The Orthodox Christian Youth Movement

THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT 71 st ANNUAL CONFERENCE BIJU V .PANTHAPLAVE

An enlightening theme for contemporary youth, sincere and resourceful leaders, dignified arrangements, inspiring presence of bishops and priests , motivating camp-site and infrastructure- all made the 71st international conference of the Orthodox Christian Youth Movement held at M G M English Medium School, Kottarakara on Aug 30, 31 and Sept 1 a grand success.

About 500 delegates turned up from the different dioceses of India and abroad on the very morning of 30th Aug 07. After the registration and the flag being hoisted , the bishops and other chief guests were lead in a procession to Mathews II Nagar , the venue of the annual pilgrimage . The inaugural session started with the prayer song followed by the welcome speech by Fr.Koshy John the vice president ,O C Y M. H G Dr.Yuhanon Mor Meletius , the president O C Y M insisted on the power of outliving which is the result of spiritual life. The energy stored through such gatherings should help us to overcome the temptations in the world , he added.

H B Paulose Mor Meletius, the catholicose designate called upon the youth to face the challenges with God’s grace and dedication to His will. His Beatitude exhorted the youth to strengthen the walls of the church. The chief guest Mr.Jose Baby, Deputy Speaker brought our attention to the globalised misconcept that amassing wealth is the present motto of man. He wanted the youth to grow with social consciousness and commitment .

The hosting diocesan Bishop, H G Mathews Mar Epiphanios Thirumeni delivered the words of blessings. Smt.Aisha Potty M L A, Fr.K T Varghese,Fr. Nelson John , Fr Dr V M Abraham , Mr.G Samkutty , Mrs. M John and Fr John T Varghese felicitated on the occasion.

The after-noon session , followed by a delicious lunch , started with Ice breaking session led by Mr. Jacob Mani, Kasargod. Swamy Aswathy Thirunal of Ekalavya Asram TVM then took our consciousness to the age

1 old Indian traditions , gurus, scriptures and incarnations including Lord Jesus Christ and analysed the contemporary relevance of the theme.

The evening was both inspiring and thought provoking when the Bishop President addressed the delegates and introduced the theme ‘Perspectives of Outliving’.

The talent night was memorable with the esteemed presence of Captain Raju, famous cine artist , and Mr.Jerry Amal Dev, well-known music director.The cine artist advised the youth with paternal affection to keep the mother church and its traditions safe and strive to maintain them to be handed over to posterity .His recollections of his childhood and the “compulsory childhood rites” motivated the youth to enrich the church.

Jerry Amal Dev regreted that the religious songs are being replaced by romantic songs . Even the tone and rhythm are not fitting to religious rites . Even in church services, the quality of divine music has been swallowed by the “sound explosions”. The night was lively and joyful with the variety presentations by the delegates .

The second day of this annual youth assembly commenced with morning prayer followed by the Bible study and meditation led by Fr. Jojy K Joy.The youth experienced the communion of body,mind,and spirit through the yogic exercise led by Fr.Dr.Jacob John .

Different aspects of the theme such as the scriptural relevance of outliving, outliving in the changed contexts of political, social and economic scenario,and outliving the post-modern spiritual renewal movements were explored by Fr.Dr.Mathew Baby(OTS Kottayam),Dr.Varghese George (Marthoma college ,Thiruvalla ) and Rev. Fr. Dr Edward George, Muvattupuzha )respectively.

A creative analysis and lively discussions on the various aspects of the theme were effectively completed in the group discussions followed.The leaders of each group staged their reflections. Mr.Rajan John (D Y S P TVM)was the moderator. In the business session Fr.Spencer Koshy,General secretary introduced the new projects of the Movement .

2 H G Dr. Yakub Mar Iranius Metropolitian took the delegates through the scriptures to the silent streams of retreat. The participants prepared themselves for the Holy Communion.

The final day of the conference started with Holy Qurbana. Then the proud and splendid valedictory session commenced with the warm reception to the chief guests. Hon. Oscar Fernandez (Minister of Labour and Employment) and Blossom Fernandez. The chairman of the Hosting committee Rev Fr John Chacko welcomed the guests.HG Dr.yuhanon Mor Meletius brought the different issues faced by the youth of India especially in Kerala to the notice of the Minister. His Grace commented on the pains taken by the hosting committee and thanked them with loving words.

In his inaugural address Hon. Minister pointed to the Govt’s attempts to improve the work conditions in India and promised all helps to settle the professional education issues in Kerala. Sri.R Balakrishna pillai, former Minister formally inaugurated the Emigrant Cell , a novel project of the O C Y M to help the NRI’s and job seekers. The conference was made alive with the printed pages of a souvenir as HG Mathews Mar Epiphanios released it.

The handbook on the theme ‘Perspectives of outliving’ was released by Fr Johns Abraham Konat.

The Movement took it as a great pleasure and privilege to honour the recently elected church leaders Fr Dr johns Abraham Konat (Priest Trustee)Sri M G George Mothoot (Lay Trustee )and Dr George Joseph(Association Secretary). K Y Biju, Central Secretary conveyed the best wishes of the Movement .

Former office bearers of the Movement Fr Ninan P Koriakose (Vice President) Fr Varghese Varghese (Gen secretary)and Biju V Panthaplave (Treasurer) were duly honoured on the occasion . Mr.P K Thomas Central Secretary recollected their valuable services to the Movement and the President Bishop presented them with mementos. Rev Fr Thomas Mathew , Sri Ghevarghese Yohannan (Chairman of M G M School) and Raju Kooromvila spoke on the occasion. The General Secretary Fr Spencer Koshy expressed the thanks of the movement to all those who helped to complete this great event successful. With the prayer and benediction the annual youth assembly came to a close with the prospects of joining hands for the growth

3 of the church and with the hope of meeting for the next assembly of the Movement.