Services for Great Lent

The forty days of Great Lent is a time of expectant preparation heading towards that moment when we meet our Resurrected God and King. Services during these weeks energise the faithful in their journey toward Pascha.

Visitors are most welcome at any service.

Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

Great Lent commences with the most penitential service of the entire year, the Great Canon of St. Andrew & Great Compline. The Triumph of Orthodoxy is a memorial and celebration of the Church's reception of the Seventh and final Ecumenical Council.

7.30 pm

Mon, 26 Feb 2023

Great Compline & Canon of St. Andrew

7:30 pm

Wed, 1 Mar 2023

Presanctified Liturgy

7:30 pm

Fri, 3 Mar 2023

Akathist of Thanksgiving to the Theotokos

10:00 am

Sun, 5 Mar 2023

Divine Liturgy

Learn More

Learn about the services for Holy Week and Pascha.

Learn about the Liturgical feasts of the year.

Details

The Good Shepherd Orthodox Church, located in Clayton, Melbourne, is a living witness to the power of the Gospel and the fullness of the Christian Faith in modern, secular Australia.

We are a vibrant Australian Christian community under the direction of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand & the Philippines, within the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.

The Church of Antioch is the continuation of the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter (who served as its first bishop) and Paul. The Patriarchate of Antioch is the oldest of the ancient Patriarchates constituting the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ.

All services are in the English language and are held in the Main Chapel of the Religious Centre at Monash University, Clayton Campus, conveniently located in the centre of Melbourne’s residential population.

Parking in the University car parks is free after 7:00 pm, but please take note of all signs regarding Loading Zones, No Standing and Disabled Parking, these restrictions apply and are enforced.

For directions to the Religious Centre click here

Blog

The Two Kinds of Suffering: Voluntary and Involuntary

Sdn Tim Grace

August 9, 2026 10:00 AM

In this sermon, Sub Dn. Timothy Grace explores the Orthodox understanding of suffering, distinguishing between the voluntary hardships we take on through the ascetic disciplines of the Church and the involuntary trials that come to us against our will. Drawing on the day's epistle and gospel readings, he shows how both kinds of suffering, when met with patience and the right attitude, can open the heart to the grace of God. He reminds us that the Church is the place where these two forms of suffering meet, and that even what feels like failure by the world's standards can become our victory in Christ.

What Will You Do? The Feeding of the Five Thousand

Daniel McInnes

July 26, 2026 10:00 AM

In this sermon on the feeding of the five thousand, Daniel McInnes reads St Matthew's account alongside the fuller detail of St John's Gospel, where Christ tests the disciples with the question, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Daniel draws out how God chooses to work through people who bring the little they have, how the miracle foreshadows the Eucharist, and how the same question — "What will you do?" — meets us in the needs we encounter every day.

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