Today, thanks to the revival of traditions in RussiaOrthodox education in almost every city has its own Sunday school for children. To find out about the presence of the school in your ward, it will be enough to turn to the priest or talk with the parishioners.
Classes with children usually begin in September,so you should prepare the child for the Sunday school in the summer. You have to baptize him, if he has not been blessed by the church, to introduce the most important Orthodox holidays and traditions, and also to explain to him how to behave properly in the church and how to address the clergy.
In our country, Orthodox monasteries and templeshave long been the centers of spiritual upbringing of parishioners, and also often the only educational institutions available to ordinary people. Our great-grandparents also found the time of the parish and Sunday schools where they were taught not only the law of God, that is, the foundations of Orthodoxy, but also letters, reading, arithmetic and history.
After the revolution, the schools stopped teachingany items related to religion. Only in the late nineties from oblivion returned such a thing as a Sunday school for children. Many parishes revived their schools with rich traditions of spiritual education, and in general educational institutions children began to study such a subject as the foundations of Orthodox culture.
Many students today know about Orthodoxy wheremore than their parents. Thanks to the initiative of Patriarch Alexy II, subjects were added to the educational program that introduced children to the history and rich traditions of Orthodoxy.
Initially, the foundations of Orthodox culturewere taught in some schools as an experiment. After the teachers noted the positive impact of religious education on the behavior of students and their success in learning, the foundations of Orthodox culture began to teach pupils of the fourth and fifth classes in all schools in Russia.
If the parents want to introduce the child toOrthodoxy at an earlier age, a good option would be a Sunday school for children. Thus it is not necessary to be afraid, that study in such school will appear for small children uninteresting, heavy or will not approach to them on age. Teachers usually become fathers, wives of priests or hieromonks (if the school belongs to a monastery) select the curriculum so that it is accessible and interesting even for the youngest children.
For kids who are under fouryear, the Christian Sunday School for children conducts special classes. Here they are taught to draw, sculpt simple crafts for church holidays, they are told stories from the Bible and learn the simplest prayers with them. Kids, of course, attend school with their mothers.
Children from four to eight years of age are engaged in Sunday schools without parents, they attend worship services, learn to sing and participate in festive performances.
Children over eight attend fullclasses, similar to the lessons in regular school. They study the Law of God, iconography, Church Slavonic language and the history of the formation of the church, can sing in the choir and attend services on an equal basis with adults. In some churches, there are bell ringers, in which all children like it. In addition, any Orthodox Sunday school for children often organizes trips to holy places, where parents can also go.
At the end of the school year, children are waiting for exams.which are usually not difficult for them. In some Sunday schools, classes are conducted in an atmosphere of strict discipline, but it is better if they take the form of a conversation. In this case, children memorize the words of the father better, and also learn obedience and respect.
Sunday school classes are held inaccordance with the program approved by the Russian Orthodox Church. Children study the Bible in chronological order. First they get acquainted with the Old Testament: learn about the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, their fall, Noah and his ark, the Flood and the miraculous salvation, the birth of Moses, his commandments and the exodus of the chosen people from Egypt, the shepherd David and his victory over goliath.
Then the New Testament is taught:the birth of Jesus, stories about his life and the miracles he created, about crucifixion and resurrection, about the apostles and the first Christians on the planet persecuted by pagans, about the formation of the church and its split into Orthodox and Catholic.
Children who show good ability todrawing, can attend additional classes in icon painting, where they will be told about the traditions of Russian masters, they will learn to write icons on cardboard, canvas and boards, explain the features of the image of clothes and faces of saints.
