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For the feast of Theophany, this free lesson and handout on Scribd or here at GoogleDocs for Orthodox Christians reaches back to the well known story of the holy Prophet Noah and the ark to understand God's plan for our salvation. You may ask your students to cut around the components of the icon to glue and create their own festal icon with the blue Jordan river and barren desert as you read aloud the Gospel text. The discussion for the lesson should lead to God's revelation of the Holy Trinity, 3-in-1 and 1-in-3. In fact, if our students only learn the Troparion or festal hymn for the feast of Theophany they will see that it encompasses the complete theology of the Church in that the Holy Trinity existed before all time! Wishing your families and students a blessed illumination for 2019!

This Akathyst "poem" to Panagia has been lost in translation! In many English uses, the first letter of each stanza no longer coordinates with the Greek alphabet, sadly. Refresh your alphabet skills Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eeta, Theeta, Iota, Kapa, Lamntha, Mee, Nee, Xee, Omikron, Pee, Ro, Sigma, Tauf, Eepsilon, Fee, Xee, Psee....Omega! Go back, and re-look at your Greek versions for you will find the author (could be St Romanos) wrote this hymn with each stanza corresponding to a letter in the Greek alphabet. The first ode begins with Alpha, and the remaining continue in order, until the last ode which beings with Omega. Purposefully done, I'm sure, as our Lord used these letters Himself to show us He is the Beginning and the End. At various Orthodox monasteries abroad, you may even find this famous and beloved hymn illustrated in Byzantine iconography. I've gathered and compiled a document to use with your parishes and youth showing just that. Clic...