- ATORG -
(Association of Romanian Orthodox Youth in Germany)
- Emden Organization -
Administrative meeting
03/23/2025
- in editing -
The first online meeting of young people from Emden Parish
- 17.03.2025 -
Recently, the community of young Romanian Orthodox people in Germany came together to discuss organizing activities aimed at strengthening ties between young people, promoting Christian values, and ensuring their active involvement in church life.
The importance of prayer and community involvement.
The meeting opened with a prayer addressed to the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the importance of prayer in any church activity. Father Vlad spoke about the Romanian Orthodox Youth Association in Germany (ATORG), a reference framework for the activities of Orthodox youth, mentioning the annual meetings organized in different cities and their importance for the development of local communities.
Organizing local youth activities in the parish
Father Vlad proposed organizing local activities for the youth in the parish, inspired by the Association of Romanian Orthodox Youth in Germany (ATORG). He recommended, for starters, visiting nearby attractions, churches and monasteries, starting with places close to home and gradually expanding to larger cities. The father emphasizes the importance of regular meetings, preferably after Sunday Mass, in order to build friendships based on faith. He encourages the young people present to introduce themselves and share their ideas for future activities, with the aim of creating lasting connections within the church community.
Discussions about local activities and excursions
The group discussed potential activities and excursions, focusing on local options before considering more distant locations. They are considering visiting the Universum Science Center in Bremen, the Climate House in Bremerhaven, and a tour of the Bremen stadium. The group decides to start with smaller local activities to get to know each other better. They have discussed the possibility of going bowling or to a laser tag place in the near future, and the Father, along with the entire community, offers to support these youth activities. The group is encouraged to think about their schedule and availability for the upcoming weekend and the ones that follow, and are encouraged to plan as far in advance as possible to be as organized as possible.
Organizing Sunday activities and prayer
The group discussed organizing activities, especially for Sunday. Nicolas plans to create a survey to measure attendance at a Sunday gathering. The priest emphasizes the importance of planning ahead, maintaining a detailed calendar, and beginning activities with prayer, preferably by attending Mass. He encourages active participation in church services and suggests the possibility of forming a youth choir to give responses during church services. Nicolas mentions his upcoming English exam, and the youth were advised to pray for each other and to make a list of young people to include in their prayers.
Planning the youth meeting after Mass
The group discusses planning a youth gathering after Sunday Mass. They agree to gather in the church kitchen, bring snacks, and talk about future activities, including a possible trip during the Easter holidays. Ayline suggests using this opportunity to get to know each other better before making concrete plans. Alina mentions that the parish can provide space and supplies for the gathering.
Sharing talents with the wider world
The priest discussed the importance of sharing talents and creative works with the wider world, not just keeping them hidden within the community. He shared his support for a young man in their parish who published his first book of poetry and encouraged others to do the same. The priest also mentioned the parish website as a platform for young people to showcase their creative works.
Community service and environmental protection
The group discussed the importance of community service and environmental protection. They shared their personal experiences of volunteering in nursing homes and hospitals and suggested organizing similar activities. The group agreed to plan and schedule such activities for the coming period. They emphasized the value of building friendships and contributing to the well-being of the community and the environment.
German vs Romanian orphanages
The differences between children's homes in Germany and Romania were presented, noting that the German ones are privatized but funded by the state. The priest shared an activity in which the Emden Parish supports a community in Romania by providing school supplies and financial assistance to children at risk of dropping out of school. He mentioned that they have been doing this for six years and have supported over 200 children.
The meeting ended with a prayer.
ATORG Youth Meeting
Young people from Emden Parish are invited to participate in the first local youth meeting in the North German Deanery, organized by ATORG.
Youth Meeting Program - ATORG
Date: 15.02.2025
Place: Saint John the Baptist Orthodox Parish in Hamburg
Address: Tegelweg 151, 22159 Hamburg
Organized by: ATORG for the youth of the North German Deanery
Part 1: City tour with the youth
• 11:00: Meeting at Hamburg Central Station
• 11:15: Start of the city tour
• Walking through the city center
• Lunch together
• Visiting the Port of Hamburg
Part 2: Opening the Youth Meeting
• 15:00: Official opening of the youth meeting
• From His Holiness Bishop Sofian
• Location: Orthodox Parish of St. John the Baptist in Hamburg, Tegelweg 151, 22159 Hamburg
• 15:20: Break / Youth activities
Part 3: Activities for young people
• 15:30: Knowledge games and discussion topics
• Dialogue between young people
• 16:30: Questions and answers with His Holiness Bishop Sofian
• Small conference / Topic debate
Part 4: Maslu and Evening Supper
• 17:00: Anointing Service (The Sacrament of the Holy Unction – Orthodox service for the healing of the soul and body)
• 7:00 PM: Dinner together
• Moments of communion and ending the day in a spirit of unity and joy
To all the young people who have registered and will participate in this meeting, on behalf of the Emden Parish, we wish them a blessed journey!
For questions and additional details, do not hesitate to contact me.
With joy,
Father Vlad-Cătălin Lia
Parish Committee
Visit to the Parish of Emden
On November 24, 2024, the Emden Parish will enjoy the visit of young Mihail Engel.
Mihail Engel plays a significant role in the activities of the Association of Romanian Orthodox Youth in Germany (ATORG), being the organization's secretary.
ATORG aims to strengthen the Romanian Orthodox community in the German diaspora, especially by supporting young Romanian Orthodox. The association's objectives include creating close ties between young people in the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, promoting the Orthodox faith and Romanian cultural values, and involving young people in parish and social activities.
In this context, Mihail Engel helps organize spiritual and cultural events, such as conferences, pilgrimages, and annual meetings of Orthodox youth. ATORG organizes an annual meeting of Romanian Orthodox youth from Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, which promotes communion and dialogue between young people and clergy, facilitating spiritual progress and supporting the Orthodox identity of its members.
Another important aspect of the activities coordinated by the young Mihail Engel is the charitable support for Romanian students in Germany, including providing scholarships for young people with limited financial means and supporting disadvantaged families in Romania. The association is actively involved in the community through religious and cultural events that contribute to the unity of the Romanian Orthodox diaspora.
Mihai also has administrative responsibilities, such as managing communication and relations between the association's members and facilitating resources and information for the young people involved. ATORG relies on donations to support these activities, and he also coordinates this aspect to ensure the continuity of the association's projects.
Details about ATORG can be found here. here!
Message from a participant at the first meeting of Orthodox youth in the Emden Parish:
"The first ATORG activity of the youth of our Parish – a day full of joy and communion!
Sunday, November 24, 2024, was a truly special day for the young people of the Orthodox Parish of Emden! We started the day together, all participating in the Holy Liturgy.
After moments of prayer and peace of mind in the church, we gathered at the Jelena restaurant for a rich meal, full of good cheer and friendship. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better and to share thoughts and plans for the future.
The day ended in a dynamic and fun way at the bowling alley, where for two hours we enjoyed games, laughter and friendly competition. The atmosphere was extraordinary, and each of us went home with a full soul and the desire to see each other again as soon as possible!
We thank everyone who participated and contributed to the organization of this wonderful day. This is just the beginning, and in the future we want to continue with other activities that unite and inspire us!”
Daniel Sailescu
ATORG Annual Meeting 2024 - Vienna
The article is being posted...
Pre-holiday meeting
06/16/2024
Dear young people,
At the end of this school year we are waiting for you at a meeting with all the young people in the Parish.
Young people between the ages of 13 and 30 are eagerly awaited.
We would be happy to bring songs to the Lord together during the Holy Liturgy.
After the Holy Liturgy, we will all sit down and talk and make plans together for this year.
We look forward to seeing you,
priest Vlad-Cătălin Lia
08.08.2023
ATORG Annual Meeting - Münster 2023
October 6-8, 2023: ATORG Annual Meeting in Münster
The Association of Romanian Orthodox Youth in Germany (ATORG), with the blessing of His Holiness Metropolitan Serafim, under the presidency of His Holiness Bishop Vicar Sofian Brașoveanul, invites you to the annual meeting of its members and supporters in Münster from 06 to 08 Oct. 2023. Along with His Holiness Bishop Vicar Sofian Brașoveanul, we are pleased to have His Eminence Metropolitan Dr. Serafim Joantă, Metropolitan of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, present at the event, along with other guests who will lead discussion groups, as appropriate, and will be with the participants throughout the event.
The ATORG Münster 2023 meeting will have as its debate theme: "How the Romanian people and the Romanian language were formed"
On the occasion of the anniversary events two years ago, in Putna (2021), entitled "The Celebration of Putna - 150. Continuity of an Ideal", which His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel also participated in, Acad. Prof. Dr. Ioan-Aurel POP stated in his address that our homeland must be our faith and also that today, more than ever, the Church is equal to the world, and our Church is equal to the Romanian nation. At the same time, the President of the Romanian Academy urged the young participants to look at traditions and history as an impetus for the present and the future, to which they should humbly worship, as did the ancestors who built the country of Romania, to cherish the language and to know their place in Europe with dignity.
In this sense, we are called as young people of different ages to cultivate and firmly preserve our identity of nation and Orthodox faith, even in a Europe united in the diversity of cultures and nations that form and support it. This is possible only to the extent that we understand our own identity of faith and nation, as His Eminence Bishop Dr. Sofian of Brașov stated, loving it and not denying it, especially in the current conditions, when there is an additional need to remember and deepen our increasingly thin historical knowledge. Together with the special guest of the ATORG Münster 2023 Annual Meeting, we try to debate the above-mentioned topic, starting from the thoughts and impulses of His Excellency summarized as follows: "In order to understand the formation of the Romanian people - that is, to be able to correctly answer the questions of where, when and how Romanians were born - we must start from a few premises, from a few undeniable truths: Romanians are a Romance people and therefore speak a neo-Latin language, like the Italians, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Provençals, Catalans, etc.; Romanians are the only Romance people of the Eastern (Orthodox) faith, which has contributed substantially to preserving their unity and national specificity; Romanians are today the only Romance people completely isolated from the mass of Latinity, that is, from the other Romance peoples in Europe; Romanians are the most numerous people in southeastern Europe and there is no indication that in the Middle Ages they were otherwise (all the larger peoples of southeastern Europe, i.e. the Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Albanians, each do not even reach half the number of Romanians); the old ethnic elements from which the Romanians were formed – the Thracian-Dacian-Getians, the Romans and the Slavs – existed for centuries in a row both south and north of the Danube. The Romanians were formed at the same time as all the Romance peoples, on the site of some provinces of the Roman Empire (Dacia, Moesia, Pannonia), from three basic ethnic elements (autochthonous/pre-Roman, Roman/Latin-speaking and migratory/post-Roman). The “Romanian miracle” is not the formation, but the persistence over time of the Romanians as a Romance people in a “great (predominantly) Slavic””.
In addition, the role of the Orthodox Christian faith and the Church in the formation of the Romanian people and the Romanian language will also be discussed.
Lecturer: President of the Romanian Academy, Prof. Dr. Ioan-Aurel POP.
Mr. Acad. Prof. Dr. Ioan-Aurel POP is a historian, doctor of history, Professor at the Department of Medieval, Premodern History and Art History of the "Babeș-Bolyai" University in Cluj-Napoca, Full Member of the Romanian Academy since 2010 and President of the Romanian Academy since 2018, Doctor Honoris Causa of some universities, including the University of Alba Iulia, Timișoara, Galați, Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu and the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. He is also part of multiple national and international bodies, such as: member of the Commission for the History of International Relations of the International Committee of Historical Sciences (Milan) since 1990, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts (Paris) since 1999, member of the Institute for International Meetings in Gorizia since 2005, member of Ateno Veneto since 2005, member of the Scientific Committee of the Institute for Research in Social and Religious History in Vicenza, Italy since 2006, member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (Salzburg) since 2013, member of the International and Adult Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame since 2013, member of the College of the European Center for Studies in Ethnic Issues of the Academy (2013), full member of the Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana in Mantua (2015) and member of the Writers' Union (2017).
Meeting schedule
The ATORG Münster 2023 Meeting program will include, as appropriate, discussion groups (one in German), prayer times, recreational activities and a cultural program. There will also be a program dedicated to children between the ages of 6 and 9/10, as well as young people between the ages of 11-17.
Friday, 06.10.2023
starting at 2:00 PM - Arrival and accommodation of participants
15:00 – 17:45 - Visiting the city center and walking along the artificial lake Aasee, which is located in the southwest part of the city center of Münster (optional), where the accommodation is also located.
18:00 – 19:00 - Evening meal (optional, €10 per person)
20:00 – 21:30 - Opening of ATORG Münster 2023, nice to see you again! (H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Serafim Joantă, H.E. Vicar Bishop Dr. Sofian Brașoveanul, Fr. Teodor Tăbuș). Evening prayer (Location: Jugendherberge Münster/Jugendgästehaus Aasee).
Saturday, 07.10.2023
07:15 – 07:45 - Morning prayer (Location: Jugendherberge Münster/Jugendgästehaus Aasee).
08:00 – 08:45 - Breakfast
09:00 – 12:15 - Conference I: "How the Romanian people and the Romanian language were formed", Acad. Prof. Univ. Dr. Ioan-Aurel POP (Location: Jugendherberge Münster/Jugendgästehaus Aasee). In parallel, a program dedicated to children aged between 6 and 9/10 years, as well as young people aged between 11-17 (in the rooms reserved for them, also at Jugendherberge Münster/Jugendgästehaus Aasee) will be held.
12:30 – 13:30 - Lunch (Location: Jugendherberge Münster/ Jugendgästehaus Aasee).
13:30 – 14:30 - Free time
14:30 – 15:00 - Concert: The traditional vocal group "Ai lui Ștefan, noi oșteni" of the "Ion Nistor" Technological High School in Vicovu de Sus, Suceava County, coordinated by Professor Vasile Schipor.
15:00 – 18:00 - Conference (II): Discussion groups or interaction/question and answer session with the special guest (Location: Jugendherberge Münster/Jugendgästehaus Aasee), interspersed with a coffee and cake break (20 min.). In parallel, the second part of the program dedicated to children aged 4 to 9/10, as well as young people aged 11-17) will take place in the rooms reserved for them, also at the Jungendherberge Münster.
18:30 – 19:15 - Evening prayer (Location: Jugendherberge Münster/ Jugendgästehaus Aasee).
19:30 – 20:30 - Evening meal (Location: Jungendherberge Münster/ Jugendgästehaus Aasee)
Starting at 8:30 PM - Cultural/artistic program prepared by the young people of ATORG and the traditional vocal group "Ai lui Ștefan, noi oșteni"
(Location: Jugendherberge Münster/Jugendgästehaus Aasee).
Sunday, 08.10.2023
until 08:45 - Handing over the keys!
09:00 - 12:30 - Matins and the Holy Bishop's Liturgy (celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Father Dr. Serafim Joantă and His Eminence Bishop Dr. Sofian Brașoveanul, together with a council of priests and deacons, at the Romanian Orthodox Parish dedicated to "Saint Hierarch Spyridon and the Holy Martyr Petronela" in Münster), followed by the Word to the youth by His Eminence Bishop Vicar Sofian
13:00 - 14:30 - Lunch (Romanian Orthodox Parish dedicated to "Saint Hierarch Spyridon and the Holy Martyr Petronela" in Münster).
14:40 - 16:00 - Closing discussion ATORG Münster 2023, results and perspectives (Romanian Orthodox Parish dedicated to "Saint Hierarch Spyridon and the Holy Martyr Petronela" in Münster)
Venue address for the ATORG Münster 2023 program
Youth Hostel Münster
Youth Guesthouse Aasee
Bismarckallee 31, 48151, Münster
Costs
The participation fee is calculated based on age, arrival and departure dates. The fee includes accommodation with breakfast and meals specified in the package. Transportation costs are borne by each participant.
Participation fee
Friday – Sunday Saturday (Conference Day)
Package 1 Package 2
Adults€165 €65
Youth (6-26 years old) 135 EUR 45 EUR
Included in the differentiated participation fee:
- Friday – Sunday (package 1): 2 nights accommodation with breakfast and 3 meals; (Dinner on Friday night is optional, €10 /person)
- Saturday (package 2): conference participation and lunch only (dinner is optional, announced in advance, for a fee)
The registration deadline is September 30, 2023.
Please note: Due to the strict registration and cancellation conditions imposed by the Jugendherberge Münster, once payment has been made and the place has been confirmed, a request to cancel your participation can only be made in exchange for a cancellation fee. This consists of half the amount paid for the optional package. If the previously booked place is later occupied, then only 80% of the participation fee will be refunded. Refunds of the paid fee, as well as the possibility of canceling your participation in ATORG Münster 2023 two weeks before the start of the event, can no longer be considered.
For registrations, please contact Father Vlad directly at 0172 674 5460 or pr.vlad@parohia-emden.de
