Chrysostom Oratory Competition

THE NATIONAL ACCS ORATORY COMPETITION

– Review Entry Details and Deadline (usually in April)

– Watch All Winning Entries

Each year students from ACCS member schools have the opportunity to participate in the Chrysostom Oratory Competition, where they present their senior thesis. The senior thesis is the culmination of four years of work, and is required for high school graduation. The students present and defend their thesis before a panel of faculty at their school, after which they can enter it in the Chrysostom Oratory Competition. The first and second place winners of the competition receive a prize of $500. The first place winner also presents their thesis in person at the Repairing the Ruins Conference.

CHRYSOSTOM MEANS “GOLDEN MOUTHED” IN GREEK. John Chrysostom (St. John in the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican churches) began his life in 349 in Antioch and died on his way to exile in 407. He was most notably Archbishop of Constantinople. So effective was his speech that he could contain city-wide riots and influence the highest levels of royalty. But it also got him exiled by those his rhetoric offended. In his initial exile, his letters continued to stir the hearts of those who heard them, so he was banished to the farthest extremities of the empire in an attempt to make hearing him impossible. Chrysostom spoke the truth with uncompromising beauty, and the power of his words continues to affect the world today.