Welcome to our first time visitor information page!
Please note: due to renovations at Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, the services after the 1st May will be held at two different locations in Woolloongabba.
Wednesday Bible Study, Friday Vespers and Saturday Vigil will be held at: St Paul's Antiochian Orthodox Church, 66 Junction Street, Woolloongabba.
Sunday Divine Liturgies will be held at: QRCC, 19 Lotus Street, Woolloongabba.
Both venues have ample parking and bathroom facilities.
If this is your first visit to an Orthodox Church there may be some new things that you haven't seen in church services before.
The below information aims to give you a quick overview of what it will be like when you attend our services.
If you would like to see our services beforehand, you can watch previously live-streamed services here.
During the preparation for our Vigil and Divine Liturgy services, our Priests are typically engaged in Altar duties and are unable to engage in conversation unless pre-arranged. Nevertheless, we warmly invite you to join us for our Coffee Hour after the service, where our Priests would be delighted to meet and chat with you.
Or if you would like to arrange a time to talk with Fr Andrew one on one, please send an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Orthodox Christians worship with their whole bodies as well as with words. At times you will see people bow, make the sign of the cross, venerate (kiss) icons, light candles and stand for the majority of the service. If you are new to our church, no one expects you to do these things - please feel free to sit or stand, and to participate to the degree that you are comfortable with.
As a visitor you are most welcome to: light candles in front of icons, venerate the icon or gospel book on the centre stand and kiss the Priest's blessing cross and receive blessed bread at the conclusion of the service. That said, Holy Communion is only for Orthodox Christians - the people receiving Holy Communion will have prepared themselves with prayer, fasting and a recent Confession.
(If this Confession has been with someone who is not a priest at our parish, please ensure you have a blessing from your Confessor and contact Fr Andrew during the week prior to the service).
Visitors will often ask what they should wear to services, our goal with church clothing is to allow us to remain modest in the presence of our God and focus on prayer, worship, repentance, and communion with Him.
While also being considerate of those around us, by not wearing clothing that will distract anyone from prayer.
You may also see some women wearing head coverings, (usually scarves). Women wear these for multiple different reasons, it is not expected that a visitor would wear a head covering. Men are asked to please remove their hats before entering the worship space.
We ask that no photos or videos are taken during our services. This helps to contribute to a prayerful atmosphere. We have an AV team that looks after photos and videos taken during the service.
We do not have a separate program for children during our Divine Liturgy service. We welcome children at our services, and we believe it is most appropriate and beneficial for children to be in services as much as they are able.
We do have Sunday School that is held after the service at 11:00am-11:30am. The Sunday School is run by Fr Stephen and is aimed at children in the Lower Primary agegroup (around 5-9y.o.). For more information see: https://www.HolyAnnunciation.net/SundaySchool
For information on our service times see: https://HolyAnnunciation.net/Services
If you would like to know more about our church, our services, or if you have any questions please send an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We look forward to welcoming you at our services soon!
