We are so proud of our local oratorical participants! They did such a fantastic job on 2/25/24!

We had three participants: one Senior Division, Andrew, and two Junior Division, Ethan and Gianna). They are moving on to the district oratorical at St Katherine on March 30th. Each were awarded a $50 scholarship for their participation. 

We had two elementary division presentations that were only held locally (Jackson and Emmett). They each earned a gift bag.

The whole Sunday School enjoyed cupcakes after listening to the presentations. Even our youngest students did a fantastic job listening today. 

Below are links to view the presentations both as a whole and per speaker for everyone to enjoy.  The elementary division is combined in one video. 

We will be hosting our district festival on March 30, 2024 at St. Katherine .

St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

Introduced in 1983, the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival has for over 30 years, provided Orthodox youth with the opportunity to write and speak about their faith in public formats. An annual event that begins at the parish level, the Oratorical Festival Program is divided into three divisions:

  • Elementary Division (for Local/Parish-Level Festival only) for Students Grades 4–6

  • Junior Division for Students Grades 7–9

  • Senior Division for Student Grades 10–12

Top presenters from the Junior and Senior Divisions advance to the district level. Two finalists in each district division then go on to represent their district at the Metropolis Oratorical Festival. The top speakers in each metropolis division are then selected to participate in the Archdiocese Finals, which is hosted by a different metropolis each year.

All eighteen finalists at the Archdiocese Finals participate in a weekend of activities, the highlight of which is the delivery of their speeches on Saturday morning. The Oratorical Festival Scholarship Fund provides college scholarships to the top speakers. For those youth and families interested in participating in this annual event, please contact your Sunday School teacher.