wfn.org | [SCOBA] SCOBA Encyclical on College Student Sunday

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Standing Conference of the Canonical Bishops in the Americas

>8-10 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075

Give instruction to the wise, and they will be yet wiser; teach the righteo us, and they will increase in learning.

>(Proverbs 9:9)

>College Student Sunday

>September 20, 2009

>The Hierarchs of the Standing Conference

of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas

To the Most Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and Devout Faithful

>of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas

>Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and t he All-Holy Spirit,

In this new ecclesiastical year we, the Hierarchs of the Standing Conferenc e of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, greet you with paterna l love. In support of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), our collective c ollege campus ministry, we have designated Sunday, September 20, 2009 as OC F College Student Sunday, and we ask that faithful Orthodox Christians in N orth America call to mind and prayer our beloved college students.

Faced with a secular and morally threatening society, our college students  are continually assaulted by influences that attempt to sway them from thei r Orthodox Christian faith. Holding the hope that they might safely navigat e the crucially important years of college and mature into pious and faithf ul adults, we are committed to provide them any and all ministries for the  challenging transition from adolescence to adulthood. The instruction and t eaching of OCF’s inspiring wisdom and righteousness is a critical e nhancement to their lives that we seek to develop.

Local OCF chapters, which currently number 270, provide spiritual havens to  our beloved students. As the presence of the Orthodox Church on campus, th e chapters serve as a place of spiritual nourishment and education. It is w ithin these fellowships, with the assistance of local clergy and parishes,  that our students are able to grow and mature in the wisdom and righteousne ss of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This vital work on the local college campus is sustained by the national pr ograms and resources of OCF. Offerings and programs such as “Colleg e Conference,” “Real Break,” “Just Love�� and others help to provide transformative experiences which spark an  enthusiasm and desire in young adults to further develop their spiritual l ives. The redesigned www.ocf.net website presents a network in which studen ts, parents, families and parishes can learn and share the Message of the G ospel.

We ask all of our clergy to remind parishioners of this important ministry  on OCF College Student Sunday, and to provide students an opportunity to sh are their OCF experiences with all the faithful in their parishes. We encou rage support for the work of national ministry and we call upon all the fai thful to remember our students in their prayers before God, so that He may  continue to shed His abundant blessings on them.

With great thanks to God and to all those who share in the OCF ministry, we  pray that our college students may grow in the grace and knowledge of our  Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and be a sign of His presence in the Colle ge Campuses of our Country.

>With paternal blessings and love in Christ,

>†Archbishop DEMETRIOS

>Chairman

>Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

>† Metropolitan PHILIP

>Vice Chairman

>Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese

>Of North America

>† Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER

>Secretary

>Serbian Orthodox Church in North

>And South America

>† Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos

>Treasurer

>American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox

>Diocese in the USA

>† Archbishop NICOLAE

>Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese

>In the Americas

>† Metropolitan JOSEPH

>Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church

>† Metropolitan JONAH

>Orthodox Church in America

>† Metropolitan CONSTANTINE

>Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

>† Archpriest Alexander Abramov

>Acting Representative of the Moscow

>Patriarchate in the USA

>† Bishop ILIA of Philomelion

>Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

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