Orthodox religious instruction: young people from Tyrol at the 9th Pan-Orthodox Youth Meeting in Vienna
Against the background of the 9th Pan-Orthodox Youth Meeting, the †Metropolitan Dr. ARSENIOScardamomthe chairman of the Orthodox Bishops’ Conference in Austria and head of the Orthodox Education Authority, like in the time before Corona, invites all children and young people to celebrate the Divine Liturgy together, to talk about their faith, to experience each other in various workshops, this year’s motto of the event to explore “The Resurrection and Eternal Life” and to spend quality time with other Orthodox youth of different nationalities and their priests and religion teachers in a solemn and friendly setting.
Thanks to the help and tireless work of numerous volunteers, a varied and instructive program was offered to the participants, as in previous years.
Already on Thursday, d. On October 6, 2022, a delegation of ‘Orthodox students’ from Tyrol embarked on a spiritual journey to Vienna on the initiative of Archpriest †Father Emanuel and his assistant, the religion teacher Ms. Stephanie Schäfer, as part of practical lessons. They visited the orthodox graves and memorials of the deceased in the central cemetery in a corresponding ceremony.
The next day, i. 07.10.2022 they visited the Trinity Church of the metropolis of Austria, as well as the Church of Saint George and the Chapel of Saint John Chrysostom.
Afterwards, the metropolitan gave the interested and inquisitive young people an insight into the metropolis during an audience, prayed together with the students, was available for a dialogue and handed each of the visitors small gifts of blessing.
The Tyrolean representatives consisted of orthodox students from 6 schools (the HAK Innsbruck, the BF Wörgl, the BRG Wörgl, the HAK Wörgl, the HLW Kufstein and the HAK Hall iT), which was evident due to the encounter and the particularly warm welcome by His Eminence †Metropolitan Arsenios of Austria of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Exarch of Hungary and Central Europe. The students ended the day after a visit to the “Prater with their Father” and then dinner together in a restaurant with the preparations for the liturgy the next day.
On the following Saturday, October 8th, 2022, after the common liturgy with His Eminence Dr. Arsenios Kardamakis, the priests and religion teachers, and all other participants to a communal lunch. After that, the longer longed-for different workshops and the general celebratory part began with good food and local sounds.
Corresponding contributions to the topic of the Pan-Orthodox Youth Meeting were already being prepared as part of the school lessons. In this context, the pupils from Tyrol created a video film, which could be seen in the workshops.
With many new impressions and experiences, the students from Tyrol were able to expand their knowledge and make new friends because of this lively teaching, which has already been repeated so that they are striving to take part in the next Pan-Orthodox youth meeting again.