Church School

To register, please contact our church office and put Church School registration in the Subject Line. Below, you will find information regarding our annual Oratorical Festival. Please see our church calendar for Church School dates and activities.

Oratorical Festival

Oratorical History/Information


Introduced in 1983, the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival provides Greek Orthodox teenagers the opportunity to write and talk about their faith. The Oratorical Festival Program begins at the parish level and is divided into three divisions:

  • Elementary Division (local festival only) for students in grades 4–6.
  • Junior Division for students in grades 7–9.
  • Senior Division for student in grades 10–12.

The top speakers in the Junior and Senior Divisions advance to the district level. Two finalists in each district division represent the district at the Metropolis Oratorical Festival. The top speaker in each metropolis division is then selected to participate in the Archdiocese Finals, which is hosted by a different metropolis each year.

All eighteen finalists at the Archdiocese Finals participate in a weekend of activities, the highlight of which is the delivery of their speeches on Saturday morning. The Oratorical Festival Scholarship Fund provides college scholarships to the top speakers.

FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism Awards

Each finalist receives an additional scholarship award from FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism as part of its grant to the Archdiocese. FAITH has made these awards to Oratorical Festival Finalists since 2007. We are grateful to the Founders of FAITH for their generous support of the youth of our Archdiocese and the Finalists of the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival.

The Chrysostom Scholarship for Hellenic College

In the 2016 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, each Senior and Junior division first, second, and third place finalist in each category (Oratory, Poetry, and Essay) at the parish, district, metropolis, and national levels of competition is eligible to receive a Chrysostom Scholarship to Hellenic College. This scholarship has been amended to provide awards ranging from $2,500 up to $30,000 per year.

Learn more at www.goarch.org/oratorical.