The Saint John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, started by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Religious Education in 1983, is an incredible opportunity for our Greek Orthodox children and teenagers to think about, research, write and speak publicly about their faith. We all know that public speaking is a valuable skill. Through this Festival, the Church provides a supportive and nurturing environment for our young people to become confident public speakers, and simultaneously be given the opportunity to learn about their faith!
New Divisions: Poetry and Essays!
This year, two new divisions are being added to the Festival: poetry and essays. This means that Junior and Senior Division participants will be able to prepare a poem or write an essay on one of the topics in the speaking division of the Festival.
Every community should host a parish festival and parishes should encourage their young people to write a speech, or a poem, or an essay. It is hoped that through this festival our young people will have another opportunity to learn about their Orthodox Christian Faith and Way of Life while they prepare and deliver their presentations.
A new manual is being prepared with all the extra rules and procedures. The Archdiocese program is being modeled largely after the essay and poetry divisions of the Metropolis of Chicago, which has included these areas in its Oratorical and Arts Festival for many years, with great success.
As a Church we are deeply concerned about the religious education of our young people. The Oratorical Festival provides this opportunity par excellence. Therefore, each and every community should embrace the Festival for the benefit of our youth. Packets of information will be sent to all communities to assist in organizing parish festivals.
For topics and the 2014 Manual and Supporting Information about the Festival, visit the Oratorical Festival website.
Promotional Flyer
Please download the promotional flyer here. If you would like this personalized for your parish, please send an email to Eve Tibbs at religioused@sanfran.goarch.org, or Paul Gikas at pgikas@sanfran.goarch.org.