4th Annual Coptic Youth Conference, Sydney 1993/94

Copyright © 1995
by C.O.P.T

All rights reserved

Edited by C.O.P.T
Printed in Australia
First Edition 1995

4th Annual Coptic Youth Conference, Sydney 1993/94

"..and we urge you brethen, to recognise those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.."(1 Thessalonians 5:12,13)

When we read this beautiful verse, we remember the love, care and efforts of our wonderful father, His Holiness Pope Shenouda. Indeed our beloved father reminds us of the great saint Paul the Apostle in his love, care, and dedication to God and his children, and in the way he cares for his children abroad by sending his fellow brothers in the ministry to strengthen and encourage them in Christ. We ask our beloved Lord to give him His special love and care, and to protect him and keep him embraced within His wings, and give him the strength and encouragement to continue shepherding his flock in peace.

Early 1994, the youth of Australia were once again very fortunate to have received the blessings of His Grace Bishop Moussa, Bishop of Youth Affairs. His Grace came to Australia in Dec'93 - Jan'94, to conduct and share in our 4th Annual Youth Conferences, & over a period of two weeks in Sydney, His Grace spoke to five different youth groups:

+ Youth aged above 23 years old (working youth)
4. Youth aged between 18-22 years old (tertiary youth)
+ Youth aged 16 & 17 years old (senior years at high school)
+ Youth aged 12 - 15 years old (junior years at high school)
+ Youth servants

The theme of this year's conference in Sydney was "Orthodoxy", and throughout the two weeks, His Grace covered all aspects of orthodoxy, ranging from the Orthodox Calendar to Orthodox Monasticism. On each occasion His Grace spoke practically and simply and in a way that the youth related to and felt they could apply to their lives. For the youth of Sydney, it was their first time to actually discuss orthodoxy in such depth and by the end of the conferences, each one came out with a greater understanding of and love and admiration for our beautiful and glorious Coptic Orthodox Church.

What made these conferences so special was that His Grace took a "discussion" approach, where all topics he spoke about were presented in the form of a discussion and hence encouraged active involvement and participation from all youth. It was also the first time for His Grace to hold a separate conference for youth aged above 23 years.

Once again, we would like to share with you the wonderful topics discussed by 1 Bishop Moussa on the 4th Annual Youth Conferences. The information in this magazine are His Grace's words, including his responses to the most common questions asked by the youth. We pray that this magazine will benefit and give joy to those who read it, as this was experienced by all those who were in the presence of and listened to His Grace Bishop Moussa.

The success of these conferences were due to the prayers and hard work of the church fathers, the youth leaders, the CYC (Coptic Youth Centre), the servants, and most importantly, the participation, co-operation and enthusiasm of the youth them­selves. May God reward all those in His service.

4th Annual Coptic Youth Conference, Sydney 1993/94)

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