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PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

Archbishop Spyridon Addresses Over 1,000 Participants in New York and New Jersey Youth Rallies

NEW YORK.- His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon presided over the New York Archdiocesan District Youth Lenten Retreat at the Holy Trinity Church in New Rochelle, and the New Jersey State Youth Commission GOYA retreat at the St. John the Theologian Cathedral in Tenafly, NJ., both held on Saturday, March 14, 1998. His Eminence addressed the members of the GOYA with the themes: “Evaluating our Attitudes based on the Beatitudes” and “Commitment to Purity: Mind, Body & Soul.”

Young people, youth workers and clergy from 25 Communities of the New York Archdiocesan District and 17 communities from the northern districts of the Diocese of New Jersey were represented. In both settings, His Eminence welcomed a variety of questions from the participants, including the relationship between Orthodoxy and the Catholic Church. At the Diocese of New Jersey retreat, His Eminence was able to visit every workshop and have open dialogue with the participants. The GOYANS and organizers of the retreats were grateful for the opportunity to share their Lenten journey with the Archbishop, and were thankful for his leadership at the youth rallies.

In addition, at the end of the retreats, every priest and youth director present was offered a resource handbook prepared by the youth office which contains suggested discussion sessions and activities with the purpose of reinforcing the theme of the retreat.

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