Keysborough, Victoria, Australia, October 12, 2026
Photo: spc.rs
His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia consecrated a Serbian church in Australia yesterday as part of his ongoing pastoral visit to the country that began on October 7.
The Patriarch consecrated the Church St. Stephen the Archdeacon in Keysborough, Melbourne together with several hierarchs and clergy, including the local hierarch Metropolitan Silouan of Australia and New Zealand, Metropolitan Longin of Midwestern America and Bishop Irinej of Eastern America, and others, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The church, built in 1994, is the work of the faithful living in Keysborough and other parts of Melbourne. It’s dedicated to the first martyr for Christ, whom the Nemanjić dynasty venerated as their patron.
Photo: spc.rs
Local parishioners welcomed Patriarch Porfirije with traditional Serbian hospitality. The services were adorned with chanting by the parish choir, the Stevan Mokranjac Choir and the Russian Orthodox Men’s Choir.
Addressing the Serbian Orthodox faithful, Patriarch Porfirije told them that wherever an Orthodox Serb is found, “there Serbia is too, inside, in the heart.” He praised the Serbs for preserving their identity while also being able to survive and create in a foreign land.
“Wherever he goes, from America to Australia, he remains what he is, and at the same time becomes one with those he lives among,” Patriarch Porfirije said of the Orthodox Serb.
At the wish of Metropolitan Silouan of Australia and New Zealand, a particle of the relics of St. Stefan of Dečani was placed in the Holy Table.
Photo: spc.rs
“Whether you have successes, victories or falls, troubles and hardships, come to every one of our Orthodox Serbian churches,” he told the faithful. “Let everything begin with prayer, proceed in prayer and end in prayer.”
Speaking on behalf of the faithful entrusted to him, Metropolitan Silouan thanked Patriarch Porfirije for his “fatherly love, joy and consolation.”
At the close of the gathering, Metropolitan Silouan thanked Patriarch Porfirije, the visiting hierarchs, the program’s participants and everyone who helped build the church and organize the celebration. “The time is coming when the church will build us,” he said.
The celebration included a program by the parish folklore group and a festive meal.
Photo: spc.rs
The rector of the church, Fr. Aleksandar Savić, greeted all participants and thanked them for the donations collected, part of which will go to church soup kitchens in Kosovo and Metohija, and part to St. Sava College in Varroville.
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