"They themselves are a generation that is looking to strengthen their faith because of the emptiness of secular society that they're starting to feel and understand," Sommer said.
The priest pointed out that society cannot provide people with the answers they seek, and that youth often turns to Russian Orthodoxy to find the truth. He compared the Orthodox church to a magnet that helps people be united and support each other in non-Orthodox countries, and stressed that the faith has been uniting Russians abroad.
"That's what we're trying to promote now with the youth — to come up with specific community programs, Christian-based Orthodox programs, so that they can keep that unity," he added.
Sommer highlighted that more young people are expressing interest in the Russian faith and coming to Russian churches.
ROCOR was established in the 1920s when the White emigres left Russia after the civil war. It became an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2007, when the two churches ended the schism that had continued for almost 90 years and signed the Act of Canonical Communion. ROCOR has around 550 parishes worldwide, most of which are located in the US.