Archbishop Demetrios of America with Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago and the group of the Oratorical Festival participants

MINNEAPOLIS – The 26th St. John Chrysostom Archdiocese Oratorical Festival was hosted jointly by the two parishes of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis and St. George, in St. Paul on the weekend of June 12-14.

“You are not simply the future but you are the present,” said Archbishop Demetrios of America, as he addressed the youth participants of this prestigious annual youth event. The Archbishop praised “the exceptional quality of all the speeches” and said he enjoyed listening to all of them. Archbishop Demetrios announced that each participant would receive a cash award from FAITH: An Endowment For Orthodoxy and Hellenism, and along with Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago and Dr. Anton Vrame, director of the Department of Religious Education presented the awards. The participants were extremely grateful to the Archbishop for the generous award, whereby he added he hoped they would “use it towards pursuing academic studies.”

Receiving first place honors in the Junior Division (grades 7-9) and a $2000 college scholarship was Arianna Aram from SS. Constantine and Helen Church in Cardiff by-the Sea, Calif., in the San Francisco Metropolis; second place and a $1500 college scholarship went to Athanasia Kourtis from St. Demetrios Church in Weston, Mass., in the Boston Metropolis and third place and a $1000 college scholarship was awarded to Anastasia Zavitsanos from the Annunciation Cathedral in Houston, Texas, in the Denver Metropolis.  Those receiving Honorable Mention recognition and a $500 US Savings Bond were from the: Direct Archdiocesan District – Demetra Skenderis, Holy Trinity Church, Bridgeport, Conn.; Atlanta Metropolis – Elias Selimos, St. Demetrios Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Chicago Metropolis – Jannika Papas Heide, Assumption Church, Madison, Wis.; Detroit Metropolis – Despina Wilson, Panagia Pantovasilissa, Lexington, Ky.; New Jersey Metropolis – Stephanie Orfanakos, St. Nicholas, SS. Constantine and Helen Church, Orange, N.J., and from the Pittsburgh Metropolis – Spyros Staikos, Annunciation Church, Lancaster, Pa.

Receiving first place honors in the Senior Division (grades 10-12) and a $2000 college scholarship was Niko Moustakis from the St. George Church in Clifton, N.J., in the New Jersey Metropolis; second place and a $1500 college scholarship was awarded to Megan Dolan from St. Sophia Church in San Antonio, Texas in the Denver Metropolis and a $1000 college scholarship was given to Jennifer Cokotis from St. Luke Church in East Longmeadow, Mass., in the Boston Metropolis.  Honorable Mention and a $500 US Savings Bond was awarded to: the following from the: Direct Archdiocesan District – Katerina Johnson, St. Nicholas Shrine Church, Flushing, N.Y.; Atlanta Metropolis – James Carras, St. Demetrios Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Chicago Metropolis – Maria Tsikalas, St. Nicholas Church, St. Louis, Mo.; Detroit Metropolis – Thomas Bajis, Assumption Church, St. Clair Shores, Mich.; Pittsburgh Metropolis – Emmanuel Maginas, Dormition of the Theotokos, Aliquippa, Pa., and from the San Francisco Metropolis, George Eliades, Nativity of Christ Church, Novato, Calif.

The Oratorical Festival has grown in its enthusiasm; this is the first time that so many relatives and friends accompanied the eighteen finalists for the weekend. The local Host Committee under the co-chairmanship of the Rev. Paul Paris and the Rev. Richard Demetrius Andrews worked tirelessly to assure that the weekend would be perfect. After the finalists and their families arrived at their hotel in Minneapolis, a Paraklesis Service was held at St. Mary’s Church.  A get acquainted dinner and social immediately followed.  On early Saturday morning two buses brought everyone to the nearby St. George Church in St. Paul, which soon filled to capacity. After the opening prayer by Archbishop Demetrios and a welcome by Fr. Andrews the finalists were introduced by number and their topic and approached the microphone to deliver their thought provoking and inspiring speeches. The two panels of judges were faced with the challenging task of selecting the top three speakers in each division.

“I thought of my participation and my speech as just part of the competition. Yet when I delivered it in the church, I felt as though the whole world was listening and taking it to heart,” said one of the finalists afterwards.

Following the awards luncheon, the participants and their families and friends were given a brief tour of Minneapolis and then boarded a paddleboat for a cruise along the Mississippi River. Underwritten by a generous donation by “The Spell Family Foundation,” the boat cruised the Mississippi and stopped underneath the reconstructed Interstate 35-W Bridge, which collapsed last year, where Archbishop Demetrios offered memorial prayers for the victims of that tragedy. 

On Sunday morning, Archbishop Demetrios celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. Mary’s Church in Minneapolis. He then invited the winners of the two divisions, Arianna Aram and Niko Moutakis to deliver their speeches to the entire congregation who applauded their presentations.

The St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, a program of the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese encourages and motivates teenagers to speak about their faith and, at the same time, develop their communication skills. Although Fr. John and Presvytera Margaret Orfanakos serve as Archdiocese Co-Chairmen, there are countless others whose efforts each year enable the Oratorical Festival to flourish.  For information about the Oratorical Festival contact Anton C. Vrame, tel.: 800 566-1088 or tvrame@goarch.org

Speeches of all metropolis finalists are being posted on the webpage of the Department of Religious Education www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/religioused/