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Seventeen OCA Young Adults Joined SUPRASL Summer 2026
Orthodox young adults joined approximately 85 Orthodox Christians from more than two dozen countries at SUPRASL Summer 2026 in Poland for prayer, education, service, and international fellowship.
SUPRASL, POLAND — Seventeen young adults from the Orthodox Church in America participated in SUPRASL Summer 2026, an international gathering held July 28 through Aug. 3 at the Monastery of the Annunciation and Supraśl Academy in Poland. The fifth annual event brought together about 85 Orthodox young adults from more than two dozen countries for prayer, fellowship, service, and creative exploration.
The gathering centered on the theme “Image and Likeness: Creation and Creators,” inspired by the 130th anniversary of the birth of St. Sophrony of Essex and his teaching about humanity being created in God’s image and called to grow into His likeness. Workshops explored poetry, music, photography, theology, culture, and ethics, while participants also took part in an iconography workshop depicting the Icon of Christ Made Without Hands.
The OCA group consisted of 23 people, including Bishop Gerasim of Fort Worth, locum tenens of the Diocese of the South; Archpriest Gregory and Matushka Miho Ealy of St. Paul Orthodox Church in Dayton, OH; and their children. Bishop Gerasim participated throughout the week, including workshops, meals, cultural activities, and a question-and-answer session. He said the gathering demonstrated that Orthodox Christian identity does not depend upon a particular national culture.
Participants also engaged in practical service and fellowship. They helped paint the monastery fence, continuing a project begun in 2025, and joined local faithful for the feast of the Holy Prophet Elijah in Białystok. During a “Human Library,” participants shared personal experiences in small-group conversations, while the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at midnight with hymns and responses in a dozen languages.
OCA Project Manager Archpriest Justin Patterson said SUPRASL provided experiences difficult to reproduce through ordinary youth ministry, particularly by connecting young adults across national boundaries. Participants described the gathering as transformative and emphasized the community they found among Orthodox Christians from around the world. Founded in 2022, SUPRASL seeks to help young Orthodox Christians experience the unity of the Church beyond jurisdictional, national, and cultural divisions.
Previously, the UOJ reported that international Orthodox youth gathered at Kremikovtsi Monastery.
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