The young confessors of faith through words and deeds, devotees of prayer and action are the missionaries of the Church in today’s society, the Patriarch of Romania underlined at the end of #ITO2016. The solemn festivity was held Sunday, 4 September 2016, after the Divine Liturgy celebrated at the National Cathedral.
The Meeting of the Orthodox Youth from All Over the World, 2016 edition, reached its end. The closing festivity was held Sunday, 4 September, after the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, on a podium specially set up in front of the National Cathedral. After the Divine Liturgy, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church addressed the young participants the closing speech of the event entitled Joy of Communion and the Dynamics of Christian Mission.
At the same time, the Patriarch of Romania thanked all those who contributed to the organisation of the event and blessed all those present.
We wish you, dear young people, to take with you, to your homes, the love of Christ, the joy of Christ, the peace of Christ to feel loved by God, and love our fellow beings just as Christ loved and loves us, His Beatitude said.
Then, Ioana Liana Florea read the solemn closing document of #ITO2016.
We joyfully entrust you with the mission to prepare the future international meeting of the Orthodox youth of 2017 to be held in Iaşi. May Christ, our Lord, the Joy of Life, give you help, enthusiasm and much spiritual growth so that the brotherly communion we lived these days should unprecedentedly increase, Ioana Liana said.
The document was handed over to Miruna Ţupu, vice-president of the Orthodox Youth Association of Iaşi (ATOR), because the Archdiocese of Iaşi will be the host of the youth meeting next year.
Then, the #ITO2016 organisers symbolically handed over the insignia of the meeting to the representatives of the Archdiocese of Iaşi.
Alexandru Bordea, speaker of #ITO2016, handed over the torch of the meeting to Emanuel Buta, president of the Christian Orthodox Students Association of Romania, Iaşi branch.
Beloved young brothers in Christ, our Lord, one year passed since the previous meeting held in Cluj, and now, at the end of our meeting, we thank you for the joy you offered us being together with us in the Capital City of Romania these last few days. We look forward with great joy to meeting you next year in Iaşi, Alexandru said.
The president of ASCOR Iaşi invited all those present to participate in the next year edition of the Orthodox Youth meeting and said that #ITO2016 brought much joy into the souls of all participants.
This is a great day for all of us, because it closes an event which brought much joy to all people’s souls, an event which we shall never forget. We hope that this event brought a new ray of light in our lives, because here, in the Capital City of Romania, we rediscovered, together with you, this courage to look ahead, to look at the most important things in life, the eternal things, Emanuel Buta said.
After the speech of the president of ASCOR Iaşi, the Patriarch of Romania said the journey prayer for the young people who would leave today from Bucharest and blessed them all.
At the end of the closing festivity the #ITO2016 anthem was sung.
Photo Gallery:
***
Evenimentul găzduit de Capitala României s-a desfăşurat în perioada 1-4 septembrie 2016. Întâlnirea Tinerilor Ortodocși din toată lumea a avut ca scop formarea tinerilor, prin participarea la programe educative, duhovnicești, culturale și artistice din Capitală, pentru ca aceștia să devină, la rândul lor, formatori în comunitățile din care provin.
