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We rarely tackle the topic of Holy Unction (Evxalion) in the Orthodox Church with teenagers and youth, so it is rather taken for granted when Holy Week comes along. However, holy oil can be used daily in your homes if you obtain a small jar of blessed oil from a kandili (vigil lamp) burning in front of relics or from your own personal icon corner. Each day as your family reads the morning prayers, complete the experience by eating a small piece of antidoro (blessed bread distributed at the end of Liturgy) and by receiving the sign of the cross with oil by a parent. It also is a good habit for children to kiss the hand of the parent who blesses them as this conveys a deeper respect for the hand that nourishes you.... ultimately reminding children that to receive the blessing of their parent for the day is crucial ....just as we ask the blessing of our parents for college choices, marriage, etc Download the HOLY UNCTION handout here on Scribd or here thru GoogleDocs Here is the link for...

Clean Monday is the very first Monday which begins Great Lent, and it is a quite somber day on the spiritual calendar. In Greece, it is customary for young and old to fly kites. We have been encouraged to give this activity a bit more meaning for the soul here in America, possibly the day or two beforehand, with the following activity. On the Sunday evening before we begin Great Lent, there is always held the Vespers of Forgiveness where each parishioner asks the priest and one another for forgiveness. It marks the beginning of a great journey in which we embark to clean our souls of the darkness built up from our sins. Consider gathering your youth (ages 2-18) and even their parents earlier that day, or the day before to set aside for Confession and Kite Flying! The younger children can prepare and experience Confession as a group with the priest, who can speak with them openly about the topic of sin and all can kneel under the "epitrahelion" for the final absolution to conc...

Kali Fotisi / Καλή φώτιση ~ Wishes to you for a "Good Enlightenment" on the holy Feast of Theophany, or Ephiphany. If you are looking for a lesson, try splitting apart the icon, and using it as a beginning. We color and create puppets to retell the story of Christ, St John the Baptist, the Angels, another for the waters, and especially the Dove or Holy Spirit.  Here are some talking points: In this feast, we find each person of the Holy Trinity fully present and our God is revealed to us. Can you find the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (The Father's voice is heard, the Son is seen as perfect man, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is witnessed as a fluttering light, much like that which resembles a dove) The light has appeared to all men ! We learn that baptism is not only necessary for the cleansing of our sins, but for the regeneration of our souls and for a life in communion with the fullness of the Holy Trinity. We are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit...

If the best doctors help to heal our physical bodies by knowing the "right" medicine, so even more does the spiritual father, who is enlightened by God, prescribe the much-needed healing for our so ul. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." This is the path to purification, and one does not accomplish it on his own. The Church is our hospital offering the healing medicines of Holy Confession, the Holy Eucharist, and Holy Unction. Without the Church, we are easily mislead into wrong "treatments" prescribing ourselves pain killers when we might need a spiritual heart transplant!!! (Mark 2:17 or Matthew 9:11-13, Luke 5:31)

Here is another resource on: Baptism Eucharist or Communion  Chrismation Ordination Marriage Confession Unction http://orthodoxsundayschoolresources.tumblr.com/

"The common thing that brings all of us together, is our love for _______, and our desire to offer her/him the best beginning. Think about all the things we do for the newest member of our family...we make a safe home, with a safe bed and a safe car seat for her/him. We take her/him to the doctor for vaccinations and care for her/him to the best of our abilities, without her/him ever asking for it, but just because we love her/him. This is exactly the reason why we bring her/him to the Church today. Today, we offer ______ the beginning of a life grounded in the principles of faith,  kindness to others, and love for herself/himself as God's most important creation. She/he will be able to grow up with the best medicines for her/his mind, body and soul because she/he will begin receiving the holy Sacraments. Today, she/he was sealed with the chrism of the Holy Spirit, her/his hair was cut as her/his first offering to God, and she/he was clothed in the armor of new baptismal cloth...