We are the Saint Ephrem Chaldean Missionary whose motto is as Pope Francis said: (O family, live the
joy of faith), it is a small church belonging to the Chaldean Archdiocese of Saint Thomas in Australia and
New Zealand The current priest of this church is, Father Sand Basil and and we are located in South
Melbourne, Australia. Our church encompasses a number of believers and we are made up of a
committee, choir, and catechism staff. All the families of the mission are working hard to achieve or
establish an independent church so that this mission will become a parish in the future.
If there is any question, why this church is called a “Missionary” and not “Parish” it is because we still
don’t have a permanent place to call our own. Currently when we come together to perform our regular
church activities, we have had to do so in a rented Latin Cathloic Church.
The families of this church mainly came from Iraq who have immigrated over the past twenty-five years
due to the Gulf War and the economic blockade. Within the boundaries of this mission there are 200
families or perhaps more. Their residential areas are divided into three main areas: Oakleigh – Rowville –
Clyde, the largest proportion of which live in the far south.
Since 1996, during the previous period, the mission was affiliated to our lady guardian of plants Chaldean
catholic church in North Melbourne under the umbrella of the Mother Church and under the complete
supervision of the parish priests, they used to come once a month to hold the Mass at Sacred Heart
Catholic Church in Oakleigh area in addition to the rituals of other occasions according to ability, due to
the small community and the location.
Slowly, due to the need for more from the church and with the efforts of the families in the mission, the
request was made to extend the Mass to twice a month, and also a missionary committee was
established to take care of the affairs of the parish in south Melbourne, and also provide the church
activities that had not existed before. This began with creating the church choir and the wonderful
melodies that they were keen to present on every occasion, and even presenting evenings of hymns on
various occasions to the Christian Education School. Which focused on teaching our children the lessons
of their faith, and until we began training the first course of the first holy communion in the South. There
was also a lady’s group, which was interested in cultural, social, recreational and charitable activities. In
addition to that, the believers were keen to build one family among its members through many social
activities that included parties, trips and various meetings aimed at building relationships within the
members of the same family.
This small seed, which was the smallest among all the seeds, began to grow with the care, cooperation
and love of the parishioners and with the support of our lady guardian of plants church, which required
coordination between the two churches, and for this reason, Deacon Laith Affan was appointed in 2013
by the parish priest , Father Kamal Bedaweed, as the supervisor of all our activities, and at this occasion,
we can only give him all thanks and appreciation for his efforts and his full interest in attending once or
twice a week despite the distance to participate in all activities from lectures to hours of prostration to the
Way of the Cross and the service of the Mass in addition to his supervision Mission Board Meetings.
We were, in fact, walking towards Jesus with the steps of a child who loved his first steps, and we were
only missing the presence of a permanent priest to lead our steps forward, and the urgent need for
someone to play this role appeared. Despite all the challenges of not having a priest or a permanent
place, our confidence did not diminish and our prayers did not stop, that this day will come, and the Lord
will send us this jealous shepherd whom we have been waiting for, believing in the words of the Gospel:
“Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has pleased to give you the kingdom.”
Finally, this day has come, and God answered our prayers, when our mother church gave us good news
for the appointment of a priest for our church in the south. As if God was the one who prepared us for this
big day.

Thus, in the presence of our bishop, Mar Emile Nona, who came personally from Sydney with our new
priest, Father, Sand Basil, who came from Iraq to present him personally and to present his first mass on
Sunday 28/08/2016
And this was the beginning at south Melbourne with Father Sand who is working very hard and making
every effort to work on this community with firm bases on Christian faith and love. Thus the fruits began
to multiply and the Holy Spirit completes his work in this community, which we witnessed as others
touched a remarkable progress in the presence of our priest through the increase of committed families
who have longed for many years to see our priest soon to complete all the needs of the parish and gather
the believers of our church scattered to the ends of the earth despite many challenges and the instability
of our priests to live in a specific place, as we had difficulty holding masses every Sunday in a different
church.
During the period of Great Lent, specifically on Friday 10/03/2017, the Bishop surprised us with a visit and
joy to announce the establishment of our mission in the name of Saint Ephrem as an official and
independent mission that enjoys all the rights of the parish, and Father Sand Basil (the sponsor, and
director of this mission) was appointed then the tears of joy mixed with chants, and here we felt that we
although we are a small community and although we are at the end of the world, God did not forget his
children, of the Church wherever they are, and this what gives us joy and motivation every day for more
work. As a group, we began to work hand in hand with our priest, each according to his ability and
position, to establish a strong and successful mission that carries the name of a mighty saint. Saint
Ephrem, and we are all like mosaics together to form a wonderful and beautiful painting whose inspiration
is the Holy Spirit and whose heroes are us.
This was hard at the beginning, but the fruits of its sweetness were in reuniting the parish with the effort
of our proud priests, the Father Sand Basil, after great effort and patience and the assistance of the
brothers in the Mission committees in coordination with more than one Latin Church in order to ensure the
stability and participation of the parish in the Mass of the Chaldean rite every Sunday, and also to provide
a place for students of catechism and other pastoral and social activities according to the time available in
these churches.
Below is a list of these churches;
1. Sacred Heart – Oakleigh VIC 316
2. Christ our Holy Redeemer – Huntingdale VIC 3166
3. St. Mary Magdalen’s – Chadstone VIC 3148
4. St. Catherine’s Parish – Moorabbin VIC 3189
5. St. Paul’s Parish – Bentleigh VIC 3204
6. St. Anthony’s Parish – Noble Park VIC 3174
7. St John Vianney Parish -Mulgrave VIC 3170
This situation continued until 05/01/2019 when Fr Sand has decided to choose St Mary’s catholic church
Dandenong to carry out all our activities, we also found that this church is suitable and geographically
close to most of the Chaldean community in south Melbourne. It is about 20-35 minutes away from these
families.

Currently, although we do not have a church, we are with our priest representing the Church, despite the
difficulties and challenges we face every day to find a church for every activity and occasion, but we are
keen to continue to follow our priest wherever he walks with joy and love, believing in God who answered
our prayers and sent us a priest to lead our ship, with the same Confidence We continue our prayer to
see a day soon, , so that we continue to witness to Jesus from this part of the earth to spread the love,

and light of Christ in our midst and our surroundings as we go to achieve this with the confidence of the
believers .
Missionary Official Emblem
– The top section (the triangle) represents the mountain the place of God’s presence in the world and the
home of our saints, martyrs, and ancestors.
– In the middle of this mountain is engraved with the Levantine cross, an indication of the Christian faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ.
– With the power of this Redeemer Cross, God gives us His Holy Spirit in the form of a dove symbolizing
the peace and hope for the world.
– The seven strings represent the seven mysteries given to us by the Holy Spirit. It also represents the
harp because the title of Saint Ephrem is the harp of the Holy Spirit, because of his prayers and hymns
composed with ritual melodies.
– The heart represents the Australian continent in which we live, this country full of love and peace. The
stars represent the state symbol of Victoria.
– Letter A (A) represents the first letter of the Chaldean language and the first letter of the name Saint
Ephrem, from here the beginning and the language of tomorrow.
-The letter M (M) represents the first letter of the name and the position of the Virgin Mary in our hearts,
especially in the heart of Saint Ephrem, because of her great position in his prayers and wonderful songs.
– The chosen colours (maroon and blue) represent the colours, the Imposition Book of the Chaldean
Church of the East..