DIOCESE OF GREAT BRITAIN: 26 December 2023
Great Britain’s Youth Conference concludes

On the 29th Sunday after Pentecost, 24 December 2023, the first regional Youth Conference for Great Britain, organized by the St Mary Magdalen Youth Group of the London Cathedral, completed its activities.

Following a hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral led by His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe, the youth joined the parishioners for the traditional post-liturgy meal in the parish hall. As a special treat for the community, the youth sang Nativity carols that they had practiced during their gatherings.

There followed the conference’s concluding talk, with Bishop Irenei speaking on the theme “The Mysteries of the Church,” followed by a final opportunity for the assembled youth to ask questions of the hierarch about the spiritual life.

At the end of his remarks, Vladyka Irenei thanked the youth organizers of the conference, and all who had assisted them, for their excellent work in bringing the first such event to life, and to all the participants for their dedication to growing in the Christian life together. His Grace also spoke briefly about the forthcoming All-Diaspora Youth Conference — a longstanding tradition of the Church Abroad that brings together Orthodox youth from all across the globe and from every diocese of the Church — which will take place from 25th June – 1st July 2024 in Germany, and his hopes that as many youth as possible from this region will be able to attend.

The conference concluded with prayer, and with warm embraces by all the participants who had spent the previous four days together, and who had grown in their love for God and one another, who then began the voyages back to their homes to conclude the remaining weeks of the Nativity Fast, strengthened by their shared experiences.