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Fifty young people from Sucevan combined prayer and hiking in a camp at Rarau Monasterytranslated

July 10, 2026 · 1 min read

Approximately 50 young volunteers of the Sucevan Orthodox Youth Association (ATOS) participated, between July 6-7, in the fifth edition of the Summer Camp organized at Rarău Monastery, Suceava county, where the program included spiritual activities, hiking and rafting.

The young people participated in the Holy Liturgy, prayed and offered the answers in the pew. They also held discussions on spiritual topics with the monastery's fathers.

The participants learned about the history of the Rarău Monastery and about the monks who lived in the area.

Father Dometie, the abbot of the monastic settlement, spoke to them about joy, the danger of sadness and the responsibility of young people in the Church, family and society.

Sports activities The young people went on a hike in the Rarău-Giumalău Mountains. Photo source: Archdiocese of Suceava and Radauti The program included a hike in the Rarău Mountains area, during which the young people were accompanied by Rev. Vasile Chirițoiu and Rev. Grigore.

Fr. Vasile Chirițoiu spoke to them about the love of country, voivodship and the virtue of courage, and Fr. Grigore, who was a guide on the mountain, presented them with aspects of the life of the hermits in the area...

Source: Агентство Basilica (română) · Read the full story →

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Юлія Шевчук

Frumos tabăra asta de la Rarău. I especially liked that the young people sang the Liturgy and that the priest Dometie spoke directly about the danger of the entrant – it is a subject of care that we do not love everyone, we do not care. Drumeția cu Pr. Grigore pe urmele pustnicilor cred că le-a lămăt în suflet mai mult cheach raftingul.

Вера Комарова

It’s good that young people not only pray, but also go to the mountains. In Novosibirsk, we also sometimes go to the park after services, and here they also talked about the hermits - interesting. It seems that Father Dometius told them well about despondency, this is really important to everyone.

Katarína Nováková

It's nice that the drama with hermits and Pr. Grigorem took them all the way to the mountains. In our country, after the liturgy, we at least go with the little one to the forest to see Humenný, but I would envy them such a whole weekend combination of prayer and movement. P. Dometie was right, little is said about the accident and it worries everyone.

David Scott

Sounds like a solid camp. The talk from Fr Dometie on the danger of sadness really hits home – we all wrestle with that. Nice they mixed the hiking with the stories about the hermits too; our youth group here in Melbourne does short bushwalks after liturgy but nothing on that scale.

Nikola Todorović

They did it nicely. In our parish, after the liturgy, we sometimes only go to Šumarica, and here they combined Rarău, hermits and rafting. I was most impressed by Father Dometi and the story about the danger of depression - it really affects everyone, not just the young.

Δήμητρα Παπαγεωργίου

They did well that Father Dometier spoke to them about the danger of regret. It is an issue that affects us all, young and old. And the idea of combining liturgy, mountain and stories from hermits as they did with Fr. Grigoris sounds very beneficial to me, especially now in the summer.

Daniel Lewis

That talk on sadness really stuck with me too — Fr Dometie has a way of making it feel practical, not just abstract. Our group here in Dallas tried something similar last summer with a short hike after Liturgy at the monastery in Kemp, but the rafting part sounds like it kept the kids fully awake. Do you do any follow-up meetings back in Melbourne to keep the momentum going?

Νίκη Θεοδώρου

I agree with you, Dimitra, sadness is like a hidden burden that we all carry, young and old. I especially liked that they also talked about the hermits with Fr. Grigoris - it reminds me that the stillness of the mountain can become a prayer. Have you ever been on such a cool summer excursion?

Miloš Marković

I agree, Nikola, father Dometija hit the spot - that depression sneaks up on you imperceptibly, and then it holds you like a chain. In our country, after the liturgy, we usually just walk to Šumarica, but this with Rarău and the hermits sounds like a real incentive to try something similar next summer. Have you been to a bigger mountain with a parish?

Любовь Морозова

Yes, Vera, it’s good to be out in the fresh air after the service. In Rostov, after the liturgy, sometimes we go to the park with the kids, my five-year-old son is already asking when we’ll go again. And it would be interesting to hear more about the hermits - did Father Gregory tell you something specific about the local monks?