SAN FRANCISCO: July 2, 2014
The Participants of the 13th All-Diaspora Russian Orthodox Youth Conference Hold Sessions and Go Sightseeing

The 13th All-Diaspora Russian Orthodox Youth Conference, organized in San Francisco, CA, to coincide with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the glorification of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco and the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, is continuing its work.

Monday, June 30, 2014, began for the youth with Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” at which the newly-consecrated Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan officiated for the first time as a hierarch. Praying at the service were the other members of the Council of Bishops, who are also participating in a session of the Synod of Bishops. The Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign,” whose caretaker Bishop Nicholas had been for several years, was present as well.

After Liturgy, the conferees heard a lecture by His Grace Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevsk, President of the Synodal Department on Charity and Social Service of the Moscow Patriarchate, after which they broke up into groups and visited two charitable institutions to view their operations. The first was St Anthony’s Kitchen, where approximately 300 homeless people are fed daily. Then Protopriest Stefan Pavlenko gave the group (including Bishop Panteleimon) a tour of St John Kronstadt Care Center and its chapel. Vladyka Panteleimon and Fr Stefan performed a moleben service, after which the hierarch blessed the Orthodox Christian patients of the senior home. The staff took the group on a tour and answered questions, after which they offered a Russian-style lunch. That evening, the youth took a tour of the city and returned to the conference center to work in groups.

On Tuesday, July 1, the conference members were taken to Golden Gate Bridge and then to the first landing site of the Russian people on the West Coast of America, Fort Ross. The impressive locale includes a museum and fortress grounds, and they were shown how an old cannon fires. On the return trip, the youth stopped by Corbel Winery.

Protopriest Alexander Krassovsky then gave a speech on fundraising at SS Peter and Paul Church in Santa Rosa. Afterwards, the conference again broke up into groups and had lunch, while Fr Alexander shared his recollections of the life of St John of Shanghai. The interesting talk concluded with a rousing round of applause.