We seek writers for a journal created by and for young Orthodox Christians.

Concept and Vision

<aside> 💡 Journal Name: Aspiring Orthodocs Journal

Mission statement:

The mission is to inspire and support young Orthodox Christians by providing a platform for young voices and thoughtful articles on faith, tradition, and contemporary issues. Through engaging materials and personal stories, we aim to give a room for spiritual growth, spread Eastern Orthodox Christianity, glorify Jesus Christ and let our brothers and sisters in faith know, that they are not all alone.

Target Audience: Young Orthodox Christians aged 15-35, who speak English language.

**The journal is published once a 4-6 weeks.

Aspiring Orthodocs Journal** is a non-commercial, not monetized, and non-sponsored project, which is run by young enthusiasts from Eastern Orthodox Church.

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Social Media & Distribution Platforms

<aside> 💡 We will use social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram to spread the journal. Distribution will be done via various platforms such as a Telegraph blog, Notion webpages, and a dedicated website (in development).

Additionally, we will issue PDFs that can be printed and distributed as physical copies.

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Thank you for considering contributing to Aspiring Orthodocs Journal. Please review the general information about the writing process, topic selection, and how to apply to write an article.

Writing Standards & Submission Process

The topic should be relevant to Orthodox Christianity, something you are passionate about and believe will resonate with our readers. Your article should convey a clear message and include an engaging story to captivate our audience. The title must be thought-provoking and enticing.

Aim for a word count between 1500-2500 words. This range allows for in-depth exploration while maintaining reader interest. Still, this subject is negotiable if necessary.

The text must be engaging and exciting, targeting young Orthodox Christians. Strong writing skills, including proper grammar, punctuation, and clarity of expression, are a must-have.

Once you have agreed on an article topic and deadline with the editor, you may start writing.

When your article is ready, please submit it to the editor. Send a PDF (DOCX or ODT are good as well) to [email protected] with the header “ARTICLE from” + your writer pseudonym.

Our editorial team will review your submission promptly and provide feedback or request revisions if necessary.

We will communicate any significant changes with you before publication.

Once your article is approved, it will be scheduled for publication in the Aspiring Orthodocs Journal.

You will be notified of the publication date in advance.

We encourage authors to engage with our readers by responding to comments on their articles on our social media platforms.

Author Information

Provide links to your website or social media profiles, if you would like this information to be present under your article.

To ensure the broadest appeal to our English-speaking audience, we recommend choosing a pseudonym if you feel your name might not be easily recognizable or pronounceable. A Western-like pseudonym can help with this, but ultimately, we want you to choose a name that you are comfortable with and that represents you well.

Rights and Permissions

By submitting your article to Aspiring Orthodocs Journal, you grant us permission to publish and distribute it on our platforms.

You retain the copyright to your work and may republish it elsewhere with appropriate credit to Aspiring Orthodocs Journal.

Sections of the journal issue

These are themes for articles, that we aim for. Nevertheless, there is always a room for something else.

Eternal Aesthetics

• Music column (place to talk about music)
• Film review (place to talk about films)
• Book review (place to talk about literature)
• Orthodox Art and Icons
• Poetry and Creative Writing (we are happy to publish your creative writing)
• Cultural Reflections (place to share your local culture and how it binds with Orthodoxy)

Heritage of faith

• Science and Faith (place to talk about God using science)
• Life of a Saint (this is where we tell about those, who glorified God with their life)
• Gospel talks (place to learn about Gospel)
• History of Church (place to discover history of Church in a an engaging way)
• Interview (this is a place, where we post interviews with people of Church, whose mind or experience can bring people closer to God)

Anchor of serenity

• Personal Faith Journey (this a place to share how you came to Orthodoxy)
• Youth and Orthodoxy (large and broad space for young people to tell about their experiences of faith and not only faith)
• Young Orthodoxy and Outer World (place for young people to tell about interactions with secular society)
• Orthodox Lifestyle (place to tell about living a life in a way, that Gospel tells us)
• Travel and Pilgrimage (place to tell about experiences of visiting some important to Christians place)
• Men’s Corner (this a place, where men talk about general men experiences in Church and in life)
• Girl’s Corner (this a place, where women talk about general women experiences in Church and in life)
• Health and Wellness (nice place to share your idea on how to save mental health in 2024, for example)
• Orthodox Cousine (perfect place to share your idea of what can you cook during fasting time)
• Orthodox Humor (experimental) (got funny story? right place for it.)

INTERESTED?

Send us an email with the subject “WRITER APPLICATION” to [email protected], including the following:

1. Brief information about yourself: Who you are, what you do, what you like, and how you ended up in the Orthodox Church. Provide the same basic information you would share on a date or when applying for a job. Providing social media links is totally optional, but appreciated.
2. Your writing: This could be an article, poem, link to your online blog post, or anything else that demonstrates your writing skills. Please attach it as a separate PDF file or a link to a dedicated web-resourse; do not paste it directly into the email. If you don’t have writing experience, then the email you send us will serve as your writing sample.
3. Why you want to write articles for Orthodox Youth: Explain your motivation and what drives you to contribute.
4. What you would like to write about: The best practice would be to use your hobbies and things you are fond of to write an article about. For instance, if you study literature, that would be nice to write bind the article with it. Still, there is always room for experiment, since it is creative writing.

We do look forward to receiving your application. God bless!

<aside> 💡 Be welcomed to use this template to organize your working environment in Notion:

Author Page Template

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