Annual Russian Orthodox youth festival
The Orthodox International Youth Festival «Bratya» («Brothers», ) is an annual Russian Orthodox youth festival organized by a group of activists from Mozhaysk, Russia, with the support of various Eastern Orthodox communities, public organizations and individuals. Although the festival is declared as international, traditionally it unites youth of the former USSR. The Festival differs with warm and friendly atmosphere.
The festival is based on complementary components: stage performances; education; informal communication both with the clergy and with each other. Within the framework of the festival educational seminars, thematic discussions with priests, excursions, balls, sports competitions, various master classes, creative performances of Orthodox youth groups and performers of different directions are held.
The festival «Bratya» was first held in July 2005 and since are being held every summer. Since 2008, the winter session of festival "Bratya", also called "Bratya in Winter" was added, and is held annually on February. The summer festival is held as an open-air tent camp event, winter one is usually based in hotels and less populous. To date, 26 festivals have been held, 15 of them in summer and 11 in winter. The venue of the festival changes every time, but periodically the festival returns to the original venue on field of Borodino near Mozhaysk.
Creation the festival.
The festival was initiated by Oksana Shashuto's dance studio from the town of Mozhaisk, created in 1994. In August 1997, they went on tour in Paris, where the 12th Catholic World Youth Day was held, which was visited by over a million people. Oksana Shashuto liked the idea: lectures, worships, concerts. According to Oksana Shashuto: "This was a very big work with young people. While we, – that was in '97 – had almost nothing yet, even any camps. And it turned out that we were so close in temper that I began to think: 'Why don't we have this and can't we do something to try to get started?'". At the same time, such events in Russia and the CIS countries were held mainly by Protestants or Catholics, who had considerable experience in holding such events abroad; as Olga Prorok, a journalist from Kyiv, wrote in 2005: "Why, if we hear about an event for youth where speak about God, we confidently say: 'It is sectarians'? And, what is most regrettable, we almost always guess. Looking at the children's camps, skillfully organized by overseas preachers, who hike tours and fascinating excursions, we complain about nimble sectarians who lead inexperienced young children to their sect. And why are we, Orthodox ones, not able to organize anything like this, with rare exceptions?". In the Russian Orthodox Church, at that time, at best, diocesan or parochial summer camps existed, however, by no means everywhere.
And then Oksana Shashuto and her husband Yaroslav Yerofeyev (they got married in 2004) had the idea to hold a church-wide youth festival to "share inter-regional experience, regardless of geographical boundaries". The idea of unity was set in the very name of the festival. As priest Yaroslav Yerofeyev noted: "We conceived this festival in 2004, when the tendencies towards the separation of fraternal peoples had already begun to penetrate into the public consciousness. But we wanted to show that we are all one in Christ, that no political party can rally people as Christ does". Oksana Shaushto at that time had the experience of organizing a dance festival: "We looked at it, asked around, talked, and when I began to figure out Orthodox themes, we decided to make a festival". In addition to the task of togetherness, the organizers tried to bring the festival and the educational component, and also sought to show that young people go to the Orthodox Church, to break the stereotype about the dullness of life of believers and to prove to the young people that they are not alone in their pursuit of God. At the same time, the idea to hold an Orthodox youth festival was not imposed by anyone; in fact, the festival itself was initiated by the young people themselves.
The initiative was supported by Metropolitan Juvenal (Poyarkov) of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Dean of the Mozhaisk Deanery of the Moscow Oblast Diocese hieromonk Daniel (Zhirnov), the head of the Mozhaisk District Vladimir Nasonov. According to Yaroslav Yerofeyev: "Everyone perceived this idea very correctly and gave every assistance. The day was chosen, the place, the guys were prepared". The first volunteers who organized the festival were high school students who had studied at the Oksana Shashuto Dance Studio. The Borodino field was chosen as place of the festival since it was place of "military exploits of our ancestors in 1812 and 1941,". To inform potential participants about the festival information was posted on the Internet.
The first festival was held since July 18 to July 24, 2005, from Monday to Sunday. Both participants and organizers of the festival lived in simple tents. The food was brought from the school cafeteria of Mozhaisk. Already at the first festival a general concept was evolved; the organizers adhered it hereinafter: services, lectures of invited guests, excursions to the surrounding sights, improvised concerts on the stage specially built during the festival, an auditorium under an awning next to it, "bonfire" with songs and informal communication, mini-conversations (at the first festival they were called "round tables"), festival procession to the Kolotsky Monastery, the prohibition of drinking and smoking in the camp, playing the angels, and the night liturgy, followed by almost all the participants of the festival Communion, many for the first time. According to eyewitnesses, the festival was "with an unprecedented rise". When parting, the participants embraced each other and then declared that such holidays should be held constantly. For holding this festival and "missionary and educational activities among youth," the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Vladimir (Sabodan), in October of the same year awarded Oksana Shashuto the order of the Rev. Nestor the Chronicler.
Immediately after the end of the first festival, the organizers began to prepare for the second one. The site www.bratia.ru was organized, its participants began to visit each other, to communicate. On October 29, 2006, Yaroslav Yerofeyev was ordained a priest and became the spiritual father of the festival. As the number of participants increased, the organizers decided to hold festivals in other localities. In addition, "for those who do not want to part with the Summer Festival "Bratya" for a long time and with everyone with whom he became friends and became so close during this time" it was decided to open the winter session of the festival. The winter festival was first held in February 2008 in the village of Ust-Chorna in Zakarpattia Oblast. It had fewer concerts, but more lectures and conversations with priests. The summer festival of the same year was held near Kyiv. Since then, "in order to strengthen friendly relations and cultural traditions between the youth of different countries", the festival venue changed every time, but the festival regularly returned to the Borodino field, becoming a kind of visiting card of the Mozhaysky District.
Festival goals and objectives.
Association of Orthodox Youth.
The festival organizers aim to unite Orthodox youth from various countries, regardless of state borders and ethnic differences, to give an opportunity to communicate with each other, to expand their circle of friends by several dozen people, to "give each other the love and warmth of their hearts". Mainly these efforts were aimed at uniting young people from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. According to Oksana Shashuto, the goal of the festival is "to bring young people from different cities and different countries together, to show that Orthodox people live everywhere, that there are many of us, and we can be together. ... No boundaries can divide us, and no politicians are able to embroil". This goal became particularly relevant after the outbreak of hostilities in eastern Ukraine and the serious complication of relations between the three Eastern Slavic states in 2014. The very name of the festival, according to Oksana Shashuto, "most accurately conveys the unity and brotherhood of all, and not isolation in individual parishes".
The festival organizers also set as their goal "the embodiment in the life of the brotherhood, friendship and unity of the Orthodox Church". As noted by Priest Vyacheslav Haplichnik, who organized the winter festival of 2013: "The festival is a unique platform for communication of Orthodox youth from different countries. Because people can lose unity. The composition of the Russian church is very large. Often, Ukraine does not have contacts with Lithuanian youth, and Moscow does not know Belarus. And here very strong ties are established for many years". In 2005, Olga Prorok described the goals of the organizers in this way: "Absolutely human communication is necessary for absolutely everyone, including the Orthodox. Through joint prayer, works, games of the heart are thawed, they become cleaner and more tender – they open up for the neighbor, and therefore for God". Alina Ryazanova wrote in 2011: "At the festival, many young people understand that they are not alone in their faith and good deeds, that Orthodoxy does not disappear, but, on the contrary, continues to exist, expanding more and more".
At the same time, according to Oksana Shashuto, the festival failed to achieve its main goal – "to gather and unite the youth who came to the Orthodox Church". If initially the organizers of the festival "Bratya" characterized it as "An unprecedented event in the world of youth and Orthodox Christianity", over time similar events for Orthodox youth began to appear in many dioceses, and many of their organizers gained experience specifically on "Bratya" festival. "People who come to us were delighted with the fact that we are here all together, and then they leave for themselves, and in the diocese they are told to do the same with them. Then we can not get any good priests, nor young people, because they all put on certain roles, and they should now make mini-Bratya themselves. We beg to invent something of our own, to take advantage of the rich imagination and knowledge. But even adults in Moscow with knowledge and money are still trying to duplicate everything that we do. ... It would be cool if there were several major different activities and you could ride them. But people cannot come simply because they have been asked to be counselors, organizers in another place, and priests must hold conversations there ... Over the years, this has become increasingly apparent, and we don't know at all what to do about it. New people come, but also dissolve".
Thus, in 2011, the youth union of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, together with the Synodal Youth Affairs Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, organized the annual youth educational forum "Quo vadis?" In Belarus; In 2016, the youth department of the Moscow City Diocese created the annual youth educational volunteer forum named DobroLeto; in 2018, the Synodal Department of the UOC on Youth Affairs organized the Orthodox Youth Festival "OrthoFest".
Educational and cognitive.
According to Oksana Shashuto, while preparing for the first festival, "the organizers mainly pursued educational goals. We wanted to tell the young about Orthodoxy, to introduce them to the faith". For this, according to the priest Yaroslav Yerofeyev, "we invite people who may and able to speak in a living, ordinary human tongue. Not in the language of books and catechism, but in a living language to talk about the basics of the faith". The organizers seek to invite to the festival bright church preachers and generally interesting people who can also tell about their path to God. According to a long-term participant of the festival and the organizer of the School of Volunteers Victoria Anikeyeva: "The main goal of the festival is educational. ... It is assumed that people will not just rest, and I assure you that they will communicate well, but will nevertheless take away some fruits from this festival". In addition to lectures, the program of festivals provides for intellectual and educational games, excursions, master classes. Archimandrite Jonah (Cherepanov) noted in 2011: "It is amazing how young people have an unfulfilled thirst for knowledge about Orthodoxy, how much the guys are eager to hear the answers to the most important questions from the mouth of the priest. It is insulting to tears for them, that they cannot talk at home with the priest, many