St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

Introduced in 1983, the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival provides Greek Orthodox teenagers the opportunity to write and talk about their faith. The Oratorical Festival Program begins at the Parish Level and is divided into two divisions; the Junior Division for students in the 7 ^th to 9 ^th grades and the Senior Division for teenagers in the 10 ^th to 12 ^th grades.

The top speakers in each division advance to the district level and if selected become one of two finalists in their division to represent their district at their Metropolis Oratorical Festival. The top speaker in each division is then selected to participate in the Archdiocese Finals, which is hosted by a different Metropolis each year.

All eighteen finalists at the Archdiocese Finals participate in a weekend of activities, the highlight of which is the delivery of their speeches on Saturday morning. The Oratorical Festival Scholarship Foundation provides college scholarships in the amount of $2000, $1500, and $1000 to the top three speakers in each division. In addition, those finalists who receive a rank of Honorable Mention are awarded a $500 United States Savings Bond.

Fr. John and Presvytera Margaret Orfanakos serve as the Archdiocese Festival Co-Chairs.

• SJCOF Manual (686KB PDF)
• REVISED 2010 Topics, Tips & Bibliography (656KB PDF)
• Direct Archdiocesan District
  
• Metropolis of Atlanta
• Metropolis of Boston
  
• Metropolis of Chicago
• Metropolis of Denver
• Metropolis of Detroit
• Metropolis of New Jersey
  
• Metropolis of Pittsburgh
  
• Metropolis of San Francisco