On Saturday, 3 November 2018, nearly 50 youth and adults from across the diocese gathered at Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers NY together with Archbishop Michael for the first annual Diocesan “BIBLE BOWL.” The Bible Bowl combined competition, camaraderie, and the culmination of months of diligent study of the Scriptures. Eleven teams from six parishes competed in three divisions (Junior Youth, Senior Youth, Adult) and responded to challenging questions from the Gospel of Saint Mark.

Parishes represented in the competition were: Saints Peter and Paul Church, Endicott NY; Holy Apostles Mission, Lansing NY; Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow NY; Christ the Savior Church, New York NY; Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers NY; and Mother of God Joy of All Who Sorrow Church, Princeton NJ.

Numerous volunteers from Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, as well as Assumption Church in Clifton NJ and Saints Peter and Paul Church in South River NJ, distributed custom made Bible Bowl t-shirts, prepared and served refreshments, and worked as scorekeepers for the competition. Musical entertainment was provided while the anxious contestants waited for the scores to be tallied by the Bible Bowl Band, made up of Father David Cowan (Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers NY), Gregory Fedorchak and Krista Galie (Holy Apostles Mission, Lansing NY), and Simeon Brasowski (Christ the Savior Church, Paramus NJ).

Matushka Tamara Cowan, Chair of the Diocesan Department of Christian Education and coordinator of this first Diocesan Bible Bowl, enthused, “We are pleased to be holding our first Annual Bible Bowl here in Yonkers and reaping the fruits of our study of the Gospel of Saint Mark. With each successive year of passing on trophies and experiencing friendly competition among the youth of our Diocese, we hope to grow a tradition of excellence that will continue on to the next generation. Through these humble efforts we more fully realize the mission of our Department: to experience our Orthodox Christian Faith ever more completely, in Worship, Fellowship, Service, and Witness!”

Archbishop Michael addressed the competitors with words of encouragement, stating that “although it is important to study English and math, science and history, the most important subject we can study is the Scriptures -- the written record of the experience of the people of God. Reading the Scriptures every day, we become transformed by the Holy Spirit. We become more and more like Jesus Christ, and we grow in theosis – the process of knowing and loving the God Who loves us more than we love ourselves!”

Congratulations to the participants in the 2018 Bible Bowl!

Here are the winners:

Junior Division

First Place
Daniel Shami and Viola Shami, Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow NY

Second Place
Gabriel Cowan, Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers NY and Andrew Karlgut, SS. Peter and Paul Church, Endicott NY

Third Place
Alexis Holowatch and Alexis Roberts, SS. Peter and Paul Church, Endicott NY

Senior Division

First Place
Alex Zaiberowski and Khristo Shami, Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow NY

Second Place
Alexey Karlgut and Michael Karlgut, SS. Peter and Paul Church, Endicott NY

Third Place
Paul Holowatch and Alexey Koch, SS. Peter and Paul Church, Endicott NY

Adult Division

First Place
Keith Morris and Abeer Shami, Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow NY

Second Place
Gregory Fedorchak and Krista Galie, Holy Apostles Mission, Lansing NY

Third Place
Tie between Two Teams:
Anya Karlgut, SS. Peter and Paul Church, Endicott and Luke Kusick, Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers;
and Bill Bolinsky and Olga Ptach, Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers