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Published
by the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
October 26, 2005
45th
Annual Scouting Retreat Held at Holy Cross
Seminary
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October
26, 2005
The Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting (EOCS)
held its 45th Northeast Region Annual Scout
Retreat at the Holy Seminary, Brookline, MA. The
EOCS is responsible for teaching Orthodox
Christian values and way of life among the Boy
and Girl Scouts of the Orthodox Faith. It also
promotes Scouting as part of the youth ministry
of Orthodox Churches.
The retreat opened with a prayer by Very Rev.
Archimandrite Gerasimos Makris, Director of
Student Life at Holy Cross. Fr. Makris, along
with his assistant, Julie Tziolas recruited
twelve students and seminarians to formulate and
conduct the retreat program based on the theme,
"God's Word". The weekend program was
under the direction of seminarian Micah Hirschy
from Minnesota. The Retreat Chairman was
Scoutmaster Tony Triant of New Jersey. This was
his 34th consecutive retreat as chairman.
During the afternoon session, a number of
priests from the Seminary volunteered to hear
confessions from the 97 Scouts participating.
For many of the Scouts, this was the first time
they went to confession.
Because of the horrendous rainfall, a number of
Scouts units were unable to attend the retreat.
Traditionally, the Scouts campout in tents and
cook their meals outside. Since the rain
continued, the college opened all their
facilities and the Boy Scouts camped in the gym
and the Girl Scouts in the classrooms and the
school provided meals in the college refectory.
The opening and closing ceremonies were held in
the chapel.
The EOCS recognizes its duty to cultivate and
nurture Orthodox Christian traditions. The Scout
Law and Scout Oath state that religion is an
integral part of a Scout's personal moral
development.
The EOCS was created in 1965 by The Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas (SCOBA), and is responsible for
providing scouting religious activities for our
youth on a national level.
George N. Boulukos, National Chairman
Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting
862 Guy Lombardo Avenue
Freeport, New York 11520
Web page: www.eocs.org.
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