Poland: 20 year anniversary of Orthodox Youth Fellowship

Is the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland an association? Probably not. An organisation or an institution? No. What is it? It's one big family made up of Orthodox youth in Poland! And the year 2000 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland, which was recently celebrated here. This family was established by young people, by their ideas, and by their efforts - by young people wishing to help the Church, extend their knowledge about the Orthodox Faith, and develop their interests and help others. Before the Fellowship existed as a formal organisation, activities among the country's Orthodox youth was limited to circles of students at Warsaw's universities, most of whom came from the Bialystok region. It is not possible to list all of them, but we should mention that many of them now hold high positions in the Church hierarchy and the state, including His Beatitude, Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland; His Grace, Bishop Jeremiasz of Wroclaw and Szczecin; His Grace, Bishop Szymon of Lodz and Poznan; Eugeniusz Czykwin; Miroslaw Matrenczyk; and many, many others. In 1969, the young activists met weekly for "Thursday discussions" at Warsaw's Orthodox Seminary on Paryska Street. Later, they gathered for "Sunday meetings" in the basement of the Cathedral of Saints Mary and Martha, as well as in the apartment of Professor Jan Anchimiuk, the present Bishop Jeremiasz. During the next decade, similar meetings began to be held by Father Zelazniakowicz in Bialystok, Father L.Tofiluk in Hajnowka, and Father G. Misijuk in Drohiczyn. It soon became obvious that there was a need to formalise such meetings and to coordinate the activities of these emerging groups. This was partially completed in 1980 when the Association of Orthodox Theologians, under the guidance of Metropolitan Sawa, was formed. The Fellowship's first annual pilgrimage to the Holy Mount of Grabarka, held 9-11 May 1980, became one of the most significant events in the formation of our family, as it was at this gathering that the Coordination Council was chosen. One year later, the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland was officially established, despite unavoidable obstacles on the part of state authorities. Since that time, Fellowship events have been firmly established in the calendars of events of the Orthodox Church in Poland, as well as throughout the whole world.From the beginning, the Fellowship has organised Paschal pilgrimages to the Holy Mount of Grabarka - this year's was held 2-4 June, 2000 - and for the past several years the Fellowship has prepared special programmes before the pilgrimage for numerous foreign guests. It also helps to prepare celebrations that attract many faithful, such as the Transfiguration pilgrimage to the Holy Mount of Grabarka, the Pilgrimage for the Feast of the Icon of Our Lady of Suprasl, the feast of the Holy Child Martyr Gabriel in Zabludow, and the feast of Saint Onufry in Jableczna. The Fellowship also cares for the spiritual growth of young people by organising pilgrimages to various monasteries, convents and churches around the world. It also organises "gowienja," or retreats, and meetings for secondary school graduates and holidays for children and youth at various camps in Bialowieza, Jaczno, Cieplice, Gorlice, Walcz, and many other places. The Fellowship has also been instrumental in organising the SYNDESMOS Summer Institute in Suprasl, which attracts participants from all over the world. The Fellowship cooperates closely with SYNDESMOS, as well as with the World Council of Churches and the World Organisation of Christian Youth. In addition, it organises a number of international youth exchanges and training courses. The Fellowship has also been involved in publishing activities, producing periodicals including Orlec in War-saw; Przeswit in Wroclaw; and Wiadomosci Bractwa, now called Arche, Wiadomosci Diecezjalne, and List Informacyjny in Bialystok. The Fellowship is also responsible for publishing many books on the Orthodox Church. The Fellowship not only takes care of the spiritual growth of young people, but is also concerned for their physical activity. It organises a number of athletic competitions during the year. Volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and handball are especially popular. To celebrate our 20th anniversary, a festival was held in Bialowieza, attracting former embers, present members, and future members of our Fellowship; people who help us; and those who are interested in our activities. We also welcomed about 60 guests from Ukraine, Finland, Belarus, Russia, and USA. During our anniversary celebration we prepared many activities. On Friday after Vespers we had folk concert with bands playing Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian music. The concert was great success, and those who took part in it said that it was one of the best of its kind in our region. After the concert we presented a film made by one of our members about Monastery in Valaamo, and after that, at 1.00 in the morning, we held candles as be joined together for evening prayer. On Saturday, Metropolitan Sawa celebrated the Divine Liturgy, after which we held discussion groups on many topics. During the day we also held many other activities and events at the Church of Saint Nicholas. After Vespers on Saturday evening, a poetry recital was held with about 200 people listening to artists from Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. Slides about Fellowship activities and Mount Athos were also shown. Sunday began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by Metropolitan Sawa. At the end of Liturgy, the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in Poland, as well as visiting hierarchs from Ukraine, presented awards to the Fellowship's leaders. Despite heavy rain, everyone enjoyed a family picnic featuring bigos, a traditional Polish food. The weekend also featured icon and photo exhibitions and excursions to the Bialowieza forest preserve. Is this everything? Of course not! There may be many significant issues that we have forgotten in this article, so we invite you to learn more about the Fellowship's activities and about Orthodoxy by visiting our web page at http://www.republika.pl/bractwo_zc; to send us e-mail at bractwo_zc@poczta.onet.pl; or to write, phone, or fax us at Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland, ul. Sw. Mikolaja 3, 15-420 Bialystok; tel/fax 085-74-26-528.