The All Saints Anglican Cathedral hosted a special service on Saturday for The Reverend Wally Cox and The Reverend Andrew Thornhill, who were both ordained as priests.

Both were ordained as deacons last December, with the former currently serving in the Blayney parish and the latter currently at the Coonabarabran parish.

A number of Sydney residents were unable to attend the service due to COVID-19 regulations, however, both priests were able to have their families in attendance.

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Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst, The Right Reverend Mark Calder, spoke to both the newly ordained priests in a sermon on Saturday.

He encouraged both Wally Cox and Andrew Thornhill to humbly serve their church communities and to continue preaching the good news of Jesus without apology.

"Godly leaders are servants and we should see see them that way and they should see themselves that way," he said.

"Leaders who, despite the cost to themselves, consistently point you to Jesus, those are the leaders we need today. Those who preach Christ crucified without apology."

On Friday evening, the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst held Mass at the Cathedral of St Michael and St John, as both Diep Quang Nguyen and Thao Van Nguyen were ordained as deacons.

Diep Quang Nguyen will continue serving in his role at the Cathedral, as well as the chaplain at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, while Thao Van Nguyen will continue discipling in the Lithgow parish.

Only 150 people were able to attend, with COVID-19 regulations restricting numbers, which also prevented congregational singing.

"Thao and Diep are being given specific roles in the church, that of deacons," Bishop Michael McKenna said to the congregation.

"In that role as a minister of the gospel and later on in their ministry as parish priests, that will be part of their service to church, to help people, to hear and understand what God wants from them in the church.

"It's a sometimes forgotten part of the ordained, that it's up to us to not sit around and wait for volunteers but to get to know people and get to know what gift they can bring to the church."

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