A Two-year Sunday School Program for Children in Armenia
Thursday, May 19, 2016

Success Story

Thanks to you, a Sunday school program for children in Armenia was a huge success and will undoubtedly be continued.

In June of this year, Pope Francis will travel to Armenia. The Armenians are justly proud of the fact that, as early as the fourth century, Christianity was declared as the state religion in their country, thereby making it one of the oldest Christian nations in the world. Almost 95% of the population today belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church which, like the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, belongs to the family of the Oriental Orthodox churches.

The Eparchy of Artik attaches great importance to the religious education of its children, since media influences and negative tendencies in society make it essential to establish strong Christian values and Christian faith in these children and root them firmly in the life of the Church. Two years ago, a Sunday school program was established which was designed to run for two years in the town of Artik itself and in 10 villages in the surrounding region.

Some 280 children took part in this program. Bible stories, religious hymns and songs, the lives of the saints, the major Church feasts and the history of Christianity in Armenia were all covered by the program, as were various ethical topics. There were also many leisure activities, with games and good fun. During the summer and autumn months, five separate pilgrimages were also organized to various holy shrines the country, and there were information days for the parents of the children.

Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we were able to contribute $10,300 towards the cost of this project. The vicar of the Eparchy of Artik, Narek Avagan, has written to express his heartfelt gratitude on behalf of all the children who took part, their parents and the entire eparchy.

Code: 446-00-49

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