Today, thanks to the revival of the traditions of Orthodox education in Russia, almost every city has its own Sunday school for children. To find out about the availability of a school in your parish, it will be enough to contact the priest or talk to parishioners.
Classes with children usually start in September, so you should prepare your child for Sunday school in the summer. You must baptize him if he has not yet been blessed by the church, introduce him to the most basic Orthodox holidays and traditions, and also explain to him how to behave in the temple and how to address the clergy.
Traditions of spiritual education in Russia
In our country, Orthodox monasteries and churches have long been centers of spiritual education for parishioners, and often the only educational institutions accessible to ordinary people. Even our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers found the time of parochial and Sunday schools, in which they were taught not only the law of God, that is, the basics of Orthodoxy, but also writing, reading, arithmetic and history.
Afterrevolution in schools stopped teaching any subjects related to religion. Only in the late nineties, such a concept as a Sunday school for children returned from oblivion. 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 basics of Orthodox culture.
Modern approach to educating children to believe in God
Many schoolchildren today know much more about Orthodoxy 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 basics of Orthodox culture were taught in some schools as an experiment. After teachers noted the positive impact of religious education on the behavior of students and their academic success, the basics of Orthodox culture began to be taught to students in the fourth and fifth grades in all schools in Russia.
If parents want to introduce their child to Orthodoxy at an earlier age, a Sunday school for children would be a good option. At the same time, there is no need to fear that studying in such a school will turn out to be uninteresting for young children, difficult or not suitable for their age. Teachers, who are usually priests, priests' wives or hieromonks (if the school belongs to a monastery), select the curriculum so that it is accessible and interesting even for the smallest children.
Sunday school for kids -your assistant in developing the creative potential of the child
Children's Christian Sunday School has special classes for toddlers under the age of four. 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. Toddlers, of course, attend school with their mothers.
Children from four to eight years old go to Sunday school without their parents, they attend worship services, learn to sing and participate in festive productions.
Children over the age of eight attend full-time classes, similar to the lessons in a regular school. They study the Law of God, icon painting, the Church Slavonic language and the history of the formation of the church, they can sing in the choir and attend services on an equal basis with adults. Some churches have bell-ringers' circles, in which all children like classes. In addition, any Orthodox Sunday school for children often organizes trips to holy places, where parents can 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 held in an atmosphere of strict discipline, but it is better if they take the form of a conversation. In this case, children better remember the words of the priest, and also learn obedience and respect.
Sunday School Program for Children
Sunday school classes are held atin accordance with the program approved by the Russian Orthodox Church. Children study the Bible in chronological order. First, they get acquainted with the Old Testament: they learn about the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, their fall into sin, about Noah and his ark, about the global flood and miraculous salvation, about the birth of Moses, his commandments and the exodus of the chosen people from Egypt, about 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 performed, about the 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.
Extra Sunday School Classes
Children who show good drawing abilities can attend additional classes in icon painting, where they will be told about the traditions of Russian masters, taught to paint icons on cardboard, canvas and boards, and explained the features of depicting clothes and images of saints.
