The Orthodox Youth Movement is a spiritual movement that calls all the Orthodox believers to a religious, ethical, cultural and social renaissance.
OYM calls for the creation of a renaissance movement within the Orthodox Church. All the believers who uphold the cause of Jesus Christ in Antioch are part of the movement even if they are not official members of the OYM.
The OYM believes that the religious and cultural renaissance lies in honoring the religious obligations and knowing the church’s teachings; therefore, the OYM seeks to spread those teachings and to strengthen the Christian faith amongst the people.
The renaissance lies in the commitment to practice prayers and Holy sacraments and in acquiring the mind of Christ through the acquaintance with the Scriptures and the writings of the Church Fathers. OYM’s main concern is that faith be expressed in daily life through the renewal of the parish life, the society, and in the integrity of life, service and love.
The OYM seeks to create an Orthodox culture inspired from the spirit of Church.
The Church has an important role to play in the world. The awaited renewal is not limited to the “internal” ecclesial concerns; on the contrary, it entails the contribution of the church in shaping its civilization by developing a way of thinking, an art and a literature that reflect the uniqueness of Orthodoxy in its views of the world and the mankind.
The OYM refers to the global Christian values in dealing with social issues.
Caring for the poor, the oppressed and every needy is at the core of living the love through service. However, this does not cover all the church activity in the social field. The church must deal with all the social issues in order to put an end to poverty, injustice, and all kinds of oppression.
The Movement condemns confessional fanaticism; however, sticking to the Orthodox principles is a fundamental condition to strengthen religious life and to establish brotherly ties with the other Christian Churches.
The Orthodox vision of the relationships with others refuses any insincerity or syncretism. The schisms among the Christians are a shame that must be overcome so that the world may believe that Jesus Christ is the savior, without falling into another shame, i.e surrendering our firm belief in the divine, complete, and unchanged revelation as it was received by the Orthodox Church.
The OYM liaises with the international Orthodox youth, follows the teachings and tradition of the Universal Orthodox Church, and contributes to its ecumenical development and humanitarian mission.
The Orthodox Unity, that we mysteriously live in the Eucharist, needs to become a tangible reality in the world of mass communication and its numerous and accelerating changes. In raising this issue, the renaissance movement in the church of Antioch was a pioneer in the field of Pan Orthodox cooperation in the world.