“Everything you do, do it for the Lord”
National summer camps for boys were held
The first camp for boys
The first camp for boys took place from 30 June to 9 July, in the monastery of St. Vlash and the Theological Academy. Like all other camps, it was organized with the blessing and opportunities given by Archbishop Anastasios, who is also the founder of these camps.
The camp theme for this year was: “Everything you do, do it for the Lord.” Children aged 10-13 participated in the first camp for boys. The camp program had various spiritual and social activities, sporting events, beach volleyball, Olympics and championships.
The boys had the opportunity to attend various church services, as well as the Divine Liturgy, where most of them received the Body and the Blood of Christ.
During these 10 days, the children broke away from their daily routine and became part of a special way of life, a life within the Christian community, which differs from the world’s reality.
Ervin Mihali
The Second Camp for Boys
With the blessing of His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios, the second camp for boys took place from July 12 to 21. Seventy-five children of ages 14 to 17 participated. This age group was also joined by several younger children serving in the Apostle Paul and Saint Asti Church community in Durrës. The camp was held in the premises of the Holy Monastery of St. Vlash under the responsibility of the teachers, students and staff of the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy and the Holy Cross High School in Sukth.
The camp theme for this year was: “Everything you do, do it for the Lord.” The camp program had a variety of spiritual and social activities, sports games, beach volleyball, Olympics, championships and educational programs, which all revolved around the camp’s theme.
This year, participants read and studied the Gospel according to Mark. A novelty this time was the organization of the Bible Olympiad, which was realized in two phases, enabling the boys to express in their words the material they had acquired from the Gospel through a competition during which they faced numerous challenges.
In the camp, special interest was paid to the spiritual conversations that were held in the afternoon by various guest speakers and Academy professors.
In addition to the camp participants, there was a special presence of a youth group from Athens, who belonged to the Anargyroi Kozma and Damian Church community. They said that although they came from different countries, they are still brothers in Christ since they receive communion from the same Holy Cup.
A culminating and important moment in the camp was on July 19 when thirteen boys were baptized by Bishop Asti, and wore Christ hence beginning a new life in Christ.
Jorgo Belul
The Students’ Camp
With the blessing of Archbishop Anastasios, from 20 to 31 July 2018, the “Rilindja” Student Camp was held for the second consecutive year, in the reconstructed monastery of Sts. Theodore, Dhermi. This year offered better conditions, better accommodation, a dining hall and other recreational facilities.
The theme of the camp was: “Everything you do, do it for the Lord.” Spiritual conversations that took place every day in the evening focused on social and moral topics. Students discussed about non-Christian phenomena such as greed, drugs, tattoos, immorality, occult philosophy, which are a daily temptation to Christian youth nowadays. The discussion were also accompanied by documentary films, prepared by the Catechism Office. Topics were of great interest to the participants who in turn addressed lots of questions that were answered by the speakers who would refer to the teachings of the church, the saints, and their personal experiences. Hence, a brotherly climate was created in the camp which differed from the formal, academic and tedious conversations.
Every morning, after a short service, the Gospel was read and discussed with the camp participants, each of whom could freely express his opinion on how he experienced the Word of God addressed to him on that day. Part of the camp program was also the Confession-Repentance Sacrament performed by Bishop Asti, the Orthros and Vespers services, the Blessing of Holy Water and the Divine Liturgy which was celebrated by Archimandrite Kozma Prifti.
The camp staff ensured that participants were provided with the optimal conditions and showed interest for every aspect of camp life, such as food, entertainment and recreation.
The number of students coming from all metropolises and dioceses reached to 40, but the capacities in the camp are for a bigger number to accommodate in the coming years. Thirteen staff members, clerics, theologians, catechists and volunteers were part of the students’ camp this year.
Miron Çako
