25 Φεβρουαρίου, 2022 - 18:01

Letter of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland to the Youth for the World Day of Orthodox Youth

Διαδώστε:

Dear Youth,
On the occasion of the World Day of Orthodox Youth, which is annually celebrated on the great feast of the Church – the Meeting of the Lord on February 2/15, you have gathered in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Białystok, to testify to your prayerful unity in the midst of the relics of the child martyr Saint Gabriel, patron Saint of Orthodox Youth in Poland.
Saint Simeon the Elder, accepting the little Savior in his hands, cried out: “Now you are letting your servant depart, O Lord.” You cry, I think, “Lord receive your children.” In both cases, the foundation of unity with God and with one another is a fervent faith that Christ the Lord is our Savior. For in Him is our strength, hope, and victory.
My dear ones. The modern world is full of challenges and dangers for everyone, especially for a young person. On all sides, we are surprised by a wealth of information, which is so often false, biased, and worthless. They torpedo the freedom of action and views, taking away precious time and the community of unity. Speaking of freedom, they often destroy what is most important for man – God’s Law, affecting the most vulnerable and often inexperienced in life, young people. A new tower of Babel is being built. Illusion, regardless of the time, always stimulates delight and has led many down the wrong path.
Dear Youth, Remember that a young man in the past, today, and tomorrow needs a lighthouse that shows him a safe way in the stormy sea of life, one that leads him through temptations and doubts towards a saving haven.
Today, here in Poland, in our Church, this beacon is you – the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth. You are with the Mother Church and in the Church. Your faith and desire to bear witness to the Church gave birth to the light of a lamp “which is placed on a lampstand so that all who enter may see the light” (Lk 8: 16-17). You are the light of this world. Enlighten everything and everyone. Bring healthy, gospel-based values wherever you can. Do not allow the falsification of the truth. Do not allow the richness of Orthodoxy to be counterfeited and falsified. Being a beacon of light, you are also salt. This fact is pointed out by the Evangelist Matthew when he writes: “You are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth” (Mt 5: 13-14).
Dear Youth, My dear ones. You are the future of our Church. Be strong like the tree planted yesterday, it blooms today, and tomorrow it bears much fruit. Today is your time. Be actively involved in the life of the Church with full responsibility. Be a strong tree, but remember that even the strongest tree grows from the seed of the previous trees. Grow spiritually and intellectually on the solid foundation of the strong faith of your ancestors. Blessed Augustine said, “If God is first in your life, everything else will be in its proper place.”
To your ancestors, fathers, and mothers you owe your youthful power of faith. Honor this gift because it is a great wealth.
Let us remember that our ancestors watered the tree of our Church: with sweat, tears, and often with blood. Let the past inspire and strengthen you because the difficult history of our Church is our common treasure.
Today you are writing new pages of the history of our Orthodox Church: of Jabłeczna, of Supraśl, of Grabarka, of Zaleszany, Saki, Zwierki, Turkowice, Wojnowo, Wysowa, Kostomłoty.
Dear Youth, Through prayer, self-restraint, and Church responsibility, free the world around us from corruption, Satan, and all kinds of viruses. Be a strong tree of our 21st century Church. I wish you this with all my heart. It is you – future metropolitans, bishops, priests, monastics [monks], faithful – children of the Orthodox Church.
On the World Day of Orthodox Youth, I am sending you my fatherly greetings and my archpastoral blessing. Thank you for the testimony of your Orthodox faith. Always be young in spirit and healthy in body, energetic and devoted to the work of the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland, and thus in the modern world. My prayer always and especially today accompanies you. May

God’s blessing be with you.
+SAWA
Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland

Suprasl 2022: A World Gathering of Orthodox Youth

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