Hellenic Orthodox Traditionalist Church of America
HOLY METROPOLIS OF THE GENUINE
GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF AMERICA
ΙΕΡΑ ΜHΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΣ Γ.Ο.Χ. ΑΜΕΡΙΚΗΣ
ΠΑΤΡΙΟΝ ΕΟΡΤΟΛΟΓΙΟΝ
NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF SPIRITUAL EDUCATION & DEVELOPMENT
22-68 26th Street, Astoria, N.Y. 11105
Tel: (718) 932-1592 * Fax: (718) 777-0596 * E-mail: Smyrna1922@aol.com
December 15, 2008
Your Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos, Your Grace Bishop Christodoulos, Honorable Clergy,
Eulogeite.
Dear Esteemed Members of the Holy Metropolis Greek Orthodox Church of America,
It is with great joy that I announce to you the winners of the first Metropolitan Youth Project Contest of our Diocese on St. Demetrios of Thessaloniki. Before I announce the names, I would like to briefly describe the essence and goals of the project.
The contest was open to youth of all ages, ranging from the Elementary School level all the way to College. The project revolved around learning about the life of St. Demetrios, discussing the significance of his martyrdom, and encouraging the youth to follow in his footsteps- that is, to leave behind worldly passions and to be a witness to Christ in a world where Christians are often ridiculed and persecuted.
Needless to say, our expectations for the responsiveness of the youth of our Metropolis were greatly exceeded. We had entries from throughout the Diocese, and they were all magnificent to say the least. But the real achievement of our project was the participation of the youth in the feast of the saint and in the spiritual feast of the Divine Eucharist. In many parishes, the youth prepared themselves to receive Holy Communion on the feast of St. Demetrios.
There was not one single entry that made the next entry easier to score. As His Grace Bishop Christodoulos put it, “As far as I’m concerned, they are all winners!” However, there were three entries that stood out and went a step beyond the suggested criteria.
The winning entry of the Elementary School level St. Demetrios Biographical Icon belongs to the Youth of St. Maximos the Confessor Parish of Owego, NY!
The winning entry of the Grades 7-10 St. Demetrios Essay Contest is by Athanasios Tsorvas from St. Spyridon Parish of St. Clair Shores, MI!
The winning entry of the Grades 11-College St. Demetrios Essay Contest is the combined effort of Maria Nikolopoulos and Elias Votzakis from The Dormition of the Holy Theotokos Parish of Clearwater, FL!
Honorable mentioning for all of the runners up belongs to:
Sophia Gilstrap of St. James the Apostle Parish in Owasso, Oklahoma for the Grades 7-10 Essay;
Xenia Pittos of St. John the Forerunner Parish in Willow Springs, Illinois for the Grades 7-10 Essay;
Keziah Gehring of St. Maximos the Confessor Parish in Owego, New York for the Grades 7-10 Essay;
Maria Varitimidis of The Dormition of the Holy Theotokos Parish in Clearwater, FL for the Grades 7-10 Essay;
The Youth of St. Spyridon Parish in St. Clair Shores, Michigan for their Icon entries;
The Youth of St. John the Forerunner Parish in Willow Springs, Illinois for their Icon entries.
The winners will be receiving their prizes in the mail within the next weeks.
On behalf of the National Committee of Spiritual Education and Development, I commend each participating parish for their exceptional effort in making this, our first Diocesanwide learning experience, ground breaking, exemplary, and spiritually inspiring for all of us. To the three winning entries, congratulations on your efforts and creativity! You have done a wonderful thing for your Parish’s youth organization, and we hope you use this experience to motivate others through your example.
We would like to thank His Grace Bishop Christodoulos, Father Steven Allen, and Father Savvas Anastasiou for being our wonderful judges, and also to Sister Irene from St. Syncletike Monastery in Farmingdale, New York. Their feedback and guidance through this has been very helpful and much appreciated.
Thanks to all the Parish Priests, Sunday School Teachers, Catechists, and Youth Advisors who supported and worked with the participants, and for all their hard work and flexibility to incorporate this worthwhile endeavor into their Parish’s Sunday School and Catechism Programs given the relatively short notice.
Most importantly, thanks to all the participants who keep proving over and over again, that Orthodoxy truly lives inside them. Thank you so much for making all of the Spiritual Education Committee’s efforts rewarding many times over. It’s because of you that we are able to develop new and exciting activities. It’s because of you that we have motivation to launch programs such as the 2009 Youth Summer Camp, Habitat for Humanity, our Homeless Programs, and our awesome Youth Conferences year after year. Keep up the unbelievable job that you are all doing!! You make us all very, very proud!
The next Project Contest, as many of you know, will be launched shortly after Theophania. The topic will target Great Lent and St. Mary of Egypt. Stay tuned for more details.
The winning entries will be posted within the next couple days on the Metropolis Website: www.thegreekorthodoxchurch.us, so feel free to periodically drop in and check them out!
Once again I thank everyone who collectively made The St. Demetrios Project/Essay Contest an overwhelming success! This is just a small example of what the extremely talented youth of our Diocese can do if they put their minds to it. I look forward to personally congratulating the winners at the 2009 Youth Conference in New York City on Columbus Day Weekend, October 9-12.
Your Eminence, Your Grace, Fathers,
Eulogeite,
In Christ,
Despina Avgoustis
Director of the Committee of Spiritual Education
