What is the World Day of Orthodox Youth?

The proposal for a World Day of Orthodox Youth was made by an international group of young people gathered in Moscow in June 1992, and has received the blessing of all the Heads of the other local Orthodox Churches. Orthodox youth around the world are therefore urged to implement this celebration through concrete and appropriate activities in their own country. For the Orthodox Church in America the World Day of Orthodox Youth kicks off an entire month dedicated to youth.

What does the Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple have to do with youth?

The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord is one of the instances in the Holy Tradition of the Church that brings forth youth and childhood as an image and vessel of God’s presence and of his renewing Grace. Christ the newborn baby fulfils the purpose of the Law and the proclamation of the prophets. St. Simeon and St. Anna show us the way in which we can receive Him. Having seen salvation, we are sent forth in peace, and we are called to give thanks to the Lord and to speak of His coming. God’s Kingdom is near, it comes to us in the Divine-human person of Christ, the new born child, who renews and rejuvenates our life every day. This is what youth ministry in the Church is always called to be: an invitation to meet the Lord and be changed by this Meeting, and here indeed the youth movement identifies with the liturgical life of the Church and Her pastoral service as a whole.