

Sharing in the Joy of Christ

Experience God in Truth

Forgiveness to Enact Change

NEWS

OUR PATRON SAINTS

OUR MISSION & VISION

WHO WE ARE

St Peter & Paul's Feast

12 July 2015

His Grace Bishop Daniel visited and prayed the Liturgy with us in celebration of the Apostles Feast. And a feast it was! Whilst the kids were occupied with the serious matter of consuming chocolate and going wild on the jumping castle (an interesting combination), the rest of us feasted in great fellowship.

See Photos

Big John's Greek Feast 2015

17 May 2015

John & Viola invited us to their farm for a Greek feast of lamb on the spit; the kids a ball with the farm animals! It will become an annual event!

Photos

Community BBQ

2 May 2015

We had a great BBQ despite the wet weather! Good thing the jumping castle was semi-waterproof! It was a great day, great food, great people. Thanks to all those who helped!

Look out for our next event... "Light up the Hill!"

Photos

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Holy Pascha Schedule

24 -30 April 2016

Pascha is without doubt the holiest week of the year, in fact the entire year points to it. The Crucifixion, and Resurrection are the very basis of Christianity. The Church in her wisdom dedicates an entire week to share in the suffering (pascha) and therefore glory of Christ. It is a week not be missed! All are welcome, please bring your entire family.

Schedule

Light Up The Hill 2015!

28 August 2015

On August 28, Friday night, we will light up the hill! Hundreds of candles will be set alight in a beautiful night of prayer for the community. Each one of us has some need, or knows someone in need. Each candle will have a ribbon tied to it with a particular name or request. Come and put your name or a the name of a loved one on a candle, by either directly putting it on at the Church, find us at the University of Wollongong, or simply message us! See you there!

Details

St Peter & St Paul's Feast

12 July 2015

Bishop Daniel will join us for the Liturgy; and BBQ + Jumping Castle for the kids afterwards! Please come and join in this joyful Feast!

The Liturgy will start at 9am; followed by a BBQ, and activities for the kids. Please come and introduce yourself to our blessed Bishop!

Details

Great Lent 2015

16 Feb 2015

As a Church we share in the fasting of Christ. Please find a help article below on the nature of fasting by Fr Mark Basily.

"Is it fasting?"

By: Fr Mark Basily

“The true fast is that in which sins, anger, tongue, and instincts are under control”
- St Basil the Great

During these most holy days of Lent, one of the most common questions asked when deciding what to purchase from the supermarket is: “Is it syami (is it fasting)”? You quickly turn the item around and start to read the ingredients to ensure that the product does not contain any animal products. Every now and then you get really excited when you discover a product that is enjoyable to eat and still conforms to the requirements of the Coptic Orthodox fast (just like the day when I discovered Oreos were syami!).

The question: “Is it syami”? stems from the desire to offer to God an acceptable and honourable fast. As soon as milk solids is read out on the list of ingredients, the item is immediately returned to its rightful place on the shelf. After purchasing all our syami products, we proceed to the checkout with our conscience at ease that we are fulfilling our desire to offer God an acceptable and honourable fast. But are we really? Is this all that is required? Let us look at the how the Lord explained the acceptable fast to the prophet Isaiah:

“Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter” (Is 58:4-7).

Upon reading the lives of our saintly desert fathers, you will quickly notice two very common trends, they all lived their lives in the quest for spiritual perfection and they practiced extreme forms of physical asceticism. I believe these two simple observations, shed light on the perspective and purpose of fasting. One is the aim, and the other is the means. Although, this may seem to be obvious, we often lose perspective forgetting the aim (spiritual perfection) while aiming at the means (fasting).

St. John Chrysostom explains it as follows:

“Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see a friend being honoured, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies.

Let the hands fast, by being free of greed.
Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin.
Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful.
Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip.
Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism.

For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers”?

So if we would like to offer an acceptable fast to the Lord, let us not only offer the fasting of food, but moreover the fasting of the soul, as John Cassian teaches us saying: “We should not be confident that the outside fasting of food is enough alone for the purity of the heart and body, unless it is accompanied by the fasting of the soul”.

“Is it syami”? Let us not only ask ourselves this question before deciding what food to purchase, but let us ask this question before we refuse a brother a helping hand, let us ask this question before passing judgment on another, let us ask this question before gazing our eyes on a lustful scene, let us ask this question before losing our temper, let us ask this question before deciding not to pray at night and let us ask this question before every action and reaction we may take.

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EVENTS

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News

OUR PEOPLE

Fr. Moses Ayad

Fr. Moses’ philosophy has always been to create a happy atmosphere full of laughter; and he strongly believes in the quote by St Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words”.

Having graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering from UNSW, and completing his Masters in Project Management, he was chosen by the grace of God to be ordained as a priest to serve the missionary Church in Japan in 2017. Fr Moses is currently studying his Masters degree in Theology at St Cyril’s Theological College under the guidance of Fr Daniel Fanous.

When God chose to flip the page and add another special chapter in his life, he relocated to Wollongong to serve our beloved parish in 2020 along with his wife, Jess, and we are all their children.

CONTACT FR. MOSES