This year, Rochester will be hosting Western New York’s District-level St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival!

Our event kicks off at 11:00am and is preceded by a continental breakfast to energize our speakers. Youth from churches throughout the New York district will be presenting so please be sure to join us and cheer on their hard work.

If your church has speakers participating in the event, please register here. For the 2024 topics, click here for a downloadable pdf and here for tips and resources. For questions, feedback or to volunteer, please contact the Annunciation Youth Director Demos Euclid via email at agocynyyouth@gmail.com.

For more information, visit goarch.org.

Introduced in 1983, the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival provides Greek Orthodox teenagers the opportunity to write and talk about their faith. The Oratorical Festival Program begins at the Parish Level and is divided into two divisions: the Junior Division for students in the 7th to 9th grades and the Senior Division for teenagers in the 10th to 12th grades.

The top speakers in each division advance to the district level and, if selected, become one of two finalists in their division to represent their district at their Metropolis Oratorical Festival. The top speaker in each division is then selected to participate in the Archdiocese Finals, which is hosted by a different Metropolis each year.