Suprasl, Poland, July 23, 2024
Over 90 youth from 25 countries participated in “Suprasl 2024: A World Gathering of Orthodox Youth,” held at the Suprasl Academy at the Annunciation Monastery between 30 June -8 July 2024.
During the gathering, the attendees explored the theme “It is Time for the Lord to Act: Liturgy and Creation”. Through lectures and practical workshops, students surveyed how the Lord acts in our lives, especially through the Divine Services, and contemplated their own relationship with Jesus Christ through the creation and natural environment.
Suprasl 2024 was organized with the blessing and support of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, in conjunction with OrthNet and the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland. Participants represented ten of the world’s autocephalous Orthodox Churches. Suprasl 2024 was also made possible in large part thanks to a grant from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs under its “Public Diplomacy 2024” grant competition.
“During the third annual World Gathering of Orthodox Youth, students were able to experience the variety of cultures that exist in Poland,” said Aleksander Wasyluk, president of OrthNet (www.orthnet.org), one of this year’s coorganizers. “Among the faithful of the Orthodox Church in Poland you will find Poles who come from Belarussian and Ukrainian roots, and increasingly you can meet in Polish Orthodox Churches faithful from Greek, Georgian and other European cultures as well as many converts to Orthodoxy.”
At the opening of Suprasl 2024, Metropolitan Sawa, through prepared remarks that were sent, welcomed the participants to the Monastery of the Annunciation and encouraged the youth to, “continue [your] strenuous efforts in the field of international cooperation, remembering that the diversity of traditions enriches the common experience of faith, and getting to know each other broadens your mental horizons. During your meeting, do what you can to cultivate the unity of the Orthodox Church.”
“It's been an interesting week meeting Orthodox peers from so many different parts of the world”, said Anastasios Alexakis from the UK. “For example, I had always associated Poland with one Christian denomination but then to see that there is a vibrant Orthodox community here was really surprising to me. Meeting people from Lebanon, Georgia, and the USA and learning how they interact and live out their faith was a truly enriching experience for me.”
In bringing Orthodox young people together from around the world, Suprasl 2024 created an opportunity for young people to taste and celebrate the unity found within the Orthodox Faith regardless of nation, politics or culture.
Speaking about the importance of Suprasl, Fr Heikki Huttunen from Finland said, "Politics presently stifles the relations among our Church hierarchy. Luckily young people are able to meet, listen to each other, build trust and forge friendships, united by our common faith. The inspired persons who prepare and run the [Suprasl] event render great service to Orthodox Christianity worldwide through this initiative.”
Suprasl 2024 benefitted greatly from a group of speakers and workshop leaders who worked for half a year to develop an engaging program. The group included Dr. Elizabeth Theokritoff (UK), Dr. Aleksandra Stevanovic (Serbia), Dr. Ari Koponen (Finland), Fr Nilos Nellis (Canada), Ksenia Medvedeva (Belarus), Fr Dr. Seraphim Makhoul (Lebanon), Fr Vladimir Misijuk (Poland, Mikhail Khotyakov (Germany), Fr Panteleimon (Karczewski) (Poland), and Sisters Theohariti and Theosemni from the Chrysopigi Monastery in Crete.
“This is my second time participating in Suprasl’s World Gathering of Orthodox Youth,” said Sophia Chiriac from Romania. “I am really impressed to see how the event has grown and I appreciated the cohesiveness of the workshops and lectures this year. From Dr Theokritoff’s lectures on the Eucharist and the natural world; to Fr Nilus’ reflections on living a life of gratitude, and Dr Alexandra’s lecture which explored the ways we can negotiate between the pace of the modern world and our need to care for God’s creation, the speakers were not only inspiring but gave me practical tools which I can use in my community.”
Apart from lectures and workshops, the participants were able to visit and experience the richness of Orthodoxy in Poland, through visits to the Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Zwerki, Poland, and the Monasteries of the Great Martyr Catherine and St. Demetrios of Thessaloniki in Zaleszany and Saki respectively. While at the monastery in Saki, a Trisagion service was sung by the Lebanese participants for a Syrian Orthodox refugee who was found on the Belarussian/Polish border in 2022 and who was buried by the monastic brotherhood.
The participants also visited the famous monastery of Ss. Mary and Martha on the Holy Mountain of Grabarka where, following tradition, they added a large hand-painted cross to the forest of thousands of crosses brought to the monastery by believers for the past 300 years.
“These events have a profound impact on us who participate, giving us truly irreplaceable experiences, connections, and memories,” said Simon Herland from Norway. “I did not expect to be so blown away by this. I’ve learned a lot of new perspectives from the talks and gained new friendships that are so firmly rooted in a spiritual bond that they already go deeper than most friendships I have. And I’ve had many authentic experiences that served to inspire my faith in a powerful way.”
A final highlight of the week was the midnight Divine Liturgy in the monastery’s cathedral church. Prior to the Divine Liturgy Fr. Vladimir Misijuk served the Proskomede in the nave of the Church where the participants could witness and participate by verbally offering the names of departed and living faithful to be prayed for. This followed a presentation Fr Vladimir offered earlier in the day on the Proskomede and the silent prayers of the liturgy. “I can’t find the words to express the joy I felt during the Divine Liturgy where we all sang and chanted the responses and hymns in our languages creating a harmony which I have never before experienced,” said Anna Berbati from Albania.
Suprasl is a non-profit organization that acts with the blessing and support of Orthodox hierarchs worldwide but is administratively independent. Its goal is to provide the opportunity for Orthodox youth from around the world to meet and manifest the unity of Christ’s Church. Suprasl’s next activities include a two-day walking pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Grabarka (www.suprasl.org/grabarka) for the feast of the Transfiguration, August 15-20, and a student trip to Cappadocia led by Fr John Behr, January 19 - 26 (www.suprasl.org/seek).
Suprasl 2024 was made possible in large part thanks to a grant from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs under its “Public Diplomacy 2024” grant competition.
Click here to view more photos from Suprasl 2024 https://www.flickr.com/.../suprasl/albums/72177720318750274/
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