Warsaw, February 3, 2023
Orthodox youth in Poland, summer 2022
Over 300 Orthodox youth will gather at Warsaw’s St John Climacus Church from February 10-12, 2023 to celebrate the World Day of Orthodox Youth. The Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland, in cooperation with Suprasl, A World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth, and with the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa, will host a weekend celebration of worship, fellowship and discussion on the theme, “For where two or three are gathered in my name there I am among them” Mt 18:20.
“We are very excited to be able to welcome so many Orthodox youth from around Europe. During these challenging times of war and discord in society and even in the church, the coming together of 300 youth from so many different churches is a cause for joy and celebration,” said Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak, Director of Suprasl. “The World Day of Orthodox Youth has been celebrated in conjunction with the feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple (February 2/15) since the early 1990’s, but this is the first time in many years that such a large and diverse group will come together for the celebration.”
Participants for this year’s celebration will come from 15 countries throughout Europe and North America and represent 12 of the world’s autocephalous and autonomous Churches. The program will begin on Friday evening with a campfire and a cultural evening celebrating the diversity of Orthodox culture including a concert by a choir from Georgia.
On Saturday the youth will participate in activities designed to integrate and build bonds between them. In the afternoon an open questions and answer session will be held by a panel of clergy from Poland, Germany and the United States to be followed by small group discussions and Vespers. On Sunday participants will travel to Warsaw’s Hagia Sophia Church for the Divine Liturgy.
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The Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland is the official youth association of the Orthodox Church in Poland. Suprasl, A World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth is an association which seeks to network youth from around the world through youth festivals, pilgrimages and leadership training courses. It was founded in the Summer of 2022 following the success of Suprasl 2022: A World Gathering of Orthodox youth which was held at the Monastery of the Annunciation in Suprasl, Poland.
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