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Christ is Risen! But then what? The story continues of course, with more exciting details and events to engage our young listeners. Christ spends the next 40 days displaying His physical Resurrection. He appears in the upper room to the Apostles twice when the doors are sealed shut, granting them peace. He is seen along the road to Emmaus, but unrecognizable to Luke and Cleopa, until He breaks bread with them and is known essentially in the Eucharist (see the lesson plan here ). Then at the fortieth day on Mt Olivet the disciples with the Mother of God, stand in awe as Christ is taken up before their own very eyes into the sky with the angels at His side on His return to the Father (The Ascension). What could possibly come next for the followers of Christ.....they must wait ten more days! “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” Click this link for the printable lesson: Pentecost Worksheet & Kneeling Prayers The great feast of Holy Pentecost- "peninta...

Give a try at writing a new language! Ask your students to write "Christ is Risen" with the appropriate responses. Print the letters inside the white spaces of the following foreign languages inside this beautiful illustration: Greek at the top, then Arabic, English and Slavonic. It's also a fantastic design for your Pascha basket covers if you know how to cross stitch or screenprint. Kalo Pascha to your families!

If you are looking for ways to keep "Christ" in your celebration of Easter, consider making an Orthodox Pascha Basket instead of the typical egg & candy overload! Each of the following traditional foods has a symbolic and spiritual significance . We focus on saying "Pascha" which encompasses our spiritual journey to the Resurrection of Christ , and is our "passage" from the Hebrew "pesche, or passover from death to life."   Each year, the Church follows the same sequence of events - and one can't happen without the next. I encourage you not to skip right to the Resurrection without going thru the Cross. Living each component in correct Orthodox theology is truly "Orthobiosi"   ...Christ raising Lazarus, Christ's Entry to Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Christ's arrival to those anticipating Him (Bridegroom) the Passover (Christ's Mystical Last Supper on Holy Weds and His washing of the disciples feet) the Crucifixion, Bur...

Here's a look at the pious custom of red eggs in the Orthodox Church for you and your families to enjoy. Where did the tradition come from anyway? It seems there are a few possible answers to this question...of which I prefer to believe in the miracle that God worked through His handmaiden, Saint Mary Magdalene (whom by the way is often wrongly attributed as the prostitute who anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair - Here is an Orthodox Wiki for a well cited clarification). Other symbolism, not as dogma, but as tradition includes: *The egg as the new life in Christ through His resurrection * Red for the color of our Lord's blood shed on the cross but also for His divinity *The outer shell to be cracked as the doors of Hades are shattered open Since children enjoy decorating the eggs, why not encourage them to display their faith on them, as the picture shows! Be sure not to throw away any icons if you use them, but certainly include symbols like ~ icxc, fis...

How does one sum up the great feast of Pascha easily for kids? With a long white piece of paper, we made three folds and created our very own accordion Pascha card with original poem to accompany the Passion and Resurrection of Christ icons cut out from Orthodox catalogs. This simple craft turned out to be a nice way to reinforce the meaning behind each day for young and old. Especially for godchildren and penpals far away, it helps us stay in touch spiritually since we will not be able to celebrate together. Here are the words to our poem: To Christ our God, Who raised Lazarus from the dead... You traveled to Jerusalem with the people you led... Teaching all to be servants rather than trying to get ahead... Your Body and Blood for eternity us you fed... Then nailed to the Cross, You conquered death for three days dead... As we wait to proclaim with our eggs dyed red... "I am the Resurrection and the Life,   he who believes in me shall never die." Jesus said.

Practice your Paschal greetings in 59 languages! Pascha Languages Be sure to print and save this one! I share with you also this resource page to reflect on the numerous uses of the word PASCHA in Holy Scripture , which helps to support why as Orthodox Christians we should avoid the use of the word "Easter"  Let us be set apart from the world in this way, and bear witness to the Gospel which is our risen Lord Jesus Christ, the Paschal Lamb!

This is a great way to involve your kids in the Raising of Lazarus! Wrap them in "burial" cloth and see who will be first to break free on your command! It's extremely significant that the Church places Lazarus Saturday exactly one week earlier than the Resurrection of Christ. The miracle teaches us the power of God over death, so that we may learn to truly believe and have our faith transformed at Pascha. Just as we begin Holy Week, we get a glimpse and foretaste of the way God will save the world from the corruption of sin, from sickness and pain. As Christ said, Lazarus was merely sleeping. Although death had claimed him for four days in the tomb, and he smelled from the corruption of his body, he will live again. This is our Orthodox theology! Our view of death as sleeping in anticipation of whats to come. This is the joyful sorrow of what we are about to experience in Holy Week. We mourn, all the while expecting the greatest of all miracles! Lazarus is also one of t...

Click on the image to view and print this month's activity Search horizontal, vertical, and diagonal to find all the words related to Great Lent and Holy Pascha. ~ Enjoy ~

Click below to watch this beautiful Orthodox video with English subtitles for your children and Church youth groups this year. Without spoiling the end, it is remarkable how a young girl, named Seraphima spreads the message that "Christ is Risen" among other girls at an orphanage in Communist Russia. It is sure to inspire every young person in their faith!  Here is the link

Search the toy store aisles, and there's no Orthodox games to be found! So, let's develop our own ~ Just think of the possibilities! We could develop game pieces in the form of Saints, and move along the board to get them from earth to heaven, encountering persecutions and wild animals along the way! Maybe a set back or two. It's the game of Life, only Orthodox! For the Lenten season, here's a simple boardgame to follow along with, but there's room for you to make up the rules. Roll dice, develop cards, land on a dark blue square and do something charitable - land on a light square and memorize a Scripture verse. For other Lenten resources check out the following links: www.lent.goarch.org Journey through Holy Week for Kids Phyllis Onest Resources Lenten Resources at Monachos.net

Introducing the first book, "Our Hymn to the Mother of God" as part of a full-color hard bound Orthodox children's series now available for purchase by the Sisters of All Saints Greek Orthodox Monastery in Calverton, Long Island, New York. It has been a joy to work with them to publish this special project, as their idea of using the hymnology of the Church to retell the story to children just couldn't be more appropriate! The spiritual poetry on each page is matched with wonderful original illustrations by Sister Theonymphi in the style of Byzantine iconography, which means you won't find anything theologically wrong like a cartoon image of Christ! The heavenly scenes will inspire all children to contemplate our Almighty God. Here are a few sneak peaks, and the information for ordering: The sisters hope to soon make their copies available through Amazon online, as well as parish bookstores, etc.   ISBN Number: 978-0-9835602-0-3 All Saints Greek Orthodox Monas...