Source: SUPRASL
Dear Friends,
In 1992, at the request of Syndesmos, His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew established the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple as The World Day of Orthodox Youth. Since 1993 young Orthodox Christians around the world have celebrated their unity in Christ and Orthodox communities have celebrated the significant role youth have in the Church on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord.
Unfortunately, it has been many years since the World Day of Orthodox Youth has been celebrated universally. To aid in reviving this important celebration we have produced resources for the World Day which you can find here: www.suprasl.org/worldday. You can also download a poster and a bulletin insert here.
We hope you will take a moment to watch and share the video below from one of our volunteers in Uganda. Please consider joining with Orthodox youth all around the world in highlighting the ministry of youth in the Church on February 2nd (15th old style) by sharing photos or videos of your celebrations on social media with the hashtag #wdoy2024.
With love in Christ,
Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak
Director, Suprasl
www.suprasl.org
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings from Albania!
As we all rejoiced in the Celebration of our Lord’s Nativity, as one Holy and Apostolic Church we continue walking with Christ on the feast of His entrance into the Temple. Initiated in 1992, the feast of the Meeting of the Lord has been celebrated since 1993 as the World Day of Orthodox Youth, which calls all Orthodox around the world to celebrate the significant role of young people in our Church.
Celebrations like these ought to be celebrated widely throughout all our Orthodox Communities, and serve not only as a reminder of the dynamic value and potential of the youth, but also to incite all of us to zealously offer ourselves to Christ and His Church, as the Apostle Peter urges, with “whatever gift we have received, to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).
Even though we come from different lands, cultures and mindsets, the love of Christ unceasingly calls and unites us all into the same purpose and journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven. Here lies the beauty of our Faith. Divided as we are physically, we come together in the Holy Eucharist; we pray for each other, therefore none of us is ever alone and isolated, but an active member of the Body of Christ, in an everlasting bond.
To serve this purpose, Suprasl – A World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth, was created to bring together Orthodox young adults from all over the world, to help us understand one another a bit more, to learn from each other and pray together, as the Lord commanded, “to be one”. I would like to invite you to encourage the youth in your parish or your youth group to celebrate this day and the blessings of brotherhood in Christ that have been given to us!
Suprasl has created a special website dedicated to this day which you can find here: www.suprasl.org/worldday where you can download resources to promote the celebration in your community. I hope you will join us.
With love in Christ,
Anna Berbati, Tirana, Albania
Member Suprasl Board of Directors