Session 4: The Church Grows
The purpose of this session is to familiarize participants with the missionary growth of the Church throughout Europe and Asia.Objectives: By the end of this session participants will be able to . . .
- Discuss how the Good News of Jesus Christ was brought to many different countries, each of which expressed the Faith in its own unique way.
- Name four or five countries in which the Church became established
- Name apostles and other saints that brought Christianity to these countries.
Useful Texts for Leader Reflection/Preparation
(Scriptural, Liturgical, Lives of Saints, etc):
Lives of Saints from the Saints of All Ages Series (Many parishes may already have copies of these books in their parish library or with their education materials. They can also be purchased from the OCA’s Orthodox Christian Publication Center.)
Book 2: Enlighteners of Ancient Kingdoms (St. Nina, p.5; St. Gregory, p. 14; St. Frumentius of Ethiopia, p. 31)
Book 3: New Apostles of Christ (Ss. Cyril and Methodius, p.5; St. Nicholas of Japan, p.35)
Book 6: Saints of the British Islands (St. Patrick, p.5; St. Augustine and St. Theodore, p.25; St. Aiden and St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, p. 34)
Notes to the Leader
For this session participants will be traveling to countries where Christianity became central to the life of the people. If your community has a number of members with a background from a certain country not listed, feel free to substitute it for one of those below. You can use the existing text or the lives of the saints listed above as models.
Like the previous session, set up separate rooms or spaces for each country. Have one adult or teacher dressed in an appropriate ethnic dress from each country.
Materials:
A: Passports; traditional dress for each of the countries you will be visiting; a paper shamrock; decorated Slavic eggs, passport stamps or stickers; examples of different types of crosses (especially one from each country the participants are visiting - Armenian, Irish, Romanian, Bulgarian); copies of letter/questionnaire for parents.
B & C: In addition to the items listed above you will also need, copies of the lives of Saints indicated under Useful Texts.
A: Younger Children
1. Opening Prayer
2. Opening discussion: Begin by asking the students to explain what they learned when they visited Antioch, Greece, and Rome. Ask the following:
- Why did the apostles visit these places? [To share the Good News about Jesus Christ.]
- What happened after the people in these places heard about the Good News about Jesus Christ? [They became Christians and started new churches.]
- Conclude by saying, “In every country that became Christian, the people shared their faith with each other in ways everyone could understand. Today we are going to visit with people from four more countries where, a long time ago, the Church grew.”
3. Remind participants about how they should behave as their continue their “journery.” [i.e., no pushing, shoving, unnecessary noise, be respectful of the “tour guides” and “hosts.”]
Tell students that they will still need their passports to visit each country. Tell all students that we are going to visit people in Armenia, Ireland, Romania, and the Slavic Lands.
4. First Part of Journey: Armenia, Ireland, Romania
a. When passports are distributed, take students to the first classroom.
b. Three teachers (one dressed as an Armenian, one as an Irish person, and one as a Romanian, should be in the classroom. As the students enter the classroom, the teachers welcome them and gather them together.
c. When the students are settled the “Armenian teacher” begins:
GOOD MORNING! I’M VERY GLAD TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE CHURCH IN MY COUNTRY, WHICH IS CALLED ARMENIA.
ARMENIA IS FAR AWAY FROM JERUSALEM AND ANTIOCH AND ROME. IT IS A VERY OLD COUNTRY, ALMOST AS OLD AS GREECE!
WE ARMENIANS BECAME CHRISTIANS NOT LONG AFTER JESUS LIVED ON THIS EARTH. IN FACT, WE WERE THE FIRST COUNTRY TO BECOME CHRISTIAN. EVEN OUR LEADERS WERE CHRISTIANS, SO NO ONE TRIED TO STOP US, AS THEY DID IN ROME.
IN OUR COUNTRY, WE HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN THAT WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY PUTTING UP CROSSES ON OUR CHURCHES, ON THE SIDE OF MAIN ROADS, AND WHEN WE WANT TO SHOW OUR THANKS TO GOD FOR HIS LOVE AND BLESSINGS. [Show students the Armenian style cross.] SOMETIMES THEY ARE MADE OF WOOD, AND SOMETIMES THEY ARE MADE OF STONE.
AND NOW I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FRIEND FROM IRELAND.
d. The Irish teacher continues:
AFTER THE APOSTLES DIED, OTHER CHRISTIANS CONTINUED TO TRAVEL TO NEW LANDS, WHERE THEY TAUGHT ABOUT JESUS CHRIST AND STARTED NEW CHURCHES.
ONE OF THESE MISSIONARIES WAS NAMED PATRICK. HE TAUGHT US ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. THERE IS A VERY OLD STORY THAT SAYS PATRICK USED A SHAMROCK TO EXPLAIN THAT THERE IS ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS - FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. [Demonstrate to students using paper shamrock.]
HE SAID THAT THERE IS ONE GOD, JUST LIKE I AM SHOWING YOU ONE SHAMROCK, BUT GOD IS IN THREE PERSONS- FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT - JUST AS THERE ARE THREE LEAVES ON THE SHAMROCK. BECAUSE SHAMROCKS ARE VERY COMMON IN IRELAND, THE IRISH PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS SAYING AND THEY BECAME CHRISTIANS. EVEN TODAY, NEARLY 2000 YEARS LATER, WHEN WE CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK’S DAY, WE ALWAYS DECORATE THINGS WITH SHAMROCKS, WHICH REMINDS US OF THE ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS.
FINALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FRIEND FROM ROMANIA.
e. The Romanian teacher continues:
ROMANIA IS FAR AWAY FROM IRELAND, BUT ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT ST. PATRICK WENT TO IRELAND, MISSIONARIES CAME TO ROMANIA AND TAUGHT US ABOUT JESUS. A LITTLE WHILE LATER, HOWEVER, A TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED. ROMANIA WAS TAKEN OVER BY A GROUP OF PEOPLE CALLED “BARBARIANS.” THEY DESTROYED OUR CHURCHES AND THEY WOULDN’T LET US BE CHRISTIAN. FOR MANY YEARS AFTER THIS, THERE WERE FEW CHRISTIANS IN ROMANIA.
HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER, OTHER MISSIONARIES CAME AND TAUGHT OUR PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS CHRIST ONCE AGAIN. SINCE THEN, OUR COUNTRY HAS BEEN A CHRISTIAN ONE.
5. Before leaving, put stickers from these three countries in the students’ passports. Then students should be taken to the second classroom.
6. Second Journey: The Slavic Lands.
a. When the students are all in the room and settled, the Slavic teacher should begin by passing around decorated real or wooden eggs and asking:
HAVE ANY OF YOU EVER SEEN EGGS LIKE THIS? [Pause for answer.] THESE EGGS WERE PAINTED IN A SPECIAL WAY. THEY ARE USED ON EASTER BY PEOPLE FROM SLAVIC LANDS, SUCH AS POLAND, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND SERBIA. JUST AS THE IRISH REMEMBER GOD WHEN THEY SEE A SHAMROCK, AND THE ARMENIANS WHEN THEY SEE A CROSS, THE CHRISTIANS IN THE SLAVIC LANDS DECORATE EGGS WHEN THEY REMEMBER HOW JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD. WHY? BECAUSE, JUST AS A NEWBORN CHICK COMES OUT OF AN EGG, JESUS COMES FORTH FROM THE TOMB, GIVING US NEW BIRTH AND NEW LIFE.
CHRISTIANITY FIRST CAME TO THE SLAVIC LANDS BY TWO MISSIONARY BROTHERS NAMED CYRIL AND METHODIUS. THEY CAME FROM GREECE TO THE SLAVIC LANDS. THEY NOT ONLY TAUGHT US ABOUT JESUS, BUT THEY ALSO INVENTED AN ALPHABET FOR US. IT LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE ALPHABET WE ARE USED TO READING. [Show an example of a Slavonic book.] IT’S CALLED THE CYRILLIC ALPHABET (AFTER ST. CYRIL) AND IS USED IN MODERN DAY COUNTRIES INCLUDING BULGARIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND SERBIA.
OTHER MISSIONARIES FOLLOWED CYRIL AND METHODIUS, AND ALL THE SLAVS BECAME CHRISTIANS. DO YOU REMEMBER HOW THE ROMANS DREW FISH ON THINGS TO SHOW THEIR BELIEF IN CHRIST? THE SLAVS OFTEN DECORATED EGGS WITH CROSSES, PICTURES OF CHURCHES, AND OTHER PICTURES TO REMIND THEM OF CHRIST.
7.
Activity: Christian Flags
Say, “In all of these countries the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection became part of people’s everyday lives.” Review what they saw and heard in their “travels.”
Ask, “What are some things we do to remind us about what God and Jesus did for us?” [Wear crosses, pray, read the Bible, go to church, make the sign of the cross, etc.]
“Some countries actually incorporated the Good News about Jesus in their flags. Russia’s flag, for example has a double headed eagle to symbolize how the Church and the State work together to care for the people of Russia.”
Ask, “What might be a symbol that we would use to show how the Orthodox Church lives in America/Canada/Mexico?” Brainstorm ideas and have students draw their ideas on scrap paper.
Give a 5x7 inch piece of muslin and a popsicle/craft stick to each participant with permanent markers or fabric paints and have them create an Orthodox Christian flag with their symbol on it.
Display flags in a prominent place for the rest of the parish to see (bulletin board, etc.).
8. Conclude by saying, “As the Good News of Jesus spread throughout the world,
one thing became very clear: when people truly understood what it is that
God did by sending His Son into the world, they wanted their Faith to be part
of every aspect of their life.”
Note: Before dismissing students, pass out letters/questionnaires included in the unit to students and ask them to give them to their parents, grandparents, and/or godparents to fill out. Students should ask as many of their relatives as possible to get as complete a perspective as possible.
Closing Prayer
B & C: Pre-teens and Teens
1. Review the world maps they colored in session two. Point out the different countries where they said the Church was established.
2. Activity: Name that Symbol
Have items displayed in the room [a decorated Easter egg, a shamrock, double-headed eagle, flag of Greece, a picture of a lamb, a picture of a shepherd or a shepherd’s staff, etc.]. Label them a, b, c, etc.. Tell participants that each of the items displayed is a way some cultures express their faith. Have them write down on a paper the name of the country or countries they think each is from and how they think it can express the Good News of Jesus.
[Easter egg: Slavs (Russia, Ukraine, etc.) compare a chick coming from an egg like Jesus coming out of the tomb; Shamrock: the Irish used it to explain how there can be one God in three persons; Double-headed eagle: the Byzantines and later the Russians used it to show how the Church and the State needed to work together to care for the people; Flag of Greece: the Greeks wanted the cross on their national symbol; Lamb: Jesus was the Passover lamb that died to absolve people from their sins; Shepherd: Jesus is takes care of us a shepherd cares for his sheep.]
Say, “As the Church spread throughout the world the Gospel became a regular part of people’s lives.”
3. Stories of Missionaries and Saints
Say, “Now we’re going to take a look at the lives of people who spread the Good News of Jesus and how they were able to relate it to people’s lives to the point where their Christianity became a part of who they are personally and as a country.”
Split into groups of 2 or 3. Pass out copies of one of the lives of the saints listed above to each group and the Stories of Missionary Saints Worksheet. Each group is to read the life of their saint and answer the questions on the worksheet. Come back and share results.
4 and 5. See #’s 7 and 8 in section A above.
Closing
Prayer