Saturday, 21 May 2016, the Patriarch of Romania, His Beatitude Daniel, awarded prizes to the winners of the National Contest of Creation entitled “Church and School in my Soul”. The prize award festivity was held at the end of the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the summer altar of the Patriarchal Cathedral.
The children were awarded prizes and the Homage diploma of Saint Hierarch Martyr Anthimos of Iviria, and the priests and coordinating professors the Homage Diploma.
The contests organised by the Church are designed to strengthen the faith
The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church delivered a speech in which he urged the children to participate in the national contests organised by the Romanian Patriarchate underlining that these contests are designed to strengthen the faith:
“We congratulate all the children who won and the professors who supervised them, and encourage them all, and other ones too, to participate in other national contests organised by the Romanian Patriarchate together with the Eparchies in the country. These contests organised by the Church are designed to strengthen the faith, as well as to emphasise various talents, especially in the educational system. We are glad because most of them have come dressed in national costumes. This thing makes us hope that the Christian Orthodox youth of Romania keeps our traditions transmitted throughout the centuries”, the Patriarch of Romania said.
The contest was held from 15 December 2015–21 May 2016 in three sections: literary, artistic and multi-media. Each participating team made a portfolio on the theme proposed (Church and School in my soul) and enrolled for one of the three sections. The teams consisted of: the priest, the professor of Religion, and the children of the group of catechisation. About 100,000 children enrolled for the contest.
The contest was held in three stages:
The theme of the contest was one of the themes the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church scheduled for 2016, which the Romanian Patriarchate declared as Solemn year of the religious education of the Christian youth and Commemorative year of Saint Hierarch Martyr Anthimos of Iviria and of the church printers, at the commemoration of 300 years since his martyr’s death (1716–2016).
