Holy Trinity Church in Baltimore, MD hosted the 11th Annual Baltimore Orthodox Bible Bowl on Saturday, February 10. Orthodox youth in the Baltimore area gather for a friendly competition testing their knowledge of the New Testament. Participating parishes take their turn each year in hosting the event under the direction of Archpriest John Vass, rector of Holy Trinity.
At this year’s Bible Bowl, ten teams, representing four Orthodox parishes – Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church, St. Andrew Orthodox Church and St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church – participated in the friendly competition. Teams from the middle school and high school levels answered many difficult questions taken from the Book of Acts. All ten teams impressively answered the questions, making their parents proud.
For the first time, both the middle school and high school teams from Holy Trinity won first place! On the middle school level, the competition was especially tense. Only one point separated first and second place. The kids were genuinely excited, because they won the honor to bring the trophies to be housed at Holy Trinity for the year.
At the awards ceremony, all participants received an icon of Sts. Peter and Paul, and teams finishing first, second and third place also received gift cards as prizes.
At the conclusion of the event, everyone proceeded to the church for the Great Vespers service, led by Fr. John with clergy from the participating parishes.
Additional photos can be viewed here.
For information on how to replicate this event in your parish, please contact Fr. John Vass.