Oratorical

Attention Orthodox Christian Teens:
It’s YOUR Turn to Speak Out

Sign up for the Oratorical Festival.
Speak your mind about your Faith at your Diocesan Parish Life Conference.

 

Here’s What You’ll Need:

Rules

Sample Judging Sheets

Oratorical Manual

Sample Resume, Permission Slip

Keep in the mind the Conference/Convention Theme: “Be mindful, O Lord, of those who bear fruit and do good works in thy holy Churches, and who remember the poor.”
(From the Anaphora of Sts John Chrysostom and Basil the Great – “Red” Service Book of the Antiochian Archdiocese p. 116 and p.139-141. From the Liturgikon 292 and 293-296)

Explore what it means to bear fruit and to do good works in the Church, as well as how and why, as an Orthodox Christian, you and other members of the Church should care for the poor.
As a help in developing your Oration you might want to consider and focus on:

Concerning Bearing Fruit

  • What benefits have you received from the fruits and good works of others in the Orthodox Church and what impact this has had on you, your family, and other young people?
  • Share an experience of bearing fruit which you feel has impacted your spiritual life.o What gifts by God have you been given to minister to others?
  • What impact does bearing fruit have on you and your community?
  • How can someone in your position as a teen influence others to bear fruit?

Concerning the Poor and Needy

  • Interpret the word “poor” as an Orthodox Christian as stated in the prayers of the Anaphors of Sts. Basil and John Chrysostom.
  • How does helping people who are less fortunate than us bring us closer to God?
  • What does Jesus and the Church Fathers say concerning helping the poor and who do they define as the poor?
  • How can we use the sayings from our Lord Jesus Christ and the Church Fathers, concerning the poor, in our daily lives and ministry to others?
  • Consider that the accent on this prayer is on God helping the people who help the poor.

You should consider what

  • The Anaphoras of the Liturgies St John Chrysostom and St Basil have to say about these questions.
  • The New Testament teaches.
  • The Fathers of the Church have written.
  • What others have taught you on these matters.
  • What you think.
  • What your experience has taught you.

Consider:

  • That a living tree bears fruit; if we are “alive in Christ,” we bear fruit.
  • What the parable of the vine and branches teaches us, John 15:1-8.
  • That the accent on this prayer is on God helping the people who help the poor.
  • That the “Church” is the body of Christ, not just the church building.

Click here for more information about your Diocesan Parish Life Conference.

The Deadline for Entries: Two Weeks before each PLC, so get started today.

Don’t be shy.
Just get up and express Orthodox Christianity, the Eternal Faith.
You’ll be glad you did—and so will we.