St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival
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It's time to begin preparing for the 2012 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival! Download the Topics, Tips, and Resources or just the Topic List. (For Junior Division topic #5, check out our new article by Fr. Andrew George, "Parents, Speak Up! Honoring Sunday.")
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 three divisions:
- Elementary Division (local festival only) for students in grades 4–6
- Junior Division for students in grades 7–9
- Senior Division for student in grades 10–12.
The top speakers in the Junior and Senior Divisions advance to the district level. Two finalists in each district division represent the district at the Metropolis Oratorical Festival. The top speaker in each metropolis 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 $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000 to the top three speakers in each division. In addition, those finalists who receive a rank of Honorable Mention are awarded a $500 U.S. Savings Bond.
Fr. John and Presvytera Margaret Orfanakos serve as the Archdiocese Festival Co-Chairs.
In 2011, the National Oratorical Festival was hosted by the Metropolis of Denver at the Annunciation Cathedral in Houston, Texas. It was held June 10–12. Read the top speeches and see pictures from the festival on page 10 of the July/August 2011 issue of the Orthodox Observer.
In 2010, the National Oratorical Festival was hosted by the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York in June. Read the top speeches (as published in the Orthodox Observer) and see pictures from the festival.
Purpose & Structure of the SJCOF
Preparing for a Local Oratorical Festival
Hellenic College Finalist Scholarship Form
2012 Information for Parish Festival Chairs
