His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel arrived Wednesday morning at Sibiu, where he will lead the opening ceremony of this year’s International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO 2018).
His Beatitude was welcomed at the International Airport in Sibiu by the local Metropolitan Laurentiu of Transylvania and the ITO volunteers who intoned the patriarchal polychronion (pheme).
The same day, Patriarch Daniel opened the St Stylianos Canteen of the Sibiu Archdiocese officiating a blessing service.
Thursday, September 6, 2018, the Patriarch of Romania will open the most important event of the year dedicated to Orthodox Youth.
Over 3000 young Orthodox Christians from Romania and other countries gather in Sibiu on Sept. 6-9 under the motto, ‘Unity. Faith. Nation’.
The event continues the series of meetings organised in Baia Mare in 2013 and 2014, in Cluj-Napoca in 2015, in Bucharest in 2016 and in Iasi in2017.
ITO`s purpose is creating the context for young people to experience life-changing moments, a context where they can sense the feeling of communion, of belonging, together with young people from other regions, or from abroad. A place where they can share life orthodox- values and where they can become preachers of the Christian message, spreading it in their communities.
The goal of this event to be held in Sibiu is to provide a framework in which the young participants could find role models and undergo life-shaping experiences, in which they could experience the feeling of communion with other young people from Romania or abroad, in which they could share in the Christian Orthodox values and learn how to convey the Christian message to the communities they belong to.
Photos: Mihnea Păduraru / ZL
