41st Conference of Russian Orthodox Youth
On 23 December, at 10.00 am, the 41st Conference of Russian Orthodox Youth began its work. By day’s end, 125 participants were registered; V. Rev. Michael Protopopov was the first clergyman to register, whilst Katia Barlow was the first youth to register. Among participants in the first day of the conference were eleven representatives of the clergy: His Grace Archbishop Hilarion, conference guest Archimandrite Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro (of Indonesia), V. Rev. Michael Protopopov, V. Rev. Gabriel Makarov, V. Rev. George Lapardin, V. Rev. Michael Boikov, V. Rev Peter Simovskih, Hieromonk Bartholomew and Rev. Simeon Kichakov, proto-deacon Basil Kozulin and proto-deacon Basil Yakimov.
Speaking of the beginning of the conference, Fr. Simeon Kichakov noted that intense preparations for the conference took a full year, there were many concerns over attendance numbers at the conference, but once the conference had begun, one event followed the next and all concerns dissipated. "Most importantly," said Fr Simeon, "with the Lord’s help, the lectures will be interesting and help our youth find answers to questions that concern them."
Alexander Paramonov, the vice-president of the organising committee, noted that members of the conference organising committee spent the first day registering participants, a process that went through to 01.00 am. Thanks to the well-oiled operation of members of the organising committee, registration, distribution among rooms and the provision of necessary information in a timely way all happened quickly. Many came to the conference for the first time. The presence of many very young participants was also noticeable, meaning that the planned activities will need to be altered so as to keep them interesting for participants of all ages. 
It is also interesting, in Alexander’s view, that the youth is prepared for serious work and not just idle amusement.
An important event for all those present at the conference was the visit to the site of the conference of the icon of the Mother of God "Triumph of the Mother of God", brought from Russia by Michael Osipenko. On the first day of the conference, Archbishop Hilarion, V. Rev. Michael Protopopov, Rev. Simeon Kichakov and proto-deacon Basil Kozulin served a moleben before the icon.
After the moleben, His Grace Archbishop Hilarion greeted the participants of the conference. The lecture of V. Rev. Michael Protopopov about the icon and its significance also drew interest.
December 24, the second day of the operation of the conference, began with a welcoming address from Rev. Simeon Kichakov. He pointed out the importance of a deep knowledge of Christian teachings so as to be able to deliver persuasive and weighty answers to questions about the Orthodox Christian teachings. 
In conclusion, Fr. Simeon called upon conference participants to use the time allotted for work at the conference wisely, so as to connect with this source of wisdom and prepare to respectably respond to questions about our faith, should the need for this arise. Happily, the welcoming address was heard both in Russian and in English.
Then, Archbishop Hilarion greeted attendees, making a point of the conference being a superb conclusion to the year. The conference, believes His Grace Archbishop Hilarion, is important in that it helps to grow the future generations of the Orthodox church of tomorrow. Archbishop Hilarion paid special attention to the choice of the topic of the conference, which directly refers to the need to always be prepared to respond to the queries of persons of other faiths. His Grace Archbishop Hilarion thanked Fr. Simeon, the conference organising committee for their enthusiasm and hard work in overcoming difficulties in fundraising for the conference. Besides, Archbishop Hilarion expressed his sincere gratitude to Archimandrite Daniel for his agreement to present a lecture at the conference and to Michael Osipenko, who kindly agreed to deliver the icon "Triumph of the Mother of God" to Australia for visits to parishes of the diocese.
The president of the organising committee of the 41st Conference of Russian Orthodox Youth, Terrence Polorotoff, also addressed those present with a welcome. He thanked them for their interest in the conference and made note of the program for the conference, asking for it to be treated with respect. At the end of his address, Terrence Polorotoff thanked all conference sponsors.
The work of the second day of the conference continued with lectures, presented by Rev. Simeon Kichakov, Nicholas Cowall and Archimandrite Daniel.
The work of the sisterhood, which took upon itself the task of feeding conference participants, cannot go without mention. L. I. Matafonova, T. S. Kozulina, A. I Murzina, E. I. Paramonov and A. P. Kichakov toiled in the kitchen at the conference site. They manage to do everything in time, despite the fast-paced program of the conference and the consequent short gap between breakfast and lunch.
The five above-mentioned culinary masters and their helpers (on day two of the conference, they were E. V. Kichakov, Z. A. 
Polorotoff, O. C. Chumakoff, L. V. Dementiev and M. M. Paramonov) work well together and like their kitchen; there are no difficulties with the menu as everything is thought of beforehand and all the necessary ingredients are prepared. The conference participants are happy with the food—they come back for seconds!
The sisterhood has also formed a second group, which is working in the kitchen of the church hall: E. C. Kichakov, P. M Lapardin, A. P. Kichakov, M. P. Malishev, A. A. Malishev, T. P Paramonov, M. M. Kichakov, M. Z. Pronenko and V. V. Pronenko.
The third day of the work of the 41st Conference of Russian Orthodox Youth, 25 December, began with a bus trip for participants to Geelong, namely the church of the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" for the liturgy. 
The icon "Triumph of the Mother of God", painted by M.M. Osipenko, which was visiting parishes in Australia and was accompanied by the son of the iconographer Mikhail Osipenko, 
was standing in the church. Beside the icon were vases with red roses and all lectern icons were also framed with red roses. The service began after the greeting of His Grace Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand and was served with archimandrite Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro, V. Rev. Nicholas Karipov, V. Rev. Gabriel Makarov, V. Rev. George Lapardin, Rev. Simeon Kichakov, Rev Arkadiy Trashkov, proto-deacon Basil Kozulin and proto-deacon Basil Yakimov. The prayerful mood of those present was heightened by the singing of the choir, which united singers of the parish of the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" with singers from the ranks of conference participants and was conducted by V. Rev. Michael Boikov. Archimandrite Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro delivered a sermon in English.
After the service, all conference participants and others present were invited to be photographed. The icon "Triumph of the Mother of God" was placed on the porch on the Southern side of the church whilst those wishing to be in the photograph took their places next to the icon, below it on the steps of the porch and on the path running around the church. The least patient ones urged the photographer on: "Nick, take the photo!" He, in the meantime, attempted to explain with words and gestures that he has the none-too-easy task of getting everyone to fit into the frame. But then the camera clicked once; then again, to be sure and everyone was on their way to the church hall for lunch. 
The food prepared by the sisterhood silenced chatter and soon afterwards, the feelings of hunger. Everyone enjoyed soup, calamari, prepared by Basil Paramonov, delicious pies and tea, while the melt-in-your-mouth berry jelly was a superb conclusion to lunch.
Soon after lunch, conference organisers were invited to receive the blessing of Archbishop Milutin of the Sydney, Australia and New Zealand diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who was visiting the parish to revere the icon "Triumph of the Mother of God", greet Archbishop Hilarion and enquire as to the possibility of the icon "Triumph of the Mother of God" visiting some Serbian parishes. Archbishop Milutin was accompanied by clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church: V. Rev. Chedomir Videkomich, hieromonk Peter Redulovich and hieromonk Lazar Karin.
During lunch, conference organisers sold lottery tickets. The draw took place straight after lunch, with Mark Ganin amusing those present with humorous announcements about the prizes being drawn and delighting those, who were fortunate enough to win.
The first half of the day concluded for conference participants with a trip to the beach. The weather, which left much to be desired as it was, deteriorated further. 
Sunshine was replaced by rain. This, however, didn’t stop the bravest conference participants from taking a dip in the sea.
The second part of the day was no less intense. Conference participants returned by bus to the conference site, dined, heard Mark Ganin’s lecture and watched the film 'Kingdom of Heaven'.
26 December 2005 was the fourth day of the work of the conference. After morning prayers and breakfast, conference participants heard the lectures of V. Rev. Michael Boikov and reader Ivan Jigalin and received answers to anonymous questions. After lunch, everyone was faced with a difficult choice between football and volleyball, basketball and mountain biking, cricket and a swim in the pool. But the flying fox undoubtedly received the greatest interest.
Continuing the second half of the day were workshops. Interest was raised by workshops conducted by nun Virginia Hutchinson on the role of women in orthodox life and Fr Michael Protopopov. Afterwards, all attendees attentively listened to anonymous questions.
After dinner and evening prayers, conference participants heard Fr Michael Protopopov’s lecture, Mankind’s relationship with God. The day ended with a lesson in Serbian dancing, conducted by Marina and Melissa Kozul.
The fifth day of the conference was no less concentrated. It began with morning prayers and breakfast, after which Fr George Lapardin presented his lecture. Conference participants also had the pleasure of hearing a second lecture from Archimandrite Daniel Bambang Dwi Byantoro. 
Historia Events were informative, whilst discussion of lectures was substantive. Any tension or fatigue were helped away with active breaks, conducted by Alexander Brezhnev. Naturally, the heat was no barrier for lovers of sport; aficionados of table tennis and billiard were uncovered.
After a delicious dinner, the attention of conference participants was captured by Historia Events, who presented a musical and literary composition about the family of the last Russian Emperor.
On this day, after a moleben, the icon “Triumph of the Mother of God” continued on its path through parishes of Australia, leaving a permanent trace in the hearts of all conference attendees.
A superb conclusion to the day came from the talent quest. Before the eyes of stern judges – Archbishop Hilarion and Rev Simeon Kichakov – were singers, pianists and comedians. The competition also made use of the achievements of science in the field of computer technology – presentations made in Microsoft PowerPoint came before the judges. The talent quest was conducted by Fr Michael Boikov. His talent as master of ceremonies and jokes told by audience members between acts enlivened the atmosphere. The winners of the concourse were rising stars and the youngest conference participants Katia Boikov and Larissa Lapardin, future comedian Alexei Karipov and the ensemble 'Kalinka'.
Those, who still had strength left – that is, the majority – couldn’t possibly head to sleep without heading to the bonfire and partaking in comical skits.
On this day, as with all the preceding days of the conference, the kiosk was at work. It was possible to buy religious books, icons for cars and souvenirs. Everything that was offered for sale was ordered in advance by the organising committee, whilst behind the counter was the charming salesman Alexander Chumakoff.
28 December 2005 was the final day of the work of the conference. His Grace Archbishop Hilarion noted in his concluding address that the 41st Conference of Russian Orthodox Youth was an undoubted success on the part of parish priest Rev. Simeon Kichakov, the organising committee, the sisterhood and parishioners. Fr Simeon Kichakov thanked sincerely His Grace Archbishop Hilarion, clergy, all conference participants and delivered gifts to clergy. His words of gratitude to the sisterhood were followed by enduring applause on the part of all who were present. The president of the organising committee of the 41st Conference of Russian Orthodox Youth, Terrence Polorotoff, thanked everyone who took part in preparation and execution of the conference and noted that 181 persons took part in the conference.
The final words of the thanksgiving moleben were heard, everyone gladly took up Fr Simeon Kichakov’s offer to donate icon souvenirs to the Orthodox Christians of Indonesia, conference participants received the blessings of Archbishop Hilarion and all reverend fathers and said goodbye to one another until next they meet at the 42nd conference.