St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival Offers Opportunity for Youth to Articulate Faith

Youth of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America are encouraged to participate in the annual festival. Photo: GOARCH

BROOKLINE, MA — The St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, a nationwide ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Department of Religious Education (DRE), continues to offer Greek Orthodox youth the opportunity to explore and articulate their faith through speech writing and public speaking. Founded in 1983 by DRE Director Ernest Villas and Minerva Stergianopoulos, the festival has grown into a multi-level competition awarding scholarships and monetary prizes.

Participants compete in three divisions — Elementary (grades 4–6, parish level only), Junior (grades 7–9), and Senior (grades 10–12). Top speakers in the Junior and Senior divisions advance from parish to district festivals (where applicable), then to their Metropolis festival. Each Metropolis selects one Junior and one Senior finalist to advance to the National Oratorical Festival.

All 18 national finalists take part in a weekend of activities featuring the delivery of their speeches. Finalists receive awards ranging from $750 to $3,000 through the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival Award Fund, with additional scholarships provided by FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism —whose support dates to 2007 — and the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, which has sponsored finalists for the past four years.

Finalists are also eligible for the Chrysostom Scholarship of Hellenic College Holy Cross, offering $2,500 to $30,000 annually for four years to students accepted into Hellenic College.

The 2026 festival will be hosted by the Metropolis of San Francisco at St. Nicholas Church in Northridge, Calif., from June 12–14, 2026. More information on the festival, including potential speech topics, tips, and resources, can be found here.

Previously, UOJ reported that the Department of Youth Ministry of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica–Midwestern America has announced information for the 2025 Winter Youth Retreat.

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