Vladimir Misijuk, Secertary General 
                Board of Administration Report

    This is the third SYNDESMOS General Assembly held in this country and the second one held at this place. Several young Orthodox Finns had helped to establish the Fellowship, and the Orthodox Church in Finland with her youth organisations hosted the SYNDESMOS General Secretariat for 13 years. Four Finns were in charge of the Fellowship as its President and General Secretaries.
    The XV General Assembly of SYNDESMOS held at Kykkou Monastery, Cyprus in 1995, through revisions and amendments to the SYNDESMOS Constitution, initiated substantial changes to the working structures and to the executive administration of the Fellowship.
    These changes were a reflection of developments and initiatives from the early 1990s. They were also the necessary consequences of the rapid and remarkable growth of the Fellowship during the previous triennium. In 1992, the SYNDESMOS XIV General Assembly in Moscow accepted 26 and the last one in Cyprus another 44 new member organisations and theological schools from 23 countries throughout the world. The sudden growth of the number of members was accompanied by a dramatically increased number of projects.
    Fifteen organisations will be proposed to the General Assembly to be accepted as new members. The Board has intentionally not encouraged an uncontrolled increase in membership. Our term of office also saw an increased number of publications and a widening of the circulation of SYNDESMOS News. The Fellowship's Newsletter is sent free of charge to almost 4000 addresses. Another 1000 copies are distributed gratis at SYNDESMOS events by the Regional Representatives and the staff.
    All of these enterprises occurred under considerably difficult circumstances. The newly elected Board of Administration had only two officers who had been members of the previous Executive Committee and who could therefore provide the secure continuity of work required by the SYNDESMOS Constitution. This same Board had to deal with the unprecedented, substantial and crucially important structural changes in the life of the Fellowship. The expanded number of SYNDESMOS events were co-ordinated from the new location of the General Secretariat which at the end of 1995 was transferred from Paris, France to Bialystok, Poland. Compared with the 28 major projects implemented in the period 1992 -1995, 47 have been run during the passing quadrennium.
    This quadrennium constituted a kind of a test run for the amendments in the Constitution and for all of the structural changes. Some of them were, indeed, improvements. They were necessary reactions to continuing changes and challenges. Still, there is much to be done in the thorough and practical implementation of the structural modifications stipulated by the Constitution.   
  
WORKING STRUCTURES. Following the rapid increase in the number of SYNDESMOS members and the decisions of the XV General Assembly, all of the Fellowship's member movements were assigned to one of ten different SYNDESMOS Regions.
    Because of the enormous difficulties in maintaining close contacts with all of the members from the General Secretariat, the elected regional representatives were expected to compensate by providing facilities for close interaction within their regions as well as with other regions, the Board and the General Secretariat. It has not been easy for all of the Board members to communicate with one another and with the General Secretariat. Gradually this has been improving with the more frequent use of e-mail facilities.

Plenary session of the General Assembly

The new constitutional and practical responsibilities and functions of the representatives had never been "tested" by the time of the previous Assembly; hence their extent was not fully understood by the delegates of the SYNDESMOS members.
    Inevitably, this led to certain complications in communication and co-operation among the Board members, the General Secretariat and the Fellowship's members. Of necessity the Board has used its constitutional rights and obligations to replace its members who did not meet expectations.
    Moreover, two Board members had become bishops and their new pastoral responsibilities did not allow them to continue their work for SYNDESMOS. With respect to the replacement of regional representatives, the regional member organisations followed the newly-established procedure of nominating and electing their new representatives. However, the Board replaces vice-presidents from among its own members.
    The SYNDESMOS Executive Committee met twice each year, once independently and once prior to the meetings of the whole Board. All of the Executive Committee and Board of Administration meetings involved encounters with Patriarchs and leading Orthodox hierarchs. The first Board meeting took place at the General Secretariat in Bialystok, Poland, and the ceremony of the blessing of the Secretariat was led by Archbishop Sawa, currently Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in Poland. Subsequent Board meetings took place in Beirut and Damascus, Constantinople and Moscow. The Board was received by their Holinesses Ignatius IV of Antioch, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and All Russia. Moreover, His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited and blessed the new location of the General Secretariat during his stay as guest of the Orthodox Church in Poland in 1998. The Board members and the staff of the General Secretariat have also enjoyed close co-operation with the leading hierarchs of local Orthodox Churches.
    In the context of several replacements, with the lack of continuity with the previous SYNDESMOS governing bodies, as well as the lack of detailed "job descriptions" of the regional representatives and all the Board members, it has been difficult for the Board to act as the guardian of SYNDESMOS's vision and spirit. To allow for a more focused and efficient approach, the outgoing Board therefore suggests that the new Board begins its term with a meeting dedicated to a thorough discussion and agreement on the principal guidelines for their work. This is also the reason that the Calendar of Events for this year contains the SYNDESMOS Board of Administration and Youth Worker Training Course at the end of 1999.
    The bringing together of the Board members and youth worker training is not coincidental. Due to the increased number of projects and events, Board members have been expected to facilitate, implement or even run the events scheduled in their regions. In fact, some of the current Board members, in addition to their functions described in the Constitution, took upon their shoulders the responsibility for the implementation of several projects in other regions.
    Under these challenging conditions SYNDESMOS has in many ways grown and developed, although, there are areas where improvement is needed. We have, for instance, increased in numbers, improved our financial base and broadened our sphere of activities. At the same time, however, there has been a weakening in our infrastructure and networking. This may, of course, reflect a crisis not only in the SYNDESMOS administration but also in the life of the member movements themselves.
    A memorial celebration of the 50th anniversary of a pan-Orthodox youth meeting in Bossey, Switzerland, 1949, which was one of the critical initial steps in the establishment of the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth Organisations in 1953, was a unique occasion for deeper reflection on the role, responsibility and place of SYNDESMOS in the Church. Much has changed in the world and in the Fellowship since that time. Much has also changed in recent years. All of this, and the forthcoming 50th anniversary of the formal establishment of SYNDESMOS (which will coincide with the next SYNDESMOS General Assembly in 2003), invite this Assembly to reflect deeply on the past, present and the future of SYNDESMOS. Let us try to use this opportunity to prepare the Fellowship for its golden anniversary as well as for the forthcoming millennium.

   REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT. This crucially important matter needs to be studied and discussed thoroughly at the regional meetings of the Assembly and appropriate decisions should be reflected in the composition of the new Board. Throughout the past quadrennium there were a number of positive examples of the development of regional co-operation and wider exchange among the SYNDESMOS members and partner organisations.
    The Finnish members continued their long-established tradition of regular meetings of their regional and national SYNDESMOS committees. In 1996 the most active SYNDESMOS members in Greece created a national structure designed for more efficient exchange and co-operation. Through regular meetings of its committee and various events organised in different parts of the country, this nationwide structure attempts to co-ordinate youth work in the local Church.
    A strong regional structure was also established in the Middle East. After a very long break and difficulties in communication this region appears as one of the most active. Orthodox youth of this region gather at annual regional encounters, training seminars and have produced an Arabic version of SYNDESMOS News. In addition, this region focused on one of  the major and current concerns of SYNDESMOS, which is the dialogue between the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
    In 1996, the Central European Region organised a meeting of the representatives of its members. Although this was a very successful event, its important decisions and plans for continuity were not implemented. In its place several regional SYNDESMOS events were organised in this Region providing exceptional and sufficient opportunities for meetings and exchanges.
    The Eastern European Region also benefited from projects organised by SYNDESMOS. Two projects of major importance were implemented in Lviv, Ukraine. Directly after a youth worker training course organised mainly for representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox youth, a national structure was established and now a representative of the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Ukraine is present at this Assembly.
    To a great extent the VII International Consultation of Orthodox Theological Schools has also served the regional structure. The theme of the Consultation, "Theological Education and Youth Ministry," gathered over sixty representatives of youth groups, organisations and other structures from different regions in Russia. The hosts of this successful event, the Theological Schools of St. Petersburg, managed to use this consultation to introduce and revive youth ministry at higher educational institutions in the city.
    It was not possible for the Western European Region to establish a regional committee. The annual World Day of Orthodox Youth meetings and the four events organised in the region have strengthened the regional network of youth organisations. New movements have been established, others have been revived providing a solid base for further developments. A particularly
significant event was the establishment of the pan-Orthodox youth movement in Germany with the full support of all local canonical bishops.
    Among most of the members of the Balkan Region there is continuous communication not only through SYNDESMOS structures. Attempts have been made to establish a regional committee, but owing to financial circumstances they have not transpired.
    A follow-up on the contacts established earlier in South America resulted in two study visits to Argentina and Chile. They, especially the second team visit to Argentina, enabled SYNDESMOS to organise a successful youth exchange programme in Chile in January 1999. The Latin American members have requested the creation of their own regional structure in view of cultural and linguistic differences, and the lack of activity in the North America Region.
    Another example of positive developments initiated through SYNDESMOS events have been in the Asian region. The project in Japan and that in Korea, together with the one planned for this year in Indonesia, should lead to the creation of a more permanent regional structure. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about all of the SYNDESMOS Regions.

   FEDERATED MEMBERS. The Federated member movements of SYNDESMOS are scattered over various continents. This creates a problem for the representative to interact with the members. Nevertheless, the federated organisations have expressed gratitude to the Board for having sent its members to events in their regions. There have been several joint ventures which have brought the youth of the two families closer together. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of the Oriental Orthodox youth at SYNDESMOS events in general. This happy circumstance has had positive results in cultivating and strengthening ties.
    The federated members also expressed their eagerness and prayer that the two families - the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox - share the same cup of the Body and Blood of Christ in the third millennium.

   MEMBERS. In its efforts to maintain fruitful communication with SYNDESMOS movements, members of the Board of Administration and the staff of the General Secretariat paid visits to the organisations on numerous occasions. During the past quadrennium SYNDESMOS established contacts with many Orthodox youth organisations. Fourteen of them will be presented to the General Assembly for consideration as members of the Fellowship. The applying members are from nine countries including Indonesia and Ethiopia, where SYNDESMOS has no current representatives.
    On the other hand, having experienced the operations of our existing member movements, SYNDESMOS Board members identified groups that have not participated in the life of the Fellowship for many years. Consequently, eight movements have been classified as delinquent and their membership has been suspended by the Board after several warnings were issued.
    SYNDESMOS is a fellowship of movements, not a council of individuals. Often the Board of Administration faces a mentality that identifies the Board with SYNDESMOS and many expect everything to emanate from the Board. To a degree, this may be the Board's own fault. The Board may have projected a false image of itself. However, it was our hope to change this mentality, but we did not succeed. It is this administration's opinion therefore, that the delegates of this Assembly return to their movements with these sentiments and change theirmembers' perceptions about our Fellowship. In the future, the Board should expect more from the SYNDESMOS members, and not vice versa.
   GENERAL SECRETARIAT AND ADMINISTRATION. Following the XV General Assembly, the SYNDESMOS General Secretariat was transferred from Paris to a new location in Bialystok, Poland at the end of December 1995. The following period was one of transition and of course there were some problems in infrastructure and communication, especially since the Secretary General worked alone during that period. The reasonable labour and administrative costs in Poland permitted in time the employment of necessary, additional full-time staff. Moreover, an intern programme was initiated providing assistance in the office work of the Secretariat. For the past two years there were three full-time workers at the General Secretariat - the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary, and the Administrative Assistant - assisted by an intern and occasional part-time support given by local volunteers.
    The Secretary General was the only permanent staff member at the Secretariat. I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to all those who assisted me at the Secretariat over these years. Thank you to Esther Hookway and Giles Hutchinson of Great Britain; Joseph Matusiak and John DeTrana of the USA; Jarek Misiuk of Poland; Caroline Robinson of Great Britain; Nina Loimi and Riina Jormanainen of Finland; Anna Oikonomou of Great Britain; Sanna Tanskanen and Elena Gorschkow of Finland; and all the volunteers from the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland.
    This additional working force, however, was not always sufficient. The considerable workload at the General Secretariat proved occasionally to be extremely heavy and this inhibited its proper working. In the future an emphasis should be placed on the co-ordination of the work of the Secretariat, both by the Board as employer and the Secretary as employee. Developing good working structures between the Board and the Secretariat should be among the chief priorities of the next administration. In order to strengthen its logistical structures, SYNDESMOS also needs a clear long-term strategy.
    In its location in Poland the General Secretariat maintained its status as an international nongovernmental youth organisation. It continues to be supported by international institutions such as the Council of Europe, the European Youth Foundation and the European Commission.

   PROGRAMME AND PROJECTS. SYNDESMOS programmes during 1995-1999 included eleven youth leadership training courses with 485 participants; three summer institutes with 230 participants; four festivals with 420 participants; nine youth exchanges, encounters, and pilgrimages with 440 participants; and two theological schools consultations with 230 participants. With regard to thematic events, SYNDESMOS sponsored ten conservation and ecology projects with 172 participants; three programmes on Church History, music and liturgical life with 65 participants; and one conference on Orthodoxy and Europe for 25 participants.
    Specialised conferences included one religious education programme for 25 participants; one Orthodox-Oriental Orthodox dialogue for 45 participants; one conference on bioethical dilemmas with 60 participants; and one conference for 75 Orthodox journalists.
    This represents a total of 47 projects in which 2272 individuals participated.
    In the first two years of our term of office there was a rapid growth in the number of projects. The year 1997 in particular saw a record number of 15 projects. However, it was difficult to find participants for them. This was partly due to the administration's inability to create strong ties with its member movements. It was also due to the occasional late appearance of the Calendar and to the poor dissemination of our advertising materials to the individual members by the SYNDESMOS member organisations.
    This obliged the General Secretariat to embark upon an elusive hunt for participants both within the SYNDESMOS membership and beyond _ a circumstance that had both positive and negative consequences. Positive, because it cast a wider SYNDESMOS net over Orthodox youth; and negative, because it restricted multiplier effects within the movements themselves. In our enthusiasm to implement events we occasionally neglected to project the long-term objectives of the Fellowship as outlined in the Constitution. On the other hand the Board feels that its provision of service to the youth of the Church has resulted in a unity that has grown over the years. This unity is perceptible both at the administrative and at the member movement levels.
    SYNDESMOS's events have been very decisive for regional networking, but they were definitely insufficient to maintain permanent, or at least frequent and regular, contacts and exchanges. With 130 member youth organisations and theological schools in 44 countries, it is impossible for the General Secretariat to establish and maintain close working relationships with all of them. On the other hand, as the SYNDESMOS Board of Administration and the General Secretariat have been intensely preoccupied with fundraising and the preparation, organisation and implementation of a record number of international projects, there was not enough time and attention dedicated to the members themselves. Some of the Board members made a notable difference in this respect, but unfortunately this rather confirms the general rule of this term.
    Through its events SYNDESMOS has been able to function as a facilitator for groups of Orthodox specialists and professionals, enabling them to gather, to discuss and to continue on their own. The consultations of theological schools could lead to the establishment of an association. The SYNDESMOS Conference of Journalists has paved the way for the creation of the journalists' association. There are significant other examples at the local and regional levels.
    This year an enormous amount of concentration has been laid on the preparations for the General Assembly. Nevertheless, four successful projects were implemented in Chile, Russia, Switzerland and Greece.
   PUBLICATIONS. SYNDESMOS News now appears in English, Russian and Arabic. A Romanian version is in press.
    SYNDESMOS has produced a large number of valuable resource books both alone and in collaboration with other organisations. In conjunction with the World Day of Orthodox Youth a collection of essays on Orthodox youth ministry - Orthodox Youth Ministry in the Orthodox Church - was published in 1997.
    Promotional materials have also been produced, including SYNDESMOS Calendars and programmes of events, brochures, posters, and t-shirts.

    FINANCES. The cash revenues of the previous SYNDESMOS administration for the period 1 July 1992 - 30 June 1995 amounted to US$560,000. The cash revenues of the present administration for the period 1 July 1995 through 31 December 1998 amounted to US$814,000. Proportionally speaking this constitutes an increase of 25%.
    The accounting of our large and growing financial operations has remained the responsibility of the Secretary General. This task has now become burdensome as a result of SYNDESMOS's growth. Indeed, it almost amounts to a full-time occupation and must executed by someone at the Secretariat.

   SOURCES OF INCOME. Inevitably, the increased number of projects required intensive fund rasing efforts by the Board. Through his academic and professional connections in Great Britain, the President succeeded in opening up new sources of income. Moreover, because SYNDESMOS operated a presidential office in Oxford, the Fellowship was able to secure valuable funding from the European Commission.
    Other important revenue sources come from ecumenical sources such as the World Council of Churches, the Conference of European Churches, and the Council of Europe. Aside from these European governmental and ecumenical organisations, significant sources of funding have also come from several environmental charities.
    Savings have also been realised as a result of the significantly lower costs of administration in Poland.
   FUNDING FROM ORTHODOX SOURCES . The financial contribution from the Orthodox Churches has, comparatively speaking, been minimal. The Orthodox Church in Finland is the only one that has been providing an annual grant to the Fellowship. The Ecumenical Patriarchate also supports us materially. However, funding from Orthodox sources was essential in implementing numerous SYNDESMOS events. In-kind contributions, reductions as well as direct payments for various services related to the projects were also helpful. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity and support of the local Orthodox Churches, dioceses, parishes, Church organisations, hierarchs and individuals. On behalf of the Board of Administration I would like to express gratitude to all the SYNDESMOS members and their representatives who participated actively in the life of the Fellowship. We owe thanks to all the funding agencies, organisations, individuals and all those who have helped to implement projects and carry out the Fellowship's activities.
   CONCLUDING REMARKS. Allow me to continue with thanks for the trust and the blessings that I have received in working for SYNDESMOS over the last four years. I would like to thank all those who provided their invaluable help and assistance making the work of the Secretary General and the General Secretariat a team work. There are many of those I would like to thank in particular: the President, the Board members who assisted in writing applications and other tasks of the Secretariat, administrative assistants and interns, especially Jarek Misiuk, Joseph Matusiak and Nina Liomi, the Assistant Secretary who made me feel that the Finns are indispensable. Finally, there is one person I would like to single out as having made possible everything that has been achieved through my efforts. She patiently tolerated my long working hours and absences and supported and sustained me providing a solid foundation for all my work. Thank you, Tania.
    These four years have produced so many blessings and yet also difficulties and frustrations. Sometimes it became clear to me that SYNDESMOS's Board members and its constituency often had quite different understandings of the very nature of its life and work.
    At the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Jableczna, where I taught Patristics, I recall a discussion concerning the liturgical language of traditionally Orthodox Eastern European countries and in Poland. The vast majority defended Church Slavonic as the best and the only possible medium, arguing that it is comprehensible to all the Slavic Orthodox nations and there is no necessity to translate it into the modern Slavic languages. As the minority objected, we decided to study the case more carefully. The seminarians were asked to translate one phrase from the Hexapsalmon - one five-word phrase which they heard daily and almost took for granted. They were given five minutes to translate five words - "serdce moe smjatesja vo mne" - "my heart has smjatesja within me." There were no problems with "my heart" and "within me." These are common to all the Slavic languages. The smjatesja, however, turned out to be a problem. The majority proposed a simplified translation, "my heart has moved within me." However, there were also attempts to be more specific concerning the movement. In one of the interpretations the heart has thrilled in fear, another one made it shake in horror. This difference would not be a big problem if it did not appear in the context of two other interpretations according to which the heart has rejoiced and even jumped in joy. Just one word and such a potential for vastly different interpretations.
    Telling this story I have been thinking about another phrase which we are expected to comprehend. A very similar case - five words, four comprehensible ones describing the ancient and biblical word. Very often we hear it, very often we see it and use it extensively in our correspondence - SYNDESMOS, the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth.