GO Youth Melbourne: ‘Conversations: Our Calling to Christ’
On Thursday 3 November 2022, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios and under the guidance of His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis, Go Youth Melbourne under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, held its third talk in their ongoing series, ‘Conversations: Our Calling to Christ’.
The third talk was the first to feature a panel of priests. The special guests for the night were Father Kyprianos from the Parish of St Andrew, Forest Hill, Father Doukas from the Parish of the Holy Epiphany, Frankston and Father Kyrillos from the Parish of St Eustathios, South Melbourne. Also present was His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Sozopolis and Father George from the Parish St Catherine’s, East Malvern, where the event was held.
The age range for this Go Youth Melbourne talk series is 18-29. The night began with a delicious spread of chicken, chips and salad, allowing the 45 youth and young adults to socialise with familiar faces and new attendees. After dinner, the youth sat down to hear the panel of priests share their spiritual journeys.
The panel members each described how they decided to become priests. Father Kyprianos, the newest priest on the panel, shared that his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic led him to decide to become a priest. Father Doukas made the crowd laugh as he recounted his journey to becoming a priest at the age of 63, showing age is no barrier for entry to the priesthood. Father Kyrillos spoke about how becoming a priest was a natural progression for him growing up in the church and having family members who had entered priesthood and monasticism.
While the focus of conversation was on the priests’ journeys, the panel also took time to answer questions from the audience. This included a discussion on deeper topics such as the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism and life after death.
Go Youth Melbourne everyone present on the evening for taking the time to share their experience and knowledge with the youth and young adults of Melbourne
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