December 9, 2009
Youth of the Russian Church Abroad Will Participate In a St Petersburg Symposium 

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and All Russia and His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, registration has commenced for youth of the Church Abroad age 18 and over wishing to participate in a youth symposium to be hosted in St Petersburg, Russia, together with local youth. The theme of the event is “Experiences in the Spiritual Education of Youth,” and will coincide with the Day of Russian Students, which is celebrated on the feast day of St Tatyana, from January 22-26, 2010. Young people from St Petersburg’s seminaries and lay schools will participate in the symposium. Both Russian and English-speaking youth of the Russian Church Abroad are welcome to participate. The event will include visits to Kronstadt and the holy sites of St Petersburg.  

Required of participants will be that they talk to other members of the symposium about the participation of youth abroad in conferences held by the dioceses of the Russian Church Abroad, pilgrimages, summer camps, parish schools, etc, in Russian or English. 

Those wishing to participate must: 

• Send an application to the Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Youth Department: rev.a.sommer@synod.com;
• Provide an essay (approximately 100 words in their native language) on the topic: “Preserving the Orthodox faith and culture in the secular West”;
• Fill out a visa application to Russia in accordance with the requirements of the Russian Consulate in NY in two languages: http://www.ruscon.org/

Space is limited. Applications are due no later than December 21, 2009, and will not be accepted after that date. 

Participants must: 

• Pay for their own round-trip airfare and visa fee;
• Participate in all scheduled events, divine services and trips to the holy sites of St Petersburg;
• Wear attire appropriate for all events.

All questions can be addressed to Archopriest Andrei Sommer, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Youth Department.
Tel.: +1–646–320–7382 (cell)
e-mail: rev.a.sommer@synod.com

www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws