Youth Month

October each year in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is celebrated as Youth Month. During this month teens help in the Church by singing int he choir, chanting, reading the epistles, taking the collections, hosting the coffee hours, etc.

His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP established Youth Month in the late 1960s. This program did not originate in a specific parish, but rather was started at a parish level in the Antiochian Archdiocese, as directed by his Eminence. Youth month was established as a means to allow teens greater participation in the life of the Church, especially in Liturgy. It was able to do so by having the teens read the epistles, take the collections, sing in the choirs, chant, usher, and similar duties during the month of October. The motivation of the Metropolitan to establish this program was that he wanted teens to participate more in the life of the Church. Throughout his Ministry, he has always had a great love for the youth of the Church and wanted to engage them and keep them committed to a life in Christ. Youth month spread quickly across the Archdiocese, and the clergy adopted this method of involving the youth in the Church. Now, it is more common for teens to sing, chant, and read epistles than when the program originated, showing that Youth Month, the efforts of Metropolitan PHILIP, and the Camps of the Archdiocese were successful in engaging the youth in the life of the Church. Since the establishment of this program, other organizations have also had a month designated to raising awareness of their efforts, such as September as Fellowship Month, December for the Order of St. Ignatius, and March as Antiochian Women Month.