On Saturday, July 11, the 2015 Summer Youth Program came to a close at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. The Summer Youth Program incorporates both monastery life and features of a summer camp: young men have the opportunity to attend monastic services, work beside members of the brotherhood, and participate in candid religious discussions; the program also features sports and recreational activities, including special events such as day trips to local points of interest.

The Summer Youth Program at Holy Trinity Monastery was established to expose the young men to the rich spiritual heritage and legacy of the Russian Church Abroad. Its objectives are to nurture the their development in the areas of spiritual discipline, steadfastness, and sobriety, through a structured program of participation in the monastic community.

This year, the Program ran from Sunday, June 21 to Saturday, July 11, with participants ranging in age from 15 to 18 years old. During the three-week Program, they attended and participated in the daily cycle of services, attended meals with the brethren in the monastery refectory, received spiritual instruction in the Law of God on a daily basis, and worked alongside the monastics in their various daily obediences: tending the monastery’s cemetery, working in the vegetable garden, caring for the chickens, cooking for the brotherhood, helping with various construction and repair projects, and more. They also had the opportunity to enjoy sports, swimming, hiking, fishing, campfires, and field trips.

The Summer Youth Program has been supported annually by the Fund for Assistance to ROCOR. The FFA grant has allowed Holy Trinity Monastery to keep tuition very low. Please consider donating to the FFA for this and other worthy causes.