Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)

The Diocese of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, headquartered in Sydney, is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Its current primate is His Eminence Hilarion (Kapral), First Hierarch of ROCOR and Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand.
==History==
*The first Russian parish established in Australia and New Zealand was St. Nicholas Church (now Cathedral), Brisbane, in 1926.
*The first ROCOR bishop of Australia and New Zealand was Bp Theodore (Rafalsky), 1948-55.
==Organisation==
The Diocese of Australia and New Zealand is a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Within the diocese, of which the Archbishop is the head and sole bishop, there are various deans who are in charge of one or more geographic areas. There are approx. 62 parishes and communities, including 17 monasteries and sketes, across Australia, 
23 parishes and communities in Indonesia, 5 parishes and communities in New Zealand, and one parish (along with one monastic skete) in South Korea.
The Diocese of Australia and New Zealand of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was a founding member of SCCOCA, but later departed.
== Recent History ==
The Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, as a part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, was involved in the process to reenter communion with the Church of Russia. The Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Abroad was signed on Ascension Thursday May 17, 2007 and Liturgy concelebrated in Moscow by Patriarch Alexei and Metropolitan Laurus, ROCOR's First Hierarch. 
On July 4, 2009, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, consecrated a new church in honor of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco specifically for Orthodox Australian Aboriginals. This event is symbolic of a new era of missionary work in the Australian and New Zealand Diocese where a significant portion of its parishioners and clergy are converts to Orthodoxy of non-Russian background. 
== The Episcopacy ==
===Diocesan Bishop===
* Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand.
**Archpriest Michael Boikov, Diocean secretary and personal secretary to his Eminence Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral), Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand
**Archimandrite Daniel (Bambang Dwi Byantoro), head of the Indonesian Orthodox mission (ROCOR) (23 parishes).
**Archpriest Nikita Chemodakov, dean of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory (18 parishes)
**Archpriest Michael Protopopov, dean of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia (16 parishes)
**Archpriest Michael Klebansky, dean of Queensland (7 parishes)
**Archpriest Vladimir Boikov, dean of New Zealand (6 parishes)
**Hieromonk Paul Kang, head of the Korean Orthodox Mission (1 parish).
===Hierarchs in Australia===
* Bishop Theodore (Rafalsky) of Sydney, 1948-1955.
* Bishop Philaret (Voznesensky) of Brisbane, 1963-1964.
* Bishop Sava (Rayevsky) of Sydney, 1955-1971.
* Bishop Anthony of Melbourne, 1956-1968
* Bishop Constantine (Essensky) of Brisbane, 1967-1976.
* Archbishop Theodosius (Putilin) of Sydney, 1970-1980.
* Archbishop Paul (Pavlov) of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, 1980-1995.
* Bishop Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Brisbane, Vicar of the Australian Diocese, 1996-1997.
* Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand, 1996-present.
== External links ==
* Official Website of the Diocese
* Official Website of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
* History of the Russian Orthodox Presence in Australia - 2.4MB file
Australia and New Zealand
Category:Orthodoxy in Australia
Category:Orthodoxy in New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand
 * Archangel Michael Church, Blacktown 
 * Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Auckland
 * Dormition of the Mother of God Church, Wollongong
 * Holy Annunciation Church, Brisbane
[[Image:Hilarion_red_panagea.jpg‎]]