With the blessing of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Metropolis of New Jersey Delaware Valley Youth Commission hosted its annual Religious Education Seminar at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday, October 29, 2022.
This year, Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod and Director of the Department of Religious Education (DRE) was asked to give the keynote spiritual talk and to provide an update on the DRE. Bishop Athenagoras addressed many catechists and youth workers from New Jersey, Delaware Valley, and Maryland parishes and was welcomed with great joy.
Bishop Athenagoras’ soul-filling spiritual talk was about How To Teach How To Pray. It was a step-by-step interactive session on the importance of the Jesus Prayer and the different stages of prayer. Participants were gifted with a prayer rope (komboskini) and a prayer card from the Archdiocese’s official online store, Orthodox Marketplace, to use during the guided session. The catechists and youth workers learned how to practice this prayer in their daily lives effectively and how to teach the stages of prayer as part of their curriculum for Sunday School and youth gatherings. During the afternoon session, Bishop Athenagoras provided an update about the comprehensive work the DRE has accomplished this past year, followed by an engaging question & answer session with participants. The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive from both a personal and religious educator perspective.
Bishop Athenagoras conveyed Archbishop Elpidophoros’ blessings to all. He graciously thanked Bishop Apostolos of Medeia, Chancellor of New Jersey Fr. Christophoros Oikonomidis, Fr. Philemon Patitsas, the parish of Holy Trinity Church for organizing and hosting the Seminar and luncheon, and everyone who attended.
Photo Credit: Stelios Lambrou
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
