2010 St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

This program is given by The Department of Religious Education of our Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. It consists of two levels, the junior and senior division. Children of 7-9 grades are eligible for the junior division and 10-12 for the senior division. All children are encouraged to participate. Participating teenagers have the opportunity to learn, write and speak about their Orthodox Faith, Church and Heritage; to help them cultivate their spiritual growth and maturity and to gain the experience of speaking in front of an audience. Guidance will be given during Sunday school through the Parish Festival committee: Lemonia Miko-Malahias, Maria Boyadjis and Maggie Stavrianidis.

Parish Oratorical Festival Presentations are on Sunday April 11, 2010 12:30pm in the church.

Topics for the Junior Division (Grades 7-9)

1. His all Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew is a champion of the environment. Present some teachings of the Orthodox Church that support environmental protection and explain how it should be practiced today.
2. Icons bring to life the teachings of the Orthodox Faith. In the icon of the Resurrection, Christ is portrayed as lifting up Adam and Eve. Explain the meaning of this representation.
3. “Love and death depend on our neighbor,” according to St. Anthony the Great. Explore and expand on this teaching.
4. St. John of Damascus wrote many hymns for the major feast days of the Church. Tell us about St. John and his contribution to Orthodox hymnography.
5. In the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, we see that the prayer of the Publican was pleasing to God. Discuss the importance of humility in our prayers and in our daily lives.

Topics for the Senior Division (grades 10-12)

1. In Proverbs 12:26, we read, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” What is the Christian understanding of friendship and how do social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace help or hinder true friendship?
2. Psalms are read in all Orthodox worship services. Talk about the significance of Psalm 23 (24 LXX), which begins with the words, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
3. The Annunciation is one of the Major Feast Days of our Church. In her response to the Archangel Gabriel, Mary says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” As an Orthodox Christian, what does her response mean to you?
4. St. John Chrysostom closes his Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans with the following words: “Paul was a human being, sharing the same human nature with us and having everything else in common with us. But because he has shown a great love for Christ, he surpassed heaven and stood with the angels. . . Let us then not only be amazed at and admire him but imitate him.” In what sense can we imitate St. Paul?
5. Aristotle, the great philosopher, in speaking about virtue as a superb human characteristic, calls it heroic and divine in the Nicomachean Ethics, Book 7, and 1145a20. Explain why human virtue is something truly heroic and divine, especially in our days and in our world.

Timeline

• January 24 & 31 2010: Teachers discuss topics choices in Sunday school classes
• February 7: Speaker registration to be submitted to Oratorical committee stating topic selection
• February 14: Go over the research sources with Oratorical committee
• February 21 & 28: Review rough draft with Oratorical committee
• March 7 & 14: Review final draft with Oratorical committee
• March 21: Last date of final draft submission to our pastor Very Reverend Fr Alex via email VrevKile@optonline.net who is going to review and may offer further guidance
• Between March 21 and April 10: Practice for speech delivery can be on Sundays or during the week with the help of the Oratorical Committee Lemonia Miko-Malahias, Maria Boyadjis and Maggie Stavrianidis
• April 11: St George Piscataway Oratorical Festival Presentations will be held in the church at 12:30pm –after the Sunday morning services. All parishioners are invited to attend together with all students of Greek and Sunday school, GOYANs and their parents and grandparents. Two students will be chosen from each level to represent our church to the Regional Oratorical
• April 24: Regional Oratorical Festival presentations: Kimisis of Theotokos Church, Holmdel, NJ
• May 1: Metropolis Oratorical Festival presentations: Holy Trinity Church, Westfield, NJ

For more information go to the Archdiocese website.

Education