Program

St. Lazar Summer Camp

The St. Lazar Camp is held in the period between the Holy Apostles and the Dormition fasts, that is, from the 12 of July to the 14 of August (NS), lasting ten days.  The exact date of the beginning of the camp will always be published well in advance.

St. Lazar’s Camp offers ten days of unforgettable mountaineering, camping experience of organized, select camp activities which will be led and supervised by expert staff and under the watchful eye of an Orthodox priest who will lead the daily prayers and holy services. 

The professional staff of St. Lazar’s Camp includes:

-The spiritual father of the camp, Priest Stephan

- Sister Tatiana, an organizer of Orthodox youth camps in Russia with long years’ of pedagogical experience

-Brother Theodore, a sports instructor

- Matushka Jefimija, nurse and catechism teacher

During the course of the camp, along with the professional staff, several chosen volunteer helpers will also be present. 

The goal of St. Lazar’s Camp is to offer Orthodox youth a spiritual refuge from the daily pressures of modern society through socializing and various physical activities in the unspoiled nature of these mountains.  Our advisors and personnel of the expert staff have been carefully chosen in order to plant and nourish a deeply rooted sense of community, courtesy, self-sacrifice, courage, spirituality and undaunting loyalty towards Orthodoxy and the fatherland in the young participants of the camp.  The last of these virtues implies - for some segments of the activities of the camp - military discipline and some basic elements of military training.  A military style of dress (camouflage or military green clothing) well suits the conditions of life outdoors and helps one have a sense of readiness to serve one’s fatherland following the model of classic scout camps throughout the world whose motto is “Be Prepared!”

The activities of the camp are adapted according to the individual needs and age of each child.  A day at the camp begins with the raising of the flag to the group singing of the anthem “O God of Justice,” calisthenics, and then that day’s specific activities follow, including mountaineering, orientation/navigation in the wilderness, finding nourishment in nature, classes of national history, catechism, art, sports, and other fun activities such as singing around the camp fire, folk dancing and socializing with the camp participants.

The expert staff and volunteers of St. Lazar’s  Orthodox Youth Camp Camp make an effort to create and support a wholesome atmosphere which will encourage community among the young campers and in this way cultivate friendships and memories which will carry on far beyond the immediate experience of the camp itself.  The constant presence of the camp priest, visits from the Bishop himself, various guest instructors and leaders along with the organization of the expert staff, with the help of the volunteers, all led by the same spirit of community, nurturing of love and loyalty for the faith and fatherland, that is, Svetosavlje, make this camp a truly unforgettable and pleasant refuge  - a true home away from home!  

The camp will also take care to offer youth a fundamental education in the loftiness and indispensability of an Orthodox (non-parliamentary)  monarchy, that is, an autocrat, while unmasking the false, and for the Serbian people, fatal, political orientations of communism and liberal Western democracy (this applies to the older participants in the camp).

Age Range

St. Lazar’s Camp invites girls and boys from the ages of 7 to 17 years who are in search of the forgotten true values of our holy forefathers which have been uprooted from our much-suffering people by God-hating communism and the secularism of atheist Western culture.

This age range is not strict; it can be moved upon consideration and agreement.

ST. LAZAR CAMP PROGRAM

7:00  -  Getting up, personal hygiene (face washing, tooth brushing)

7:30  -  Assembly, morning prayers, raising of the flag with singing of anthem “O God of Justice,” tidying and inspection of tents, morning calisthenics.

9:00  -  Breakfast

10:00 – 2:00  Organized camp activities

2:00  -  Lunch

3:00  -  4:00  Quiet time (rest)

4:00  -  6:00  Organized camp activities

6:00  -  Supper, personal hygiene

7:00  -  Assembly, lowering of the flag with singing of anthem “God of Justice,” evening prayers

After the evening prayers, sitting around campfire with singing

What will children like the most about this mountain camp?

Camp fire – this is the campers’ biggest favorite:  gathering and preparing branches, lighting the fire by themselves, sitting and talking around it.

Separation of male and female segments of the camp. Competitions in cleanliness, orderliness, and military discipline.

Playing in the Demižlok creek, wading, making of dams, dips and even swimming…

Fields – various games and sports, along with a small youth training grounds with shooting and other exercises

Summits   - hiking to various vista points and picturesque views of the surroundings, keeping a mountaineer’s journal, orientation with help of military topographical maps and compasses

Stories  - every centennial beech, every cave, and rocky summit has its own story or association for someone, a point of interest, or reason why someone gave it one name or another

Life itself in the camp – interesting instruction of camp staff, various tools, cutting wood and making fires, sleeping in tents in sleeping bags on firm mats, bathing in the creek, drinking water from mountain spring

Taking responsibility -  packing and carrying one’s own backpack, washing one’s clothing in the creek

NOTICE

It is forbidden to bring any kind of electronic devices to the camp such as cd players, mp3s, transistors, telephones, smartphones, tablets, ipads, cameras, camcorders, etc.

Before departure to the camp these devices will be deposited at the convent for safekeeping until the end of the camp.

There will be an official photographer and filmmaker at the camp who will immortalize life at the camp.  Afterwards these photos will be distributed to all interested participants of the camp, and some material will be published online.