Photo: unification.com.au
The Russian part of the Australian city of Newcastle began to take shape more than half a century ago around an Orthodox parish, opened by a priest from Belarus. His son Vitaly Lupish told the story of his father, who gathered parishioners around him, and how the Church of St. Nicholas was erected by Orthodox immigrants. Nowadays the Russian diaspora in Newcastle consists of several hundred people, there are Russian schools and Russian clubs, Russian folk holidays are celebrated, the Russian newspaper in Australia, Edinenie, reports.
Vitaly Lupish recalls that his father received permission to open an Orthodox parish in the late 1940s, when the family was in an immigration camp under Newcastle. In 1952, parishioners from the Russian community bought the land and started building a church (at that time it was only the third Orthodox parish in Australia), in which Vitaly Lupish’s father was a senior priest until his death in 1977.
Vitaly met his wife, Irina, in the church, where he sang in the church choir, the second meeting was held at the congress of Orthodox youth. When spouses had children, Irina Lupish organized a Russian school with about forty pupils. According to the couple, a Russian school for elementary school students is currently working in Newcastle.
The Russian diaspora in the city is united by common events, meetings and joint activities. For example, members of the community help young mothers and compatriots who come to Australia. Community representatives celebrate Russian holidays together (the most popular is Maslenitsa), hold picnics and children's concerts. They have also created a Russian society of book lovers.
Russkiy Mir
