History

1952: The initial meeting for the establishment of a Serbian Orthodox parish in the northwestern part of Sydney was held on 28 December 1952 in the Blacktown School of Arts. At that meeting it was decided that the Church should be dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, as this was the patron saint of General Dragoljub Draza Mihailovic under whose command most of the founding members fought against the Nazis and Communists during WWII in Yugoslavia.

Founding Members: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Svetozar Spasojevic, Ljubisav Spasovic, Ratomir Milanovic, Zivan Tomic, Djuradj Radinovic, Stevan Miladinovic, Radivoj Markov, Lazar Zivkovic, Zivko Knezevic, Mihajlo Belic, Dragoslav Miletic, Milic Marinkovic, Vladimir Mitrovic, Miroslav Milekic, Dusan Kovacevic, Djuro Zdjelar

1953: The first Liturgy in Blacktown was celebrated on the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple (Sretenje) on 15 February 1953, by Very Rev. Protopresbyter Stavrophor Ilija Bulovan. Following the Liturgy it was declared that Rev. Presbyter Svetozar Sekulic was appointed a parish priest in Blacktown. He remained the parish priest for ten years, donating his entire remuneration to the building fund for the Church.

1954: Sunday School commenced its work on 2 May 1954, consisting of approximately twenty children. Children were taught Serbian language and culture, as well as Orthodox catechesis. The school also had an active drama section, which performed throughout the Serbian community in Sydney.

1959: As the Blacktown City Council would not issue permits to build the Church at the original plot on Sunnyholt Rd, the Church sold the original plot and purchased the current location at Second Avenue in July 1959.

1960: At the beginning of 1960 a community hall was built on the purchased land. On his tour of Australia in October 1960, His Majesty King Petar II of Yugoslavia was welcomed in the newly built hall where many Serbs came to see their Monarch. The chair on which King Petar II was sitting during his visit can be seen to this day in our Church, right next to the Hierarchical throne. The church hall was consecrated on the parish feast day, 19 December 1960, by priests Ilija Bulovan, Svetozar Sekulic and Dusan Popovic.

1964: The so-called “American Schism” started in November 1963 mostly as consequence of the political tensions in the Serbian diaspora headed by Bishop Dionisije of America and Canada. In January 1964 a meeting of all Serbian Orthodox parishes in NSW was held in Blacktown where half of them (including St. Nicholas Blacktown) opted for Bishop Dionisije and broke away from the Serbian Orthodox Church.

1965: Foundations for the Church were poured on 27 December 1965.

1967: The foundation stone of the Church was blessed by His Grace Bishop Dimitrije (Balac) on 29 January 1967 when Ljubomir Vucurovic was also ordained a deacon. Later in the year Vucurovic was ordained a presbyter and appointed as the first regular parish priest since the schism.

The Circle of Serbian Sisters “Mother Yugovich” was established with Saint Petka as the Patron Saint.

1971: The Church was consecrated on 12 June 1971 by His Grace Dimitrije (Balac) the Serbian Orthodox Bishop for Australia and New Zealand.

1979: On 17 June 1979 the Free Serbian Orthodox Diocese for Australia and New Zealand acknowledged the acceptance of the Blacktown Church proposition to establish a monastery as the future Diocesan see. The Blacktown parish priest Rev. Danilo Milinkovic and five board members were appointed as the first board of the “Monastery Fund” which will eventually become the New Kalenich Saint Sava Monastery in Hall, just outside of Canberra.

1982: The old church hall, which was once used for Divine Liturgy and community gatherings, was demolished to give way for a new larger hall.

1986: The new hall, with modern facilities and a priest’s residence was finished and consecrated by priests Bozidar Arcon and Dragan Saracevic.

1991: The American Schism ended on 15 February 1991 when Patriarch Pavle and Metropolitan Irinej celebrated the reconciliation liturgy at the Belgrade Cathedral. The Free Serbian Orthodox Church was renamed the New Gracanica Metropolitanate and as such was reintegrated into the Serbian Orthodox Church.

1997: Mr Rados Stefanovic started the fresco painting of the Church.

1999: His Holiness Alexei II, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus` gifted the church a fragment of the relics of Saint Seraphim of Sarovsk and a fragment of the rock on which he spent a thousand days and a thousand nights in prayer. The relics were transferred from the Russian Orthodox Church (MP) of the Protection of the Most Holy Thetokos on Kildare Rd to our church at the time of the NATO invasion of Serbia. This was one of the largest processions in the history of Blacktown. The relics are displayed next to the Theotokos throne.

2000: H.G. Bishop Nikanor and numerous clergy consecrated a bronze monument to General Dragoljub Draza Miahilovic, the commander of the Royal Yugoslav Army (RYA) in WWII. The monument is widely considered as one of the best to general Mihailovic in the whole world, It is also the work of Rados Stefanovic. Drazin Dan as a tradition to commemorate the martyrdom of General Miahilovic (17 July 1946) has been observed in Blacktown since 1953, and since 2000 it has been conducted in front of this monument.

2004: Complicated relationships between the Iconographer, the Parish priest and the Parish board escalated beyond the point of repair and the Church Community ended up in front of the High Court of New South Wales as well as the Ecclesial Court of the Diocese. The debt for subsequent legal costs was paid in full on December 2017.

2005: Very Rev. Protopresbyter Stavrophor Nenad Djurasinovic was appointed a parish priest in Blacktown in one of the hardest moments of its history. With the help of a handful of the church members he worked hard on the restoration of spiritual life across the community.

2007: The Vidovdan Recital was one of the turning points for the reestablishment of a regular church life and spiritual development in Blacktown.

2008: The inaugural Youth Conference was held in the hall, with over a hundred youth from Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra.

2013: Rev. Presbyter George Veselinovic was appointed a parish priest. He brought new energy to the community and initiated a wide reconstruction of the Church hall and the Priest’s residence.

2016: His Holiness Irinej The Patriarch of Serbia with His Eminence Amfilohije The Metropolitan of Montenegro and Littoral visited the church in Blacktown on 11 March 2016.

His Grace Jovan, Bishop of Pakrac and Slavonija, visited the church in September 2016 when he gifted a fragment of the relics of the Martyrs of Jasenovac. The relics are displayed next to the Theotokos Throne.

2017: The “Pelicans” Playgroup was established in March 2017 with Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their Mother Sophia as the Patron Saints.

2020: The Church renovation started in August, between the COVID-19 lockdowns. The bell tower, the cross, iconostas, and the entire Church grounds were reconstructed. This was the largest renovation of the Church since its establishment.

2021: In June 2021 the church marked half a century since the consecration of the Church. Numerous clergy from the Serbian, Russian and Greek Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy with hundreds of faithful in attendance.