Peace be unto you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Church is not a building of stone, but a household of love. When you cross the threshold of our small parish on Sturt Street, you are not entering an institution — you are entering a family. A family that has gathered in this corner of Ballarat for over two decades, carrying the ancient faith of St. Thomas the Apostle to a new land, speaking its prayers in Malayalam and Syriac and English, and finding that the Living God meets us here just as He met our fathers in Kerala, in Antioch, in Jerusalem.
A Congregation Set Apart
We are a small parish, and I believe God intends us to be small — not in faith, not in generosity, not in the welcome we offer, but in the particular intimacy that only a gathered remnant can sustain. Every Sunday morning at eight o'clock, when the incense rises and the deacon intones the first petitions of the Promiyon, I am aware that we stand in an unbroken line of prayer stretching back two thousand years. The words we sing were sung by saints. The silence we keep after communion is the same silence kept in the upper room.
Here, we lay down our burdens, sing our griefs into hope, and remember that we are deeply known.
If you are new to Ballarat, new to the Orthodox faith, or simply searching — you are welcome here. Come as you are. Sit with us. Let the liturgy carry you for a while. There is no performance required, no form to fill in. The altar is open, the tea is hot, and the people are kind.
The Year Ahead
This year we give thanks for the completion of our fellowship hall renovation, the growth of our Sunday School, and the faithful service of our choir under the direction of our choirmaster. We look forward to the Patronal Feast of St. Dionysius the Areopagite in October, and to the diocesan visit of His Grace the Metropolitan, God willing, in the new year.
I ask for your prayers as I ask for mine. A parish vicar is entirely dependent on the grace of God and the love of his people. Both have been given to me in abundance here in Ballarat, and I am grateful beyond what words allow.
In Christ's peace,
Rev. Fr. Thomas Mathai Parish Vicar, St. Dionysius Indian Orthodox Church · Ballarat