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July 2002 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Department of Religious Education 50 Goddard Avenue, Brookline MA 02445

Volume 3 Issue 2 The Sacraments

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID LONG ISLAND CITY, NY PERMIT NO. 1137

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F ROM T HE

SAINTS

Let all of us who love to honor the martyrs form a great choir and praise the most wise Catherine, for she preached Christ and trampled the

His divine power has given us

serpent, despising the art of the

everything needed for life and

orators. Having received the wisdom

godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory

The gifts he gave were that some

and goodness. Thus he has given us,

would be apostles, some prophets,

My child, do not forget my

through these things, his precious

some evangelists, some pastors and

teaching but let your heart keep my

and very great promises, so that

teachers, to equip the saints for the

commandments; for length of days

through them you may escape from

work of ministry, for building up

and years of life and abundant

the corruption that is in the world

the body of Christ, until all of us

welfare they will give you. Do not

because of lust, and may become

come to the unity of the faith and of

let loyalty and faithfulness forsake

participants of the divine nature.

the knowledge of the Son of God,

you; bind them around your neck,

For this very reason, you must make

to maturity, to the measure of the

write them on the tablet of your

every effort to support your faith

full stature of Christ. We must no

heart. So you will find favor and

with goodness, and goodness with

longer be children, tossed to and fro

good repute in the sight of God and

knowledge, and knowledge with self-

and blown about by every wind of

of people. Trust in the Lord with all

control, and self-control with

doctrine, by people’s trickery, by

your heart, and do not rely on your

endurance, and endurance with

their

own insight.

In all your ways

godliness, and godliness with mutual

scheming. But speaking the truth

acknowledge him and he will direct

affection, and mutual affection with

in love, we must grow up in every

your paths. Do not be wise in your

love. For if these things are yours

way into him who is the head, into

own eyes; fear the Lord and turn

and are increasing among you, they

Christ, from whom the whole body,

away from evil. It will be healing

keep you from being ineffective and

joined and knit together by every

for your flesh and refreshment for

unfruitful in the knowledge of our

ligament with which it is equipped,

your body.

Lord Jesus Christ.

as each part is working properly,

Proverbs 3:1-10

Saint Peter II Peter 1:3-8

craftiness

in

deceitful

of God from infancy, the martyr was also fully formed in the wisdom of this world.

Through it, she

recognized both the importance of reason in the formation and evolution of the elements, and Him who by His word called them all into being.

Day and night, she gave

thanks to Him, and she overthrew the

idols

and

their

foolish

worshippers, despising the art of orators.

Kontakion and Ikos of Catherine, November 25

promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Saint Paul Ephesians 4:11-16

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P R A X I S

Dear Reader Dear Reader: In a recent editorial published in the Chronicle of Higher Education the issue of wisdom was discussed.

Sufficiently buttressed by data obtained from educational research, the writer alleged that the vast majority of public classroom teachers and university faculty are often guilty of stressing the transmission of information at the expense of wisdom. Contemporary examples of the illegal actions of corporate leaders as well as geo-political terrorists were cited as tragic demonstrations of the consequences of such an instructional model. Though highly intelligent and in possession of sophisticated and complex information, the decisions of both CEO and terrorist may have a destructive aftermath. While they represent very different financial and societal landscapes, the actions of both are predicated on information rather than wisdom!

Religious education may be understood as a sacramental action when wisdom rather than information is understood as its priority. The caution of Proverbs is here quite appropriate, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). Both student and teacher would be prudent to heed the divine admonition that knowledge should be held in trust beneath the sovereignty of Christ. Like all other elements of the created order, it is the responsibility of both teacher and student to offer their respective yet inter-related action to God. Within such an instructional sacramental rhythm, data may be transformed into information...knowledge into wisdom!

The insightful articles and provocative essays included in this issue of PRAXIS Magazine are intended to enhance the sacramental practice of religious education. Whether this “holy act” is advanced in the home, parish, diocese or archdiocese, the meta-goal of wisdom should animate all of our strategies. In the end, our society is in need of the healing wisdom of holy people and not the self-centered agendas of corporate raiders or geo-political religious fanatics!

In Christ,

Father Frank

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Praxis is a quarterly journal. Subscription rate $15 per year. Checks, payable to the Department of Religious Education, should be sent to: Praxis Circulation 50 Goddard Avenue Brookline, MA 02445 (617) 850-1218

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Submissions should be 1,000 to 2,000 words in length and directly discuss education in the theology and tradition of the Orthodox Christian churches. Lesson aids or graphic enhancements may accompany the articles submitted. We also encourage the submission of photographs relevant to parish life (praxis). Please also provide a biographical sketch of the author not exceeding fifty words.

Material previously published or under consideration for publication elsewhere will not be considered without prior consent of the editor. We reserve the right to edit for usage and style; all accepted manuscripts are subject to editorial modification.

Articles sent by mail should be accompanied by an electronic version on 3.5” diskette in Microsoft Word for Windows or for Macintosh. Articles in Microsoft Word may also be emailed as an attachment to JuliaMason@goarch.org Address submissions to: Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos and/or Julia Mason

CREDITS Executive Editor:

Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos

Managing Editor:

Julia Mason

Editorial Assistant:

Sheri San Chirico

Design and Layout:

Stefan Poulos stefan@poulosdesign.com

Cover Photo:

Mark Kiryluk

Printing:

Atlanlic Graphic Services, Inc.

We gratefully acknowledge St. Isaac of Syria Skete in Boscobel, Wisconsin for providing icons reproduced in Praxis. Visit their website at www.skete.com.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS WITH THE APOCRYPHAL / DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS, NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the Department of Religious Education. ©2002, Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. ISSN 1530-0595.

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P R A X I S

Letters Dear Fr. Frank,

Dear Fr. Frank,

I have found many useful and instructive articles in Praxis and commend you and Julia Mason for this well produced magazine. In the July issue, however, there was an article that caused me some concern.

This was “The Eucharist, Liturgical Salvation, and Little Orthodoxy,”

by Tom Dallianis. Some of the article is well articulated and wellbalanced, but there are several points I find unclear or questionable.

What a treasure your lectures are! I’ve been listening to the archived broadcasts on the Internet School of Orthodox Studies and I have both learned, and am still learning, a lot. Your lectures have validated much of what I’ve learned and experienced on my own, so thank you!

From the article, I quote: "When someone asked Christ to bottomline Christianity for Him (sic), Christ told him: Sell all that you have, give the proceeds to the poor, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and property and your neighbor as yourself." Apparently, Dallianis is conflating Matthew 19:16-30 (and its parallels) and Luke 10:25-28 (and its parallels). It would be better for him to indicate this to the reader, and better yet to give something more closely resembling the context in which the two answers were given.

Then there is the issue of "communion-guzzling." This is nowhere defined, but somehow this undefined mind-set is "not the key to our salvation." Is this a critique of eucharistic ecclesiology or the abuses thereof? This is not clear. As regards the "charitable" interpretation of being "saved liturgically," it would seem to me that the author makes light of the link between Eucharistic participation and Christian ethical behavior. One could easily read the author's words and conclude that the Eucharist has nothing to do with our day-to-day Christian life. Is this Orthodox teaching?

As regards "Little Orthodoxy," It is one thing to argue against sectarianism within the Church, or Orthodox "triumphalism," but we do believe that the Church of the Creed is the Holy Orthodox Church, don't we? Can we believe that and not be guilty of "wogism?" It is hard to tell from this article.

Dallianis also writes, "…[communion elements] bear an inanimate expression of God, whereas every human being is a living…expression of the image and likeness of God, we begin to appreciate that the Incarnation lies not only in our mystical participation with Him, but perhaps even more so in our unmystical dealings with other human beings." This sounds very much like Liberation Theology. The human being is exalted because it is an animate expression of God, while the Sacrament merely "bear[s] an inanimate expression of God." I suppose this means "people are closer to God than Holy Communion." This is a problematic line of thought. Where in the Scriptures or any of the patristic writings are we asked to compare these two?

Wherever there are distortions in the understanding of the Church's teachings we are obligated to present an integrated understanding of our sacramental and ethical theology. This article failed to do so.

Fr. Michael Laffoon St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church Irvine, CA 4

I’m a recent convert to Orthodoxy and I have been flabbergasted by the richness of the Orthodox faith; no matter how much I learn there’s always more out there. I live in Rhode Island and it’s not possible for me to travel to Boston to personally sit in your class. Thank you for making it possible for me to be “fed” from a distance.

In Christ, Kathy Stanzler

Dear Fr. Frank, I enjoyed reading the recent article of Praxis Magazine in the “Orthodox Observer” (Nov 2002). While I’m not currently teaching Sunday School (I taught for 12 years and hope to resume someday), I do scholarly research in Orthodox Christian Studies, namely sacred art, and I think I will find your magazine useful.

Thank you for this publication. I found it very informative and am finally able to “connect.” I’m going to place an order for my subscription immediately.

Sincerely, Sophia Manoulian Kugeares Tampa, FL

In the article, “George’s Prosphora Recipe,” published in the last issue of PRAXIS Magazine please note the correct spelling of the author’s name, Rev. Dn. George Aquaro and the correct website address for accessing his recipes, www.prosphoro.org.

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The Power of Storytelling

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Rev. Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D.

Teaching from Hagiography: A Study of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt Jeffrey Beneker

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Teaching as a Ministry of Transfiguration

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Hector Firoglanis

Rejoice, Jr.: the Orthodox Newsletter for Children Taisia Mills

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Making the Bible Relevant?

Albert Rossi, PhD

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Fruits of an Orthodox Education Jane G. Meyer

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Raise up an Athlete for Christ!

The Wisdom of St. John Chrysostom on Teaching Children

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A Library Story John and Janet Gallas

Ann Mitsakos, M.Div.

32 19

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That Teachable Moment

The Parish Learning Center: High-Tech Tools For an Ancient Faith

Rev. Fr. Mark A. Leondis

John Couretas

Moral Imagination and Exemplarism: Concerns for Orthodox Education Rev. Fr. David Pratt

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P R A X I S

The Power of

Storytelling

REV. FRANK MARANGOS, D.MIN., ED.D.

“My child, keep

my words and store up my commandments with you…keep my teachings as the apple of

your eye....”

There is an instructional method that is often referred to as oblique narrative which was employed by numerous biblical personalities including Jesus. An examination of this insightful practice may help contemporary religious educators, parents and pastors to better understand the reason for the growing and very popular activity in many Greek Orthodox parishes, namely, the “children’s homily.” While the exact liturgical timing of delivery may vary, most clergymen are convinced that this catechetical tool provides them an invaluable opportunity to reach the hearts and minds of the children placed under their pastoral care. When encouraged to describe the benefits of the children’s homily clergymen are quick to include the opportunity to reach not only the children to whom the lessons are primarily directed, but also the adults who are looking on. If we are to continue this liturgically based, pedagogical, yet pastoral practice it would be prudent to first critically reflect upon the nature of its undeniable success.

Proverbs 7:1-2

The Prophet Nathan In the twelfth chapter of II Samuel the prophet Nathan is faced with an extremely delicate problem. God has commissioned him with the uncomfortable task of confronting King David with his sinful

conduct. Specifically, Nathan must charge David with the murder of Uriah and his subsequent marriage to Uriah’s widowed wife Bathsheba. The prophet accomplishes his mission through the help of oblique narrative—a pastoral process that involves storytelling or metaphorical narration.

At first, the story that Nathan presents to David has apparently no connection with the King’s unlawful acts of murder and indiscretion. It is an innocuous tale concerning an indignant farmer’s milkproducing sheep that wandered from home and was subsequently claimed by a wealthy landowner.

The story is apparently safe…distant. David therefore listens to the narrative and responds freely without the threat of personal ramifications. In fact, he becomes so engaged with the story’s blatant case of economic oppression and the lack of justice that “David’s anger was greatly kindled” against the landowner in the story (II Samuel 12:5). As a result, David interrupts Nathan and strongly insists that “the man that hath done this is worthy to die” and that “he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity” (II Samuel 12:6).

Ironically, the distance afforded by Nathan’s narrative occasions the deeper participation of the listener. Without realizing what is happening, David is put in a position

of overhearing the truth as if “for someone else.” Suddenly, however, he discovers that he has walked into the story’s trap. Overwhelmed, he realizes the painful truth that the story was not about distant economic oppression. The tale was not about foreign images of injustice but about deep and very personal sin! The story was about him!

The Use of Liturgical Narrative Research in instructional strategies has demonstrated the effectiveness of hearing a narrative in the subjective mood as if “for someone else.” Like David, parents and other adults who over-hear the sermon directed by the priest to the children during the Sunday Liturgy may suddenly find themselves unconsciously transferring its morals and spiritual meaning to themselves. When our defenses are down, a substitution occurs in the minds of the adults. Although we did not expect to be personally involved, the linguistic signs, symbols, and metaphors found in stories directed to children begin to have meaning for us.

What begins as a dispassionate activity of distant listening gradually emerges as something personally addressed. Invariably, adults will often benefit far more from the Sunday morning children’s sermon, than by a homily directed expressly at them. While not directly addressed, its message can curiously become more meaningful for them.

Consequently, the entire liturgical setting invites the adult congregation to hear the narrative as one of the children might hear it. Perhaps this is what our Lord was referring to when he insisted that we must become “as little children” if we desire to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 18:3)!

and martyrs of the Church triumphant narrate their collective stories to the faithful of the contemporary Church militant. As if over-hearing a divine conversation between Christ and His children, the entire Church is invited to conceive a world anew. This is done through the wordless yet inexhaustible vocabulary of iconography which, juxtaposed with the intersecting hymnology, architecture, and liturgical proclamation create occasions for unconscious learning. Unable to contain an adequacy of meaning in a single image or word, the narratives of the Church, like a story directed towards children, invite us to submit . . . to yield ourselves to the praxis of holiness that they suggest.

Like the Sunday morning children’s sermon a similar phenomenon can occur at weddings and funerals. While directing comments to the newlyweds or to the grieving family, clergymen may observe that it is often those who are indirectly addressed that are often most moved to emotional expressions. Although the primary participants of the liturgical service may remember very little, if anything, about their wedding or about their loved one’s funeral, the people not directly addressed are frequently the individuals who renew vows, continue the grief process or commit themselves towards deeper faith.

In the final analysis, divine storytelling requires the catechist to remain humble and modest. Aware of the inadequacy of language to convey the incomprehensibility of God, the pastor, parent and/or teacher uses stories that make no ultimate claims but rather offer various angles of celestial vision. Like the prophet Nathan, the dedicated parish clergy who diligently prepare two Sunday homilies are indeed contemporary storytellers that give witness to our inability to exhaust our understanding of things divine. As such, the Church’s rich tapestry of prophetic narratives is a valuable inheritance that invites us to engage the inexhaustible profusion of God’s Truth.

The Liturgical Context Research in education has provided quantifiable data demonstrating the power of such indirect communication. They insist that what is learned obliquely is often what is learned best! Such is the process within Orthodox liturgical experience. Gathered together, the saints

Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos is Director of the Department of Religious Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and adjunct professor of Religious Education at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. He can be reached at frfrank@goarch.org.

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P R A X I S

TeachinG as a Ministry of Transfiguration HECTOR FIROGLANIS

“I am the good shepherd…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:14,27) “…The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these….”

John 14:12

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Teaching, particularly within the context of the Church, is a ministry of spiritual guidance not to be taken lightly. More than just a sharing of knowledge from teacher to pupil, the teaching ministry of the Church is a continuation of Christ’s earthly ministry. This is a ministry of transfiguration by making the fullness of love and truth incarnate in one’s life and teachings. In their loneliness and confusion, many people consciously, or unconsciously, hunger for understanding, support, love, and above all, fellowship with God. “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matt 9:37). By revitalizing the teaching ministry of the Church, we can respond to the Lord’s request to send out more laborers (teachers) into His harvest.

We are confronted with a situation today where the parish priest is being asked to minister to over five hundred families by himself. The priest alone cannot offer the necessary spiritual guidance for so many souls.

For this very reason God appointed several ministries for the members of the Church: “some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). St. Paul says to his disciple Timothy, “What you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to the faithful people who will be able to teach others as well” (2 Tim 2:2). The faithful people are the ones being called to the teaching ministry of the

Church, and how they respond to this calling is of immense importance.

Oftentimes we associate the effectiveness of a teacher with the content of his message.

But if we think of the great teachers of history, we remember them not only by their words, but also by their presence and their ability to invoke a response in their audience. In Aristotle’s “The Art of Rhetoric,” he judges the quality of a public speaker or teacher not only by the words spoken (logos), but also by the moral character (ethos) and emotion (pathos) of the teacher.

Logos, pathos, and ethos are all important aspects of teaching, but in the context of Christian education a strong ethos is by far the most important quality of the teacher. Ethos is the disposition, moral character and credibility a person has formed as the result of habit. Many gifts in the areas of knowledge, oratory, and articulation are rendered practically ineffective if a teacher possesses a weak ethos formed as the result of living selfishly, disconnected from a life in Christ.

We see an example of this occurrence in the book of Acts. Some itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to heal a demonically possessed man by invoking the name of Jesus “whom Paul preaches.” To their efforts the evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). Due to their lack of authority, their words were

rendered useless against the evil spirit, and the possessed man attacked the bogus exorcists and beat them severely. While a teacher today may not receive a beating for having a weak ethos and lacking authority, there is a good chance that such a teacher will not be taken seriously by his audience.

Unlike the situation with the false teachers, God “worked unusual miracles” through St. Paul, as He does through all of His faithful followers (Acts 19:11). The only way for a teacher to cultivate an authoritative ethos amongst his audience is by maintaining a continuous relationship with the Lord. An authentic teacher of the faith must not only think or talk about Christ, but “live in Christ” (Gal 2:20). It is not so much what the teacher says or even does that is important, but how the teacher is a living witness to the presence of the Lord for his students. When Christ preached to the multitudes, we are told that “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt 7:29). The teacher must cultivate his ethos so that he projects Christ’s authority and love, and not his own passions.

The visible and tangible demonstration of Christ’s authority is manifested in the teacher’s love for the students. Christ Himself said: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Matt 13:35).

By shaping one’s ethos according to the life of Christ, the teacher is able to project an authority which commands the attention of his listeners.

Once the foundation of a Christ-centered ethos is established, the teacher’s words (logos) will have more power to penetrate the hearts of the listeners. By speaking of the teacher’s logos, we are referring to the words used to express or signify act, fact, or truth, in order to transmit knowledge or clarify the

understanding of students. Like the ethos of the teacher, the logos of the teacher must also be shaped and enriched through a life in Christ. We cannot expect to spend all of our free time watching television, reading newspapers, and idly socializing, and hope to have something of value to say to our students.

Rather, the teacher must use such available moments to immerse himself in the Holy Scriptures, the writings of the Church Fathers, and in anything that is edifying for the soul.

For the Lord tells us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21).

Like all of the saints, Saint John Chrysostom inclined his heart to the inexhaustible treasure of the Holy Scriptures, and he will be remembered forever as the “Golden Mouth,” one of the greatest universal teachers the Church has ever seen. The golden content of St. Chrysostom’s words flowed from his unceasing labors of sleepless nights.

The saint had such a love for Holy Scripture that he often would stand the entire night, huddled over a shelf built into the wall with a candle, reading page after page of the Scriptures. The quality of the teacher’s logos depends on the extent to which that teacher is willing to labor in the discipline of reading and internalizing spiritually edifying works.

Together with ethos and logos, the element of pathos is necessary for the art of invoking a response in the lives of the students. Pathos, which is of the soul, emotion, or passion, is used in rhetoric to arouse interest, pleasure, and excitement in the audience. This does not mean that the teacher must perform a rock concert to gain the attention of the students, or act in a synthetic or pretentious way to invoke an emotional response from the audience. Rather, pathos should spring forth naturally from the teacher’s unwavering conviction in the truths

of the Gospel. It is impossible to ignite the enthusiasm of students if the instructor is not himself excited about the content of his message. The teacher must have at all times a positive attitude, not characterized by a superficial or fragile enthusiasm, nor by anxiety and pessimism at the prevalence of sin and secularism. The teacher’s sincerity and authenticity are important elements for incarnating the message of Christ into the lives of the students. In addition to ethos and logos, the pathos of the teacher is the third important component necessary for bringing about the transfiguration of the whole person.

In the final analysis, we should never have as our goal the aim of becoming great and successful teachers of the faith. Victor Frankl, the world renowned psychiatrist and professor who survived the darkest years of Auschwitz, admonishes his students, telling them: “the more you aim at success and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.” Rather, as St. Paul instructs, we should strive for the higher things of life, namely the virtues in conformity to Christ (1 Cor 12-13). Success and greatness as a teacher and shepherd of souls comes as an unintended side effect of one’s dependence on Christ and as the byproduct of one’s love for the people entrusted to his ministry. As teachers we must learn to know ourselves and not be afraid to apply the three components of teaching according to our strengths and gifts. By conforming to Christ and learning to develop our ethos, logos, and pathos according to our unique personalities, God will give us the strength to labor in His vineyard as teachers, to guide the faithful along the path of transfiguration towards newness of life.

Hector Firoglanis is a Master of Divinity student at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA.

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P R A X I S

Making the ALBERT ROSSI, PHD

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in

After some reflection, I decided to put a question mark at the end of the title of this article. Do we make the Bible, or religious education, relevant? This currently popular approach to teaching Scripture may seem to have the student’s best interest in mind—in theory. In actuality, its effectiveness could stand being challenged. One of the most profound sentences I heard this year goes like this, "We don't make the Bible relevant to students. We make students relevant to the Bible." Therein lies all the difference between effective and ineffective religious education.

To the degree that making the Bible relevant is a popular approach, doing the reverse may seem unpopular—and un-American. The shift requires some specific actions on the part of the religious educator that may also, on paper, seem overly restrictive to the student.

In practice however, they free students to be students in a truer sense. Distracting opinions, questions, and points that a student wishes to make must be held in check by the teacher.

This does not mean that a student’s personal experience is of no worth. The previous experience that students bring into the classroom with them has value in the classroom setting insofar as it is understood in the light of Christ. The teacher must challenge the student to come to this understanding.

Religious educators have a unique vocation to teach the Living Jesus Christ to students.

Teachers are simply stewards of the truths given to them by Christ and His appointed persons. We pass these truths on to the students. They are the students, to be taught, and we are the teachers, who go to senior and wise teachers, and to an established curriculum, to help modify the course. This seems to be the Biblical approach to teaching.

righteousness….”

Making Students Relevant: Things Not to Do

2 Timothy 3:16

• We teach what we have been given to teach, not looking to students to uncover the topics we address.

• We don't ask students their opinion about the Bible, religious doctrine, or life, for that matter. We don't ask them what they think about the Truth or put them in the position of teachers.

• We don't ask them to assess the class, or the educational process. We don't ask them to evaluate, or to judge the effectiveness of our teaching. At the end of the semester, we don't pass out forms, requesting their evaluation and suggestions for improving the course.

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Bible Relevant?

Making Students Relevant: Things to Do • We do ask them to be open to the truth, asking them to let Truth teach them.

• We do ask them to set their own ideas and preconceptions aside.

• We do ask questions, but questions designed to bring the students deeper into the Truth, not questions designed to bring to the surface what they brought into the classroom.

• We teach them to be seekers of Truth, which means to be disciples of Christ.

• We teach them how to learn—students today need to learn how to learn.

• We ask them to ask questions of the Bible, and then guide them in finding answers in the Bible, or answers from elders, called teachers, but not from each other. We don't encourage the blind to lead the blind.

• We do ask them to share a sentence or an idea from the Bible or the course material that strikes them. This sharing can highlight the importance of individual differences. It can reinforce insights, by repeating them in a different context. This kind of questioning directs the students to articulate a sentence

or an idea from the data in front of and outside of themselves, not from the data inside their own young, often-confused, minds. Students need to learn to share what they learn from Wisdom, not from the latest conclusion they manufacture. The latest conclusion of the student is likely to be a mixture of a lyric from a popular song, an insight from a movie, and a thought from a friend.

None of this is necessarily bad, but it is not appropriate as the day's text. The classroom is for teaching the Living Jesus, founded on the Bible and Church doctrine.

The Socratic Method There are various names for the process of teaching through a question-answer approach. Some teachers call this approach the Socratic Method, because it is the way Socrates seemed to teach.

Basically, the approach leads students to discover the conclusions that the teacher wants taught. The approach doesn’t lead the students to their own conclusions.

This calls for a teacher to be strong and maintain the boundaries of the questions that are being asked; to have prepared in advance the conclusions that the students are led to.

Spontaneous questions by the students are fine, but they must then be led back to the larger flow of the teacherled, question-answer approach. In religious education, all conclusions pertain to the Way, the Truth, and the Life, which have been given to us for our transformation.

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P R A X I S

One of the tasks of the religious educator is to find a method of teaching that will help students to remember some few things, for a long, long time. Human memory can be very elusive. A straight lecture might not be the most effective way to teach the faith to youth or adults in a parish. Contrarily, asking questions and having students write answers is one effective way to engage the students, and enhance the learning/memory curve.

The Discipline of Writing Virtually every time I give a class in a parish, or give a retreat, I involve every student by passing out an index card to each of them.

I then ask each participant to write something on the card. For example, if I am teaching on the topic of prayer and silence, I may ask students to write down an especially memorable moment of silence in their lives. If I'm teaching a Bible passage, I prepare photocopied pages of that passage and pass out a copy to each person. I provide the paper and pens myself because I believe that this method of asking questions and requiring students to write their answers is vital to my goals.

When a student writes, some important, and necessary, things happen. Too often, in the context of a strictly verbal class discussion, one student says something and another student will respond, "That's exactly what I was thinking." My reaction is, "Well, perhaps, or perhaps not." Suggestion has a power of its own.

When asked to write a response, the student is forced to make a commitment. The commitment is a commitment to one's own insights.

Writing forces the student to do something, rather than, perhaps, play spectator sport with the classroom.

Writing their own thoughts forces students to commit to paper what is in their mind, empowering them to own the educational process.

Writing helps the student invest in the answer to the question raised. As a teacher, I find that it is less threatening to some students to be asked to read something they have written rather than being asked to give an impromptu verbal response. I let them know that they are free to refrain if they choose.

This way shy and introverted students who might not otherwise speak have an opportunity, through writing, to have their thoughts known. I usually ask the students not to put their names on the cards, and tell them that I will collect them at the end. At the end, I do collect the cards with the understanding that I will read them later. Students know that I will know what they wrote.

When I ask the students to write, I always add that if a student

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chooses to not write, that's OK. No student should feel forced to participate. Some students don't like to write, some can't write well, and others might resist, just on principle. That's OK.

Making Students Relevant: An Example To give an example of this teaching method, I will discuss how I have taught the text of Mark 5:1-21 (where Jesus heals the demoniac) to both youth and adults. I'll try to be as clear and detailed as I can.

First, I make copies of the Bible passage to be studied. I make one copy for each student. Then, in the class, I introduce the topic with a few observations. I simply say that, together, we will study the passage, with the purpose of learning more about Jesus, so that we can grow closer to the real Jesus in our lives, today.

I say clearly that the purpose is not to learn what I think about the passage, but what the passage thinks about me. I say that the Bible is a Living Word, which can change me, if I allow.

Mother Teresa was fond of saying that we need to give God permission. By extension, we need to give the Bible permission to enter us, and to transform us, on its terms, not ours.

Second, I pass out the sheet of paper with the Bible passage, along with pens. I ask the students to read the passage, slowly and thoughtfully. Then, I ask them to go back and underline a sentence, which jumped out at them. Next, I ask them to write a question in the margin, a question based on the text. I ask them to write a question of the text. Then, I ask to give examples (in writing) of what the passage teaches them about their own lives.

Sometimes I ask the question directly, "What does the bible text teach you about your life?" In teaching the story of Jesus healing the demoniac, I ask the students why the demoniac might be an interesting symbol of youth today.

Third, I begin asking them to speak, to share their written answers to the questions I posed. Up to this point, the students have been working silently. Now they are asked to speak. I ask them to share the sentences that they have underlined. Then, I ask them to share the question that they wrote of the text. Next I usually ask what the text teaches them about their own lives. These questions proceed slowly, and with ample encouragement, and positive reinforcement to the students for their answers.

At no point do I ask them what they think, nor to answer the questions that arise from other students or from themselves.

Fourth, I teach the passage. I explain my insights into the passage, and I try to answer some of the questions that they raise.

When studying the passage of the healing of the demoniac students tend to underline sentences such as: "And they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood," or, "They came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind," or, "My name is Legion; for we are many."

The questions that students tend to ask of this passage often include, "Why did Jesus kill the swine?" or, "Why didn't Jesus allow the healed man to come with Him?" or, "How come the Gerasenes didn’t ask Jesus to stay in their neighborhood?"

While I typically ask the question, "What does the text teach you about your life?� in teaching the story of Jesus and the demoniac, I instead ask students to compare the demoniac to youth today. In this way, questions can be either general, or more specifically tailored to the subject at hand and, as said, lead students to the conclusions that the teacher wants them to find. The students respond by saying things like, "Many youth are wild, and like the demoniac, need to be converted, " and, "When the demoniac saw what Jesus could do, he wanted to go with Jesus," and, "There is some craziness in each of us, waiting to be healed."

I then "teach" the text by commenting upon some of their questions and observations. I fill in the cracks in the mosaic by addressing the issues the students have overlooked, such as the indifference of the Gerasenes to the miracle that one of their own was healed of a serious affliction.

Interestingly, students have said later that they felt included, that the class was interactive, and that they had input. They didn't complain that their own opinions were not sought, but even if they had, my response could become a new "teaching moment."

When done properly, students can be led to the role of being true students. True students are seekers, who don't know everything. They will hopefully come to find this role not only interesting, but also freeing.

Jesus is the Living Teacher who provides teachers with the content to transmit, and students with minds and hearts to receive that content.

Jesus Christ makes students relevant to the Bible, and to religious education, and basically, to Himself.

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Raise up an Athlete THE WISDOM OF ST. JOHN ANN MITSAKOS, M.DIV.

“…From childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 3:14

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We struggle to teach our children well; our culture has us busy training them to excel in academics and be star athletes and be virtuosos in art or music. We want them to be proficient in other languages, welldressed and socially adept. Our energy, time and money are spent encouraging them in these pursuits that our world affirms.

We ask ourselves, in all this, how do we raise our children to know our Lord and King? How might we struggle to teach our children well in their faith? Let us learn a lesson from a master: St. John Chrysostom preached 1600 years ago, yet what he says is astonishingly relevant for today. Let us sit at the foot of this teacher of the Word of God, and hear what he suggests. His sermon, “Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring up Their Children” treats our interest here exactly. It offers incredible wisdom for parents who want to raise their children well, as well as all Christian teachers. What he says is quite challenging: he wants us to be constantly telling the stories of the Bible to our children in engaging and faithful ways. It is a challenge he is serious about, for he carefully explains how to tell these Bible stories. His explanation is useful and exciting, but it expects a lot from us. It’s a challenge worthy of our best effort.

The Problem of Pride The sermon begins with Chrysostom addressing the pride (or vainglory) he sees in his congregation. “Pride” is often used as a positive term today, but in Scripture and in the church fathers, pride is an extremely negative trait for pride comes from considering yourself the source of your own achievements, which is to forget that God is the one who creates and sustains everything.

The people in his parish care exorbitantly about their “place in society”—how important they are, how wealthy they are, and how they appear to others. Their pride is tearing the Church apart, causing fights and jealousy, and “disrupting love.” Look at the figures in Scripture such as Elijah, Elisha and John the Baptist, Chrysostom says (14 ), who knew that one’s status in society and material wealth were not of any importance in God’s eyes. It is the stories of these people in Scripture that should be what inspires and forms Christians, not social status, money or popularity.

Pride and Parenting/Teaching Why does Chrysostom talk about pride in a sermon on raising children? He sees that parents’ pride in their children prevents them from raising their children well, for they are more concerned with showing off their children than in directing their lives wisely. Pride or Vainglory in parents over

for Christ!

CHRYSOSTOM ON TEACHING CHILDREN their children’s achievements blinds them to seeing how to raise their children in a truly wise manner. As a good pastor, he sets about the task of teaching his congregants how they can raise their children well.

explains that the gates of this child’s soul are the eyes, the mouth, the ears, the nose, and the sense of touch. “It is through these gates that thoughts are corrupted or rightly guided” (27).

and logical enough, but how hard this might be in today’s media-saturated world!

What would our child raising look like if we took seriously his prescription to guard the gate of their ears?

The first step is for parents themselves (and teachers, we’ll add) to “Hearken to the words of Paul…continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (I Timothy 2:15). Parents and teachers should be listening to Scripture themselves and living faithful, loving, holy and sober lives. Even if, Chrysostom says, you are conscious of your own vices, you cannot use them as an excuse. Rather, compensate for them and, “Raise up an athlete for Christ!”

(19). Children, for Chrysostom, are tender, teachable, and moldable when they are young. The beginning of their lives is when good teachings must be impressed upon their souls. Father, mothers, and teachers must be like sculptors, removing what is superfluous and adding what is lacking, for they are sculpting “wondrous statues for God” (22).

The gate that Chrysostom emphasizes is the gate of the ears. When he introduces the gate of hearing, he has just explained that the child’s gate of the mouth should be taught the words of God, which are, as the Psalmist says, sweeter than honey, more precious than gold, and a stone of great price. We are to teach children Scripture so well that it is these words that are on their lips all the time (28). It is no surprise, then, that when Chrysostom talks about the gate of the ears he will focus on how the child should hear Scripture.

Pivotal to a child’s spiritual health is hearing the stories of Scripture. Hear what he next says: when a child takes a break from his studies, and wants to hear “stories of [o]ld,” the parent should “speak to him and tell him this story” (39), and the story he tells is of Cain and Abel. Here it is noteworthy, first, that he expects that parents are integrally involved in the Christian education of their children. And second, and even more interestingly, he says that the child asks for a story, rather than having it imposed on them. There is no sense that the parent should force a child to listen to something he is not receptive to.

We know Chrysostom is quite serious about these claims from his next point: our Saint goes on to explain how parents should tell a story from scripture so that it would not be burdensome to the child

A Child’s Soul Chrysostom says that a child’s soul is like a city, and parents (or teachers) are to think of themselves as lawmakers for the security of the city. In a time when cities were walled, and the only way in and out of a city was through its few gates, Chrysostom

For this gate of the ears, he discusses the value of stories, both negative and positive ones. The young should not hear evil or harmful stories from anyone who takes care of them. “[L]et them not hear frivolous and old wives’ tales: ‘This youth kissed that maiden. The king’s son and the younger daughter have done this’” (38). It seems that these kinds of tales he refers to are not simple fairy-tale type stories, but stories that specifically teach vices—elsewhere he describes one of these stories: “Such and such a girl kissed such and such a man, and had no luck and hanged herself.”

Chrysostom says clearly, “Let them not hear such tales.” His prescription seems simple

The Telling of the Story St. John actually takes the time to tell a story from the Bible as if a parent to a child, interrupting himself along the way to comment on what he is doing. It is worth quoting the beginning of this section of his sermon in full.

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“Once upon a time there were two sons of one father, even two brothers.”

Then after a pause continue: “And they were the children of the same mother, one being the elder, the other the younger son. The elder was a tiller of the ground, the younger a shepherd; and he led out his flocks to woodland and lake.”

Make your stories agreeable that they give the child pleasure and his soul will not grow weary.

“The other son sowed and planted.

And it came to pass that both wished to do honor to God. And the shepherd took the firstlings of his flocks and offered them to God.” Is it not a far better thing to relate this than fairy tales about sheep with golden fleeces? Then arouse him—for not a little depends on the telling of the story—introducing nothing that is untrue but only what is related in the Scriptures: “Now when he offered the firstlings to God, straightway fire came down from heaven and bore them off to the altar aloft. But the elder son did not so but went away and, after storing up for himself the first fruits from his toil, brought about the second-best to God. And God paid no heed to them but turned away and let them lie on the ground. But the other offering he received for himself in heaven. Even so it happens with earthly rulers. The master honors one who brings gifts and receives him in his house; another he suffers to stand outside. Even so it was in this story. And then what happened? The elder brother was very angry as having been dishonored and passed over for another, and his countenance fell. God said unto him: ‘Why art thou angry? Did you not know that you made an offering to God? Why have you insulted me?

What grievance do you have? Why

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did you offer me the second-best?’”

If it seems well to use simpler language, you will say: “The elder brother had nothing to say and kept quiet,” or better, “was silent. And thereafter, seeing his younger brother, he said to him: ‘Let us go to the field.’ And the elder caught the younger unaware and killed him. And he though that God did not see him. But God came to him and said to him: ‘Where is your brother?’ He replied: ‘I know not.

Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And God said to him: ‘Lo, the voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.’” (39 )

Several things here are important to draw out. Chrysostom assumes that his hearers recognize the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4. The story is introduced, however, not in its Scriptural context, but in classic storytelling form, “Once upon a time.” The story is not told as part of salvation history specifically—there is not even the preface that the story is from the Bible—but rather as a story about two unnamed brothers. This suggests an immense confidence in the Scriptural value of the story on its own. This is not to say, however, that we should never explain how a Bible passage is part of the larger Scriptural picture—on the contrary! We know that when Chrysostom preaches sermons on the Bible to adults, he is careful to remind them where they are in the Bible, and how a passage fits into the larger picture of salvation history. We may conclude, then, that a child’s knowledge of the basic stories of Scripture is the foundation for understanding how the stories fit together later.

Chrysostom calls for a pause after the opening line of the story, indicating that the way the story is told he finds critical. Any

storyteller knows that dramatic pauses are enticing and pivotal for an apt telling.

Indeed, the next time Chrysostom interrupts himself he says that stories should be engaging for the child, giving him pleasure. Why? So that the soul of the child does not grow weary. We sense here an enormous sensitivity towards not presenting the spiritual life as burdensome to a child— that religious education, if you will, is to be agreeable to children. Yet no sooner has Chrysostom said that this arousal of the child “depends on the telling of the story” (39), than he says that this telling is to introduce nothing that is untrue but only what is related in the Scriptures. The way the story is told is to be both engaging and true to the original.

Chrysostom offers no indication that this would be difficult to do. His storytelling shows him to have both maintained the spirit of the text and, indeed, have told the biblical story in an engaging fashion.

More often than not, his story adds the probable motivation of characters and this motivation, arguably, is what we have to assume to make sense of the biblical text.

He dramatizes the story so that lesson of the story is unambiguous.

St. John continues to exercise his faithful ingenuity in his storytelling—all the while demonstrating a keen awareness of who children are, specifically that children want to know what happens to those who die, and what happens to those who kill.

Concerning Abel who was killed, Chrysostom explains: “God received the younger son into heaven; having died he is up above” (39). He adds that this helps the child learn “the story of raising from the dead” (39). This lesson is clearly not to be found directly in the story of Cain and Abel. But for Chrysostom, the Old Testament prepares us to hear the New Testament. So while Chrysostom does not mention Christ here, we understand he mentions “raising from the dead” to introduce or underscore Christ’s raising of the dead in the Gospels, and Christ’s own third-day resurrection. St. John is allaying

any fears about death that would be unwarranted because of Christ’s resurrection.

Chrysostom also does not shy away from dealing with “what happens to those who kill?” Cain, he says, lived for many years and “suffered ten thousand ills and was punished every day” (39) because he had given offense to God. He does not address larger, more theoretical issues of salvation, such as “who is saved?”, but sticks to a simple Biblical reading of “what happens” to Cain and Abel in a way that would be useful for the Christian formation of children. A last noteworthy point here: Chrysostom makes the remarkable comment that the parent should not only say what the Biblical passage says about Cain’s plight, because “the child does not understand this yet,” but should come up with an analogy to make the meaning of the Biblical text quite real to the child. Apt analogies should be an integral part of storytelling, for they help make a Biblical concept meaningful.

Where the Stories Should be Heard When St. John has explained how the parent is to retell the content of the biblical story, he then goes on to make some fascinating remarks about the setting in which the story should be told. It should be

recounted one evening at supper by the father, he says. The child’s mother should also listen to the father tell the story and praise the story, and she should repeat the same tale often. Then, Chrysostom says, when the child has heard it often, the parent should ask the child, “Tell me the story,” so that the child may be eager to imitate the parent. It is only after the child has memorized the story that “you will also tell him how it profits him” (40). Chrysostom seems convinced that the soul “is aware that it will benefit” (40) from the story before the parent explains what everything means in moral terms. He speaks of the soul “receiving the story within itself ” (40).

Once the child has memorized the story, then the parent should explain it’s importance. Chrysostom draws out three basic lessons from the story of Cain and Abel: we see how great a sin greed is; we see how great a sin envying a brother is; and we see how thinking you can hide anything from God is also a great sin, for God sees all things, even those done in secret. This teaching, our Saint explains, will sow seeds in this child that will shake his or her soul (40).

For Chrysostom in this sermon the primary context of hearing the biblical story is within the family. Yet this by no means takes away from the importance of hearing the Scriptures read in Church. Hearing the story in church is meant to reinforce what

the child has heard at home. “Go leading [your child] by the hand in church and pay heed particularly when this tale is read aloud” (41). On hearing the story read aloud in church the child "anticipates the story, recognizes it, and derives great gain from it” and Chrysostom expects he or she will “rejoice and leap with pleasure”(41).

This furthers Chrysostom’s aim of having the child excited about the story—it is liturgically reinforced, and “hereafter the episode is fixed in his memory” (41). The parent (or teacher), he says, should then continue to pull out more lessons from the story.

Final Notes on the Telling What should a parent or teacher do when the child thoroughly knows one story? “When this story is firmly planted in the child’s understanding, introduce another…” (43). Chrysostom now engages the story of Isaac and Esau much as he did the one of Cain and Abel. In Chrysostom’s view this story gives more pleasure than the former because the reversal of fortune is greater and the brothers are older. He stops this story after the father weeps at having discovered he had given the wrong blessing, explaining that it is good to stop the story at this point to show “how many lessons this part begets” (44). The lessons Chrysostom then draws out are impressive. When

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children see so keen a rivalry for their father’s blessing, they learn to honor their father. They learn to not be ruled by their stomachs because Esau, for the greed of his stomach, betrayed the advantage of his birthright. And when a first born and elder (who traditionally would have the place of honor among children) gains nothing, this shows it is not social place that should grant honor.

As Chrysostom finishes up this section, we get a brief glimpse of why he so painstakingly explains how to tell these stories: “If a story can so master the children’s soul that it is thought worthy of belief, the veritable truth, it will surely enthrall them and fill them with great awe” (44). The order is interesting: the story is so compelling that it is believed to be truth, rather than it being truth and so must compel. Chrysostom is not interested in saying, “this is truth, believe it,” but rather trusts the Scriptures to convince, move, sway, and transform his hearers.

St. John goes on to speak in more detail about certain stories being age-appropriate.

He prescribes different types of Scriptural stories as appropriate for different ages. The very young should not be told fearful tales, for “you should not impose so great a burden on his understanding while he is tender, lest you dismay him” (52).

Chrysostom also seems to advocate that the New Testament stories should be heard after children have a good sense of Old Testament stories (52). Not until he is fifteen years old should he hear of hell, according to Chrysostom. And St. John prescribes that the youth hear the whole story of Joseph (from Genesis) continually, and of the kingdom of Heaven and “the great reward that awaits those who live sober lives” (61).

In the remainder of his sermon Chrysostom explains other ways that parents may regulate what comes in and out of the other gates of the child’s soul—the sense of smell, the gate of the eyes, the sense of touch. These are general lessons in virtue, with practical suggestions.

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Pertaining to all of these, the “master principle which keeps everything under control” is wisdom (85), a lesson which he derives from the book of Proverbs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7) (85). He concludes by reminding his hearers that the purpose of all this is “to please God by rearing such athletes for Him, that we and our children may light on the blessing that are promised to them that love Him (cf. I Corinthians 2:9), by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed glory, power, and honor, now and forevermore” (90).

Amen!

Conclusion Our Saint has spoken wisdom. Our own great sin is that we get distracted by trying to raise athletes for the world, when our highest aim, worthy of our greatest attention, is to raise athletes for Christ.

May Chrysostom remind us of the need to read and reread the Bible, to have it constantly on our lips and hearts. Our world feeds us and our children all sorts of images about who “God” is, and most have gravely missed the mark; we must know who the Scriptural God is, for it is this God that offers us all salvation.

To do this, we ourselves have to know Scripture—the Old and New Testament— very well, for it is these stories that should be written on a child’s heart. It is only when we know the whole of scripture well that we can do the kind of faithful, dynamic telling of the story that Chrysostom speaks of.

Undoubtedly, we need more people with seminary degrees to be writing children’s books that faithfully tell these biblical stories! Yet even more importantly, our church needs to make regular Bible Study for adults a priority. It is true that parishioners, for various reasons, are more apt to attend studies on anything but the Bible; we should be offering bible studies in our churches even if only a few people show up, in hopes that they will teach their

children and the children of our church schools.

Priests who are already overburdened by daily parish demands should feel supported to invite others trained in Scripture to lead studies. If we follow the model of our father Chrysostom (whose life as a pastor and preacher was focused on having adults know Scripture, as is clear from the thousands of homilies he preached) the studies will cover one book of the bible at a time, progressing slowly verse by verse. It would also serve us well to imitate Chrysostom in his practice of constantly reminding his hearers of the ultimate importance of knowing God’s Word.

Once we start to know scripture well, we can focus our parenting and our educational programs on helping children know and remember Biblical stories in ways that form their souls, in ways that are not burdensome to them, and in ways that address the ultimate questions about life that children have. All of this is a tall order on Chrysostom’s part—for us to do this today requires much energy and effort. Yet this is a worthy challenge: may we guard the gates of children’s souls and raise athletes for Christ!

Ann Mitsakos is a Ph.D. candidate in Theology and Education at Boston College and holds an M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

That

Teachable Moment REV. FR. MARK A. LEONDIS

Have you ever heard of the story about the father and son who went fishing? They caught no fish, it rained all day, and they had car problems. When they arrived home, the boy’s mother asked him, “How was your day?” The boy told his mom, “It was the greatest day of my life—I spent it with Dad.” Educators continually speak on the importance of the “hidden curriculum.” This is the idea that we must look for every opportunity, or teachable moment outside the classroom setting, to teach our students. This is key in the development of healthy, Christcentered individuals. The greatest discussions I have had with young people have not happened in the classroom or in a youth group meeting, but rather, occurred in a diner, at a mall, or on a walk.

The son in the story above had what some would call a miserable day. Nothing went right for him on his trip. However, the fact that he spent quality time with his father brought him to say, “It was the greatest day of my life. I spent it with Dad.” It was the love and quality time that the father spent with his son that turned misery into bliss, difficulties into joy.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly….”

Colossians 3:16

Oftentimes we underestimate the power of spending time with young people. We think that to make a difference in their lives, we need to follow the latest educational program, have the best youth group sessions, or the latest technology at our fingertips. While “knowhow” and technology are indeed important and can enhance a youth program, the primary element necessary in working with young people is the relationships we build. We must connect with the young people who are entrusted to our care.

Over the past ten years, the latest buzzword in youth work is “Relational Ministry.” The basic premise of Relational Ministry is that people, not programs, have the greatest influence in the lives of young people. Our faith favors such an approach in that it is founded on Christ’s saving relationship with humanity. The Trinity too provides a model of three distinct persons, fully working in cooperation and in perfect love. This is our goal—to experience and share this same perfect love with those whom we come into contact.

Statistics prove that while programs are important, the personal connections made during these programs are more important and have more influence than the programs themselves.

If built properly, such relationships plant seeds of Faith in the souls of young people.

Hopefully, long after the programs have ended, young people will remember the connection they made with their teachers, and will go on to cultivate these seeds of Faith on their own.

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Teaching moments do not usually come about either by accident or according to our own schedule. Sometimes an indefinite amount of time must first be invested. A friend of mine who works with youth relayed to me the following story about his ministry. A young boy from his parish asked him to go to the mall.

The youth worker agreed, assuming that the boy wanted to discuss an important matter. After four hours of walking around the mall and no meaningful discussion, the youth worker told the boy he had a prior commitment that evening. As they walked to the car and began to leave, the young boy opened his heart and the two of them spent the next four hours in counseling and prayer. This is an example of how spending quality time with a young person can open the door for many wonderful opportunities that might not otherwise come about.

Looking at the life of Jesus, we see that He was not afraid to come into a person’s culture, foreign as it might have been, and bring them healing, offering them a better way. He handled every interpersonal situation he encountered with complete tact and awareness, approaching different people in different ways. He met Zacchaeus in his own home; he met the Samaritan woman at the well. He was able to respond to everyone, regardless of their particular social, spiritual or psychological situation. As Christians we too must respond as He did in our churches and in our hearts.

Christ’s example challenges us to enter into the culture of today’s youth. The Jesus who lived, died and rose from the dead, needs to become a risen presence in the lives of our youth. But for this to happen we need to foster Christ-centered Church leaders, who are willing to spend the appropriate time mentoring and guiding our youth into a promising tomorrow.

Ministry should not be left to the clergy alone. There is plenty of work for all, as we are all the people of God. Remember, Peter and Andrew were simple fishermen who became disciples of the Lord. It is not just priests who receive a calling. The primary Biblical use of the term "calling" is an urgent invitation to enter into a life of service to God, a life of forgiveness, meaning, purpose, and freedom. It is issued to all, without distinctions of any kind. St. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians, "for in fact the body is not one member but many." We each have a different role that makes up the body. By the grace of God, each ministry is important and vital for building up the body of Christ.

There are many roles within the Church today, but one set of qualities needed for these roles. Whether a priest, youth worker or Christian educator, the main qualities needed are the ones that

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Christ possessed: self-sacrifice, humility and unconditional love.

These should characterize our living, teaching and ministry. We must always remember that Christ came to serve, not to be served.

He gave everything he had for us—even his life.

Therefore, we must take advantage of every teachable moment when they occur and, moreover, we must work to make them occur.

Oftentimes these moments will not take place within the four walls of the Church, in the Sunday School classroom, or in a youth group meeting. In fact, the opportunity for a real discussion will frequently take place on the young people’s territory. The most powerful moments in ministry and teaching may take place at a ball game or at a mall or while sharing french fries at a diner.

As one youth worker once said, “The greatest programs will fail and the most interesting curriculum will never be absorbed if the primary focus in ministry is not building solid, encouraging, positive relationships with young people.”

Do not be afraid to wander outside the realms of traditional education! Take advantage of every teachable moment!

Father Mark is the National Director of the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and is an adjunct professor of Religious Education at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary. Fr. Mark holds an MDiv from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and did extensive course work in the field of youth culture and adolescent development at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.

Moral Imagination and Exemplarism: Concerns for Orthodox Education REV. FR. DAVID PRATT

The Turn to the Ethical

The Moral Imagination

“The turn to ethics” is a phrase now in vogue within academic and corporate circles. Universities, schools, companies and government agencies have been dusting off the subject of ethics in search of ways to restore America’s moral thinking. Former Education Secretary William J. Bennett’s The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass are popular examples of this movement. A massive inter-disciplinary project at Duke University on education and policy-making is adding a religious dimension to the “ethical turn.” The project’s title, Education as Transformation Project: Religious Pluralism, Spirituality and Higher Education,1 calls educators to seriously assess their role in the moral formation of their students. This project struggles with what Christian educators have long accepted as their primary task—to have their students think rightly and live well. Serious Orthodox teachers know that our spiritual life and unique religious practices provide us with a moral compass, or more correctly, a community of reference in an ocean of pluralism. Transformation has always been the core of our religious education. But we live in stormy times. Our otherwise stable traditions are being swamped with the same ambiguities that have sent schools and businesses into a panic about virtue, or the lack of it. The following article examines how moral imagination is initiated and how this leads to right thinking and good living.

Then we look at virtue and the moral exemplar in the Orthodox tradition.

“The turn to ethics” also encompasses efforts to find moral guidance in human emotions and feelings, as well as perception and imagination. It reflects a general dissatisfaction with ethics based on logical demonstration in favor of more primal and personal ways to gauge right and wrong. In this vein, the American-Armenian Orthodox professor Vigen Guroian believes imagination is an excellent way to initiate and develop moral thinking. His book Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classical 2 Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination makes a case for religious metaphors in fairy tales as the building blocks of moral thinking. He begins by relating his experience of hearing Armenian tales from his grandmother, and then reading similar stories to his own children. In both instances, the moral messages in the stories occasioned moral thinking. He notes that children seem to naturally “get it right” when they face dilemmas of courage, honor, duty, integrity and sacrifice in these stories.

Hence his thesis—certain stories arouse moral thinking because the moral action of fictional characters transfers to the moral thinking of the reader. This process occurs via metaphor and symbol. The educator might add via the work of the one presenting it, but more on that later.

Nevertheless, stories initiate a person into a moral vocabulary and usage. This sets the stage for a kind of symbolic transference and picture-making that goes beyond visualizing story-events to grasping

“The righteous flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”

Psalms 92:12

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(katalypsis) the meaning and practice of good and evil, right and wrong, courage and strength of will.3 The better stories deal with danger, death and suffering, and prepare their hearers for what can be called a virtue-response.4 The converse is also true. Some young people are raised on stories where evil and magic carry the day.

Their moral apparatus is funded by images from Stephen King, Wes Craven or films like Predator and Titanic. And to be sure, they grasp a different meaning and practice of virtue.

Guroian also says the moral imagination is in crisis. There is too little awakening occurring in children. He laments that his college students are nearly completely metaphor-impaired; they cannot glean any allusions to religious truths or moral duty from stories, even the simplest of fairy tales. With this impairment comes a proportionate inability to form moral judgments. This is another sign that our society is growing more thoughtless about virtues and norms. We are, in a fashion, drowning in our pluralism. He prescribes reading tales like Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio (not the Disney versions however), The Chronicles of Narnia and searching for their Christian moral import. It is easy to come away thinking we need only to “story” our way to virtuous and noble living, as if the stories alone accomplish this. The presumption here is that children (and willing adults) have a natural inclination for the moral life and these stories arouse it. Recall Plato’s idea that virtue is knowledge and it has to be brought forth by others. The danger is that we would enjoy the story, grasp its moral meaning, be entertained by it, and then do nothing thereafter. Stories do not guarantee an active step. They may awaken the moral imagination, as Guroian asserts, but more is required to keep it awake and acting rightly. We need a guide or teacher in virtue. The more critical reader will notice that story reading occurs in a moral context of its own. Parents provide the framework and decode the metaphors in this setting. Guroian’s examples presume a parental context. If moral imagination is to happen in the classroom this same context must exist there. Thus, teachers have to model and decode moral metaphors, even for college students. Whether we suppose virtue is innate and needs only to be brought out of us, or whether it is extrinsic and has to be taught and developed in us, there must be a teacher. The stimulus must be personal. Stories may awaken moral thought, but teachers bring it to action through personal modeling.

A cornerstone tenet of religious education is that teachers are models of virtue in loco parentis (in place of the parent). I would argue that any tale gets its power to awaken the moral life because there is a visible exemplar aligned with the story. In other words, it takes a living personal example to make a story come alive in a moral way. For those who lack an exemplar, such stories remain only stories. Their high ideals never come down to earth. The imagination they stimulate does not fund moral thinking or cross over to virtue-acts. It simply remains at the level of fantasy images, the very sort of imagination the Orthodox tradition (especially the

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neptic monastic tradition) opposes.5 Something much deeper and stronger is needed in order for fantasy images (which all fairy tales invoke) to initiate moral thinking and acting. There must be an exemplar whose presence brings about the transition from story to virtue, from images to actions. The traditional Christian approach calls for pious teachers and sacred biography (hagiography). We have to hear the lives of the saints and see people live that way. One of the first choices we make in church is whether we will imitate our ancestors in the faith, whole, part or not at all. Imitation (mimesis) is the root principle of Orthodox exemplarism. “Hagiographic instruction” carries this out, and in a more complete way than fairy tales. Hagiography works because it “ikonizes” a life in such a way that we can imitate and admire it in faith. A simple example will illustrate these various elements.

Elise is eleven, on the border between young girl and young woman. She transgressed in something and was punished by her father. She was banned from pleasure reading for two weeks. This was a blow to Elise who loves her books. So she bargained for probation and a deal was struck. She could gain back her privileges if she read a book of daddy’s choosing. He gave her a large biography of St. Elizabeth the martyr. Elise finished it in one day!

Then her father plied some questions, deftly asking about the saint’s virtues and sacrifices. Elise evaluated what it meant to be a beautiful duchess in Russia, a widow, then a nun and Bolshevik martyr. The questions revealed that she had already personalized that life with her own circumstances and faith. The episode was a tour de force

dinner table lesson on moral imagination via two separate exemplars—a courageous saint and a forgiving father (daddy restored Elise’s books as agreed). In this case, the story exemplar and concrete exemplar furnish the stimuli that bring about a crossing over from imagination to moral thinking and acting. This transition occurs because the story is “ikonized” in the hearer while the teacher is deemed worthy of admiration. Mimesis is the ikonic or moralizing property in this process. Remove either of these exemplars and tales lose their power to fund the moral life, they feed the fantasy life instead.

Mimesis and exemplarism occur because there is real moral worth in the exemplar, and this worth is deserving of respect, imitation, even reverence. And all three are needed, but reverence more so because it is the key to forming obedience and autonomy in a young person.6 Fiction cannot produce these responses. People The “virtue-response” in teachers and students is do.7 fundamentally personal. This helps define a specifically Eastern Christian form of exemplarism.

Our “turn to ethics” means we must recover the ancient sense of presence. We have to come back to ideas like “friendship with God” and “graced insight” and make them fresh. The Orthodox moral vocabulary has to be released from its academic setting and put back into common circulation. Our transformation project is to rehabilitate everyone’s moral imagination, one person at a time.

Our challenge is to quit teaching about virtue and start educating through the proven methods—the lives of the saints and personal example. This is the surest way to stop the moral haze that freely drifts through our culture and claims the thinking of our youth.

Father David Pratt is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and a Naval chaplain. He is presently a staff ethicist at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He holds an MDiv from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, an MA and an STL from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Louvain, Belgium. Comments are welcome at davidepratt@hotmail.com

The Orthodox Virtue Standard Is there a specific Orthodox exemplarism? Our distinct forms of worship and spiritual discipline do nurture a special exemplariness.

The Eastern “virtue-quotient” can be summed up in a word— presence.8 This word amalgamates several deep religious truths, namely, that we are spirit in matter, image and likeness of God, existing in time and eternity. It recalls that we were made for glory not demise. This is why Orthodox virtue always connotes a relationship with the enduring tradition of the Church (because the Church is signified by presence too). Therefore, saints and exemplars cross the boundary from living in the tradition to being the tradition itself, examples of spirit in matter, eternity in time.

This transition is analogous to the passage from moral imagining to moral action, something that every Christian must accomplish in order to flourish in the faith.

Presence and flourishing do not indicate a better life, but rather a perfect life where virtue is settled, natural and proper. St. Irenaeus uses the expression “friend of God” to describe flourishing.9 St. Gregory of Nyssa speaks of an elevated type of thinking or “graced insight” (perinoia) to describe presence.10 “Friend of God” and “graced insight” refer to a unity of moral imagination and right action. The moral and spiritual are coterminous here. There is no division between moral, spiritual, ethical and theological in Christian flourishing. This is a hallmark of Orthodox thought and the aim of our religious education. Flourishing is all about thinking and living in a unified fashion. To achieve this we must get back to our unique virtue standard.

1 See this and other Kenan Institute projects at kenan.ethics.duke.edu 2 Oxford University Press, 1998.

3 The theoretical problem is to describe how we pass from the images and pictures of fantasy to the analogical thinking that is moral imagination, and then to concrete practical decision-making of ethical reasoning. The key seems to be the analogical imagination. Stoic philosophers were close to this problem when they used katalypsis and other special terms to describe spiritual knowing.

See Gisela Striker, Essays on Hellenistic Epistemology and Ethics (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ.

Press, 1996), 27-40 and 51-57.

4 There is a lively debate in Catholic theology on whether the “virtue-response” becomes a habit of acting or a capacity or power for action. See Servais Pinckaers, The Sources of Christian Ethics, trans. M. T. Noble (Washington, DC: Catholic Univ. of America Press, 1995), 364.

5 See Hierotheos Vlachos, Orthodox Spirituality: A Brief Introduction, trans. E. Mavromichali (Levadia, Greece: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery, 1994), 35-39.

6 Pinckaers in Sources of Christian Ethics, 357-378, argues for a freedom that is geared for virtue rather than a neutral freedom or flat autonomy. His “freedom for excellence” resembles Maximus the Confessor on human free will.

7Animals also produce it in us. In 55BC a combat between animals and men was staged.

According to Pliny the animals perceived their doomed and cried out to the audience in pain. The crowd was moved to compassion and angrily denounced the event. This scene illustrates how animals invoke compassion and reverence deep within our emotions, which is to say the “virtue response” is primal and triggered by symbols and analogy. We analogize animal suffering to our own. See this account in Martha C. Nussbaum, Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001), 89.

8 This is drawn from Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Presence and Thought: An Essay on the Religious Philosophy of Gregory of Nyssa, trans. Mark Sebanc (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1995). It is not possible here to show all the ways St. Gregory and von Balthasar’s interpretation contribute to moral psychology.

9 St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Adversus Haereses), XVI.4.

10 St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses, II.35.

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Teaching from

Hagiography: A Study of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt JEFFREY BENEKER

“…Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely….”

Hebrews 12:1

The purpose of Christian biography, or hagiography, is not only to relate the story of a saint’s life, but also to instruct the reader by setting forth an example of faith, piety, and perseverance. In reading the life of a saint therefore, we must be careful to notice both the details of the story and the general lesson that it teaches, often indirectly, as the story unfolds.

Furthermore, the lives of the saints, whether condensed and printed in large collections or distributed individually as books or pamphlets, have always played an important role in the education of Orthodox Christians.

If Orthodox education in America wishes to remain true to its roots, it must include hagiography in its regular curriculum throughout the liturgical year. With these points in mind, I would like to briefly examine the Life of St. Mary of Egypt as an example of how one might extract a lesson suitable for parish education from a Christian biography.

The Life of St. Mary of Egypt opens not by introducing St. Mary, as we might expect, but with the rather lengthy story of a man named Zosimas. Keeping in mind that a hagiographer wishes to give us not only a good story but also a good lesson, we must pay careful attention to the role of Zosimas in the Life of St. Mary. Zosimas was a monk and a strict ascetic. He followed the rules of his monastery to the letter and through fasting and prayer made his body subordinate to his soul and achieved great spiritual discipline. Nor did he neglect the Holy Scriptures, St. Sophronius adds, reminding us that spiritual exercise and the study of scripture go hand in hand; the body is diminished in favor of the soul, and physical food is replaced by spiritual food.

St. Sophronius also relates the important result of Zosimas’ asceticism and study: He

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was granted divine visions. “And this is nothing amazing or unbelievable,” he writes. “‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,’ as the Lord said. Certainly those who have cleansed themselves and are ever watchful in the eye of the soul will see visions of divine illumination, receiving in this life a promise of the good to come.” On account of his spiritual discipline and the reward of divine illumination, Zosimas is set before the reader as a practical example. If we consider the fact that the Life of St. Mary has traditionally been read in church on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent, we can easily see the importance of Zosimas as a guide to all Orthodox faithful. We, in our miniature monastic experience of Great Lent, are also disciplining our bodies, studying scripture, and struggling to keep the eyes of our souls watchful in the hope that we will be able to witness, and to spiritually comprehend, the awesome events of Holy Week and the glorious Resurrection.

However, the practice of reading this Life during Lent is generally not followed in American parishes. Even so, Orthodox educators can effectively reintroduce the story to their students, if not in the sanctuary then in the classroom.

Considering that hagiography is generally absent from our services in Church, we could argue that it is the responsibility of the Orthodox educator to teach from the lives of the saints regularly in order to keep them alive for the laity.

Jeffrey Beneker is a graduate student in Classical Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a visiting lecturer in Latin at North Carolina State University.

He is also a Church School teacher at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Raleigh.

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Rejoice, jr. the Orthodox newsletter for children

TAISIA MILLS, M.A.

When I turned fifteen, there were no other children my age at Church, except for my older brother. I was asked to read books to a few two year olds while their moms taught church school, since there was no class for me. Once I started reading to these toddlers, I noticed that the

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Photo Credit: OCA Communications Department

Growing up as the daughter of an Orthodox priest, I was engulfed in the world of Orthodoxy. I knew Arab, Romanian, Russian, Greek, Coptic, Finish, and American Orthodox children who grew up with the same faith, just different traditions. Sometimes it seemed as though the kids I met were more concerned about being Romanian or Greek, than being an Orthodox Christian. I attended Church School from the time I was about four years old. My dad had a small family oriented parish just north of Orlando, Florida. It’s funny that twelve years of Orthodox Christian education didn’t make an impression on me. All I can remember about those years of class is having to memorize the first twenty books of the Bible along with some of the cool Christmas crafts we got to do. Other than that, those twelve years of Church School, Sunday after Sunday, are a blur. I don’t want the same thing to happen to the children in my parish in Charlotte, nor do I think it should to happen to any child in any parish. If something isn’t done to reach out to the children, the church could loose them, like so many of the kids I grew up with.

children really wanted to hear the stories and got excited when it was time to pick out the books. Reading to two year olds turned into a church school class for preschoolers. I did this for seven years in Florida and four years in New York while I attended graduate school at Purchase College. The more I taught and used curriculum that already existed, the more I found myself recreating the wheel each time I prepared for class. I had boxes of resource information that I would plow through, looking for stories, visual aides, and craft ideas to supplement the lesson I was teaching. Projects and crafts became important in each lesson since children learn best when they use their hands.

While I was teaching church school, I

also began teaching art to preschool and elementary school age children. From that experience, I learned how a child retains and builds upon prior knowledge. For example, in preschool children learn to recognize numbers and letters.

In Elementary school they learn how to put those numbers and letters together in sequences and patterns. In middle school they are taught how to take those sequences and patterns and use them in many different subjects, and then in high school, students are taught how they can benefit from the knowledge those letters and numbers give us.

In view of this model of learning, I considered developing a church school curriculum. I realized I could develop a

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three-year cycle of learning in which Old Testament would be taught one year, New Testament the next, and Church Services, Sacraments, and Saints would be taught the next. A child would move through this cycle several times as they grow up. Then by the time that child moves on to college he or she would have received as good a foundation in Church education as in school education. One upside of this model of learning for a church school program is that children within the same family who might be in different classes, are learning the same basic lesson, only on different levels. This way, when parents ask what their three children learned in Church School, the theme of their answers will be the same. Nativity of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC had been using curriculum that follows this model for two and a half years now. I am receiving compliments from the teachers on how easy the lessons are to teach and prepare for—from the parents who say their children want to go to class, and from the kids who are picking up on things they see and hear in church and say, “Yah, we learned about that in church school.”

Being a young priest’s wife, the older children in the parish feel close in age to me and see me as a peer. They often come to me with questions and for advice. Since there is only one of me and 35 children at church, I developed a monthly newsletter called Rejoice jr. I feel that I have a calling to minister to children and have been told that I am young in spirit and in thinking and am able to talk to the children in their language. Dr. Rossi, a professor at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, once asked me how I am able to write on a child’s level.

I answered him by saying it is my level too!

Parishes who subscribe receive a cameraready copy of Rejoice jr. and can photocopy enough newsletters for their parish.

September started the second year of such subscriptions. So far, twenty-one churches subscribe and children from all jurisdictions across the US look forward to each new issue.

Issues contain articles about church services, saints, feast days, book and movie reviews, church etiquette, Old and New Testament stories, prayer, fasting, and even some helpful hints on how to live a life as an Orthodox Christian. Recently a fivepart article on the Divine Liturgy attracted a lot of attention from adults. A parish in Pennsylvania with only three children subscribe and pass Rejoice jr. out to their entire parish: young and old alike. I try to give information that is pertinent for us in our culture and society. Inspiration comes from questions I might have, or questions I am asked from the youth at church. How can we learn modesty from Saint Perpetua, learn to be heartfelt in giving like St. Nicholas, or to be a good helper like St. George? Helpful hints on having a good and fruitful fasting season, or understanding that we are modern day pilgrims who celebrate Thanksgiving every Sunday help us see the

religious significance of special holidays.

It is important for children to have something in their hands that they can physically hold on to, that they can set eyes on, that they can look forward to, and that is an easy and quick read for them.

Children today are so overloaded, overwhelmed and over saturated with the world we live in. If I can provide a small breather in the craziness, plant seeds of the gospel in them, and bring them closer to our risen Lord, then it is a great thing.

Taisia Mills holds a Master of Arts from Purchase College in Purchase, NY. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina where her husband is the priest of Nativity of the Holy Virgin OCA parish. For information about subscribing to Rejoice jr., email taisia@advinc.com.

Rejoice jr. soon turned into something bigger. My parents got a hold of a copy and wanted to pass it out at their church in Florida, St. Stephen. Then with a little push, I decided to go national with Rejoice jr. by offering it on a subscription basis.

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Fruits of an Orthodox JANE G. MEYER

Unusual ideas sprout in unusual places. Three years ago, two other moms and myself decided to start an Orthodox elementary school while trailing after our toddlers at the playground.

Of course, we didn’t know what we were getting into: researching, attending seminars, applying for grants, hosting soup dinners, choosing a curriculum, the start-up costs….

But we had a notion of what the fruits of that education might be for our children and our families, and now, some years later, there is an official Saint John of Damascus Academy in Goleta, California. We are sure the effort has been worth the while, and from a mom’s perspective, here’s why:

“We’re Going Tonight, Right?”

At an Orthodox school, our children are afforded the opportunity to live by the Orthodox calendar. Through the brief church teachings given daily the students know and feel the approach of a certain season. They sing the troparion of the day during morning prayers, and they fast according to the calendar. With enthusiasm they bring this information home and often instigate the momentum toward heading out to church for a weeknight celebration.

Last year, my four year-old daughter, Madeleine, was in the preschool and they had been studying angels. She asked if we could go to the service that Thursday evening (“We’re going tonight, right?”) and so off we went, she, sporting a pair of gold, cardboard angel wings that they had made in school the day before. On entering the church I realized I had lost touch with the

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season, but she had not. It was an akathist to Michael the Archangel, and Madeleine, with her bright smile and golden wings was ready to enter in.

Though as grown ups we may be pulled away from the Church’s fasts and feasts because of projects at work or community involvement, the school has helped synchronize our family’s calendar with that of the church. The most poignant example of this idea in action is Holy Week.

Holy Week is one of our favorite periods at the school. The children attend class for half of a day, and are given no homework.

They are encouraged to participate with their families in the many services from Lazarus Saturday to Holy Saturday. The excitement leading up to Pascha, with the daily talk and teachings of what happened the night before in church lends incredible energy and anticipation to the feast. By Pascha my kids are ready to burst and sing the many versions of Christ is Risen that they know so well.

Karen Horattas, a mother of six, whose children attend the Saint Nicholas Orthodox Christian School in Mogadore, Ohio says, “An Orthodox school changes your life. How could it not? The faith is woven into everything they do and learn, and the concepts are lived out every day.”

She explained that her children were doing very well in public school, that they were thriving academically, but now they are doing even better and that living by the Orthodox calendar has made “life more of a celebration.”

“It’s Monastery Day!” We’ve been fortunate that within our community lies a monastery where three nuns host the students of our school for prayers and lunch once a month. At the beginning of the year, the new kindergartners who have yet to know the nuns approach them in a shy and even frightened way. But by the end of the school year they are hugging Sister Susan, asking Sister Elayne science questions, and kissing Mother Victoria just like the older kids.

This was part of our plan in starting an Orthodox school, to surround our children with a community of people that would not only love and teach them now, but that might be a part of their lives as they grow into adulthood. “Wouldn’t it be great,” we said that first planning day on the playground, “if at the times our kids won’t listen to us” (we were thinking of the teenage years), “they’ll go to other members of the school or church community for advice?”

Another benefit of having our children involved in the Orthodox community is the focus on serving others. Not just being “tolerant,” as the public system preaches, but truly loving one another. Within the school, the children are encouraged to help each other. The older students care for the younger ones by pulling them onto their laps at reading time or pushing them on the swings at recess. Members from the church community also have opportunities to serve the children, by teaching various classes, or helping with field trips or social events. And my children especially enjoy interacting

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Education with the broader community, as they tour nursing homes on Santa Lucia day, singing Christmas songs and passing out cards and treats to the elderly.

“Let’s Play Moses and the Burning Bush” Since we started the school, the focus of play in our home has changed drastically.

You can tell what’s on a child’s heart by what they sing and what they play. My children love to sing as they create, and though sometimes the Star Wars theme is on their minds, many of their hums consist of songs that they concoct themselves from the many hymns and teachings that they hear each week. Certainly they have been progressing in their reading, writing, and math. They have learned about Sumerians, sung songs in Spanish, and done science experiments on weather. But the curriculum continually references our Christian faith and when delivered through prayer, by teachers who know and love the children, it makes a difference in a child’s life. As Saint Theophan the Recluse said in his book Raising Them Right, “In general, one must so dispose the mind of pupils that they do not lose the conviction that our chief work is the pleasing of God, and that learning is a secondary quality, something incidental, which is good only during the present life.”

I used to believe that prayer in school didn’t matter. Personally, I didn’t want my child being led in prayer by a teacher whose morals I had no knowledge of. Now, of course I know my children’s teachers and I believe that prayer is integral to their success

in the classroom, on the playground and at home. My oldest child, Andrew, chants the Hours with his classmates every morning at school. Before entering the school he had difficulties participating in the Sunday liturgies, but now we see how the knowledge of the prayers has spurred a deep interest and acceptance of the longer services. Prayer penetrates the soul, and bringing that into the school setting has been a joy for the teachers who, now, after years of abstaining, are allowed to pray, and for the children who reap the rewards of knowing so many.

God and one another. The bishop of our school once wrote a letter explaining how we can envision our lives as triangles, centered around God. At each corner of the triangle is an aspect of life: church, family, and school, all of which need to be balanced and equal. He wrote, “By building this school, you are fulfilling the plan of God by completing the triangle and combining the Church, the school and the family together as one icon of the Lord. There are many school buildings in this country, but not all of them are working according to God’s plan.”

Lastly, regarding curriculum, as a parent I know that whatever is being taught in the classroom is appropriate. What a relief! I don’t have to worry about the political agendas of the people in power and how they want our children to know of this or that. My children are learning of Moses and the burning bush instead of how Diana has two mommies. They will learn these things later, in due time, but for now I can trust that the content is acceptable for my young child’s mind, heart and soul.

There are few Orthodox schools functioning in our communities today, but perhaps more moms and dads, priests, teachers, and administrators, will allow the unusual idea, the seemingly impossible idea of educating our children in an Orthodox setting, to take root. Meanwhile, for my children at the Saint John of Damascus Academy, school has become spiritual, nuns have become normal, and at home they sing praises to God in the Highest when no one is watching.

An Icon of the Lord

Jane G. Meyer is a professional writer who attends St. Athanasius Antiochian Church in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a volunteer at St. John of Damascus Academy, a school under the jurisdiction of the OCA.

This is not to say that my children are now perfect because they attend an Orthodox school! No, they still grumble about eating peanut butter sandwiches on Wednesdays and Fridays and find plenty of reasons to argue or be distracted. But the school has helped our whole family embrace each day with a mind on the calendar and our hearts on learning better how to love

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a Library

Story

JOHN AND JANET GALLAS

The parishioners of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church are fortunate to have a professional library and archives consisting of photographs, historical documents, books, and mementos commemorating eighty years of history since the days when St. Sophia was founded in 1922 at 8 Lancaster Street in Albany, New York. The first library was founded, funded and furnished by Dr. Christopher Kendris and his wife, Yolanda, as a gift to the Church in September of 1969. In the years since that time, they have compiled a chronological history of significant events along with related printed and photographic materials.

Every item included in the library is thoroughly researched, documented, recorded, and added to the database of the computer in the Archives and Library Room.

The library’s holdings include many videocassettes of Eastern Orthodox religious holidays and newspapers in Greek and English, even a few bricks from the original 8 Lancaster Street Church. It was demolished in 1967 to make way for the Empire State Plaza where the New York State Theater now stands. Other sections include books of Orthodox theology, some books written in Greek and a small section of books published by St. Sophia authors.

The library has three computerized indexes of books by author, title, and subject; another index of archival documents; and another consisting of 115

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pages (as of this date) of names of persons in photographs of Church events dating from1922 to the present. All archival documents describe library materials and give their exact location within the library.

Entries have been assigned numbers for easy location in the various shelves, cabinets, and flat files that are organized by year. The flat files are known as artists’ or photographer’s portfolio file cabinets made of wood or metal. There are four such cabinets in the room that also contain four glass display cases where rare, significant documents, awards, and realia are kept.

Fragile photos and newspaper articles and other donated items are kept in acid-free see-thru envelopes for preservation.

Library work is an ongoing task of collecting historical material. This Church Archives and Library is a repository and member of the Capital District Library Council Documentary Heritage Program because it has preserved historical records and photographs of the first Greek American Immigrants who settled in this city and established a Greek Orthodox Church. The Documentary Heritage Program was established by the New York State Archives and Records Administration to serve the needs of historical programs across the state. According to the New York Documentary Heritage Law, an historical records program is “any deliberate, organized program to collect, hold, care for, and make available historical

records, including identifying, appraising, arranging, describing, and referencing them and using them in exhibitions and other public educational programs.”

Periodically, our Church Archives and Library presents exhibits on a variety of themes from 1922 to the present. To learn more about all aspects of identifying and preserving archival records, Chris and Yolanda attend meetings, conferences, and workshops when held by the New York State Documentary Heritage Program.

The services they perform are voluntary.

Chris is a retired high school teacher and college professor, and Yolanda is a retired high school librarian.

If one asks Chris why he established the Archives and Library, he answers quickly and with conviction: “We founded this library to honor and pay tribute to the mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers who founded this Church. They worked hard and made many sacrifices in 1922 and during the Depression to establish our first Church at 8 Lancaster Street as a place to worship God together because we love the beauty of His House.” When one walks into the library, there is a feeling of being part of this wonderful Church and its history.

Christopher Kendris personally to tell him how much he enjoyed seeing the library, the archival collections, indexes, and everything in it. He was very pleased with its outstanding excellence.

This article was written with the express purpose of encouraging other Orthodox churches to consider establishing a library if they have not already done so. The members of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church are want to express our heartfelt thanks to Chris and Yolanda Kendris for establishing a valuable resource that will endure for years to come. We are grateful for what “Christos” and Yolanda have accomplished as a gift, services and all, to this parish.

In March of 2002, his eminence Archbishop Demetrios visited St. Sophia and toured the library. He was so impressed that he asked to meet

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T H E P A R I S H L E A R N I N G C E N T E R:

High-Tech Tools JOHN COURETAS

When third graders at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church set out last year to create an illuminated manuscript, they used a tool that no Byzantine monk could have imagined: a personal computer and word processing software. And when middle school and high school students at the Grand Rapids, Michigan parish began their research for the annual St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, they reached back to the time of the Holy Fathers to better understand the roots of Orthodoxy. Not only did the students look back in time, but they also fanned out all over the world, using the power of the Internet to tap into research at universities, churches, and monasteries.

These projects, and many more, are being managed through the Holy Trinity Learning Center, a converted classroom crammed with high-tech gear that is providing new tools and classroom materials

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for the parish. The Learning Center allows students, teachers, adult education participants and seniors to harness technology in the service of Orthodox education. Some half dozen personal computers with CD-ROM drives are networked for file sharing, linked to the Internet and equipped with printers, highcapacity Zip storage drives and a scanner. A digital video camera is also available to record church events and build footage for student projects. All of the gear was donated and installed by Holy Trinity parishioners.

“Even though the church has had an active religious education program, the Learning Center has energized the activities,” says Rev. Fr. James Bogdan, pastor of Holy Trinity. The center is the focus of what he calls “whole life learning,” or the participation of all parishioners, even those who might never have touched a

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For an Ancient Faith Trinity religious education curriculum would be more consistent and cohesive from year to year. New teachers and substitutes will also benefit.

The parish council approved the use of church funds to convert a classroom into the Learning Center and outfit it with workbenches and furniture, new storage bins and library shelving. From that point on, the Learning Center took shape through the efforts of parishioners working in a synergy of time and talents.

personal computer or ventured onto the World Wide Web. “It has opened up a whole new world of learning opportunities for us,” Fr. Bogdan said. “Through the Learning Center we’re involving people who have been marginally interested, especially the high school kids.” In the two years since the Learning Center opened, the volunteer staff has learned a lot about setting up a high-tech facility and finding ways to involve parishioners. And they are sharing that knowledge with sister parishes in the Diocese of Detroit. For example, Fr. Bogdan and the Learning Center staff have held an informal training session with Rev. Fr. Dean Hountalas and the religious education personnel at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In October 2001, at the Detroit Diocese Clergy-Laity Conference in Buffalo, NY, the Grand Rapids team offered a “hands-on” computer-training workshop for parishes interested in putting multimedia tools to work in religious education.

By the grace of God, and no small amount of generosity and elbow grease by parishioners, the Holy Trinity Learning Center began to take shape early in the summer of 2000. The catalyst for the project was the donation of six new personal computers, a printer and a digital camera by Terry Nicholas, a former parish council president and long-time council member.

His goal was to use technology to spur greater interest in Orthodoxy in the classrooms. “I wanted to help get the church connected and, hopefully, spark the great involvement of younger people and everyone else,” Nicholas said. “It was a nobrainer.”

Another objective was to use the technology to create and store teaching materials in a readily accessible format. For example, one of the computers is fitted with a re-writeable CD-ROM drive, which will allow lesson plans and other materials and projects to be saved on high-capacity disks.

In this way, Nicholas reasoned, the Holy

Parishioners Joan Dallis and Mary Theodore, two certified public school teachers who directed the project, consolidated much of Holy Trinity’s existing curriculum materials, including textbooks and videos, in the new Learning Center where they were catalogued. The collection was expanded with new materials and the teachers created additional teaching aids for the elementary grades. During the research phase of the Oratorical Festival in each of the last two years, the teachers built a small lending library for students who were researching topics about the Holy Fathers.

The teachers are also encouraging wider discovery, in both print and online media, about Orthodoxy outside of Greece. This is important in a parish, now numbering 210 active families, that has seen significant new membership from converts and those of Eritrean, Ethiopian, Romanian, Albanian, Serbian, and Russian descent.

Currently, the Learning Center is used chiefly by the elementary and upper level religious education classes. Teachers sign up in advance to take their classes in on Sundays to work on lessons or feast day

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projects. For example, the digital camera was used to record the children making crosses for Palm Sunday and to capture video clips of Journey to Pascha, the Church’s Holy Friday school retreat.

Because they are in digital format, these segments can be viewed on a personal computer, stored on a CD-ROM or loaded onto the church Web site. Children also communicated via e-mail with the monks at St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Hayesville, Ohio, peppering them with questions about the Holy Fathers.

Senior citizens who gather weekly at the church for fellowship are learning how to send e-mail and find Greek web sites for news. Plans also call for the Greek school curriculum to be integrated into the Learning Center.

As the Learning Center completes its second year of operation, the parish remains very positive about the project. The potential that the new technologies bring to Holy Trinity for learning about God and orthodoxy seem almost unlimited. Said Fiorenzo: “We’re just at the very beginning.”

Tips For Launching and Managing a Parish Learning Center • Budget the dollars: Ask your Parish Council, Philoptochos, AHEPA and other church groups to set aside funds for equipment and furnishings.

• Seek donors: Some parishioners may want to buy the equipment for the church. Business and school districts often have used computers and office equipment to donate or sell at rock-bottom prices.

• Identify talent: Get the help of parishioners who are skilled in teaching, computer technology, Web design, library science and related disciplines.

• Integrate: The Learning Center isn’t just for kids. Put it to work for adult religious education classes and Senior Citizen projects.

• Students Wanted: Students can manage or assist in many of the multimedia and Web projects, installing, upgrading and troubleshooting equipment. They love to help and they understand technology.

• Understand Your Needs: How will you use the Learning Center? Will parishioners be watching videos?

Will they want to hear real Audio? Will they be on the Internet and send e-mail? Have the necessary software and hardware in place up front to prevent frustration.

• Refresh the Website: Keep the information on the church Website site current. That’s the whole point of having a presence on the Internet.

• Push E-mail: Build a parish e-mail list and use it for broadcasting announcements, recruiting volunteers and distributing educational materials.

• Manage Expectations: Determine what can be done with limited time, with existing technology and volunteer help. Progress may be slow at first. Communicate that to users and keep the parish council in the loop.

For comments and questions about the Learning Center email htgoc330@iserv.net or call (616) 454-6563.

John Couretas is a journalist and corporation communications consultant. He attends Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids, MI.

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