Patriarchy in Egypt

OBJECTIVE

The children will learn about the patriarchs' successors and how they were selected. St. Demetrius will be the emphasis in this lesson on how he was selected to be the patriarch at that time. The Holy Spirit always guides the church in the patriarchs' selection.

REVIEW - 5 Minutes

Please review with the children last week's lesson about St. Mark his life and how he preached in Egypt and the first person he preached was Ananias, and St. Mark made him the first Patriarch/Pope in Egypt after him. Do you also remember the application about the choices you made last week and if you made a choice or two that get you to a dead-end like a maze? Did you think about any of these things? (servants allow time for discussion with the children)

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Have you ever had a dream about someone you know, and wondered in the morning what the dream is all about? You probably asked your mom about it and maybe told you don't worry about it; it is just a dream. But sometimes the dreams are sent by God to tell certain people about things about to happen or things they should do. Let's see about a person who had a dream and what it meant.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

References:

List of Coptic Popes

Life of St. Demetrius

Memory Verse
"This one will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 20 Minutes

Last week's lesson was about St. Mark and how he brought Christianity to Egypt. The first person he preached and converted to Christianity was Ananias. St. Mark was the first Patriarch/Pope for Alexandria and he also anointed Ananias a bishop and later when St. Mark traveled, he appointed Ananias a Pope to become the second Patriarch for Alexandria and the whole country. Alexandria used to be the important city in Egypt and the Pope's throne was set there.
The Church in Egypt expanded quickly and the Pope made many decisions about the church rules, like the ordinations of deacons, priests, and bishops, and for the Pope also, and many other things. The Pope used to stay in charge until he departs or is martyred. Then the bishops and sometimes the elders of the church come together and appoint another person, and usually, they select a non-married person. One day, the 11th Pope, Pope Julian (Yolianus) had a dream before he was about to die. He saw an angel telling him in the morning a person will bring you a cluster of grapes; this person God has chosen to be the next Pope.
There was a man called Demetrius who owned a grapevine and he was walking in his field. He saw a cluster of grapes that were ripe before its time. He said, "I have to give this cluster to our Pope as a gift. He took the grapes and went to Pope Julian. Once Pope Julian saw Demetrius with the cluster of grapes, he told his bishops this will be your next Pope and told him about his vision. After the departure of St. Julian, St. Demetrius became the 12^th pope for Egypt. St. Demetrius was a good Christian person. Before he became a pope, his parents decided to marry him, but he did not want to get married and his fiancé also did not want to be married. So they decided to get married on paper but continue to be living pure. No one knew about this secret except the two of them.
After St. Demetrius became a pope, some of the people did not approve or did not like the idea of having a married pope, as the other previous popes used to be unmarried. One day, Pope Demetrius saw a vision at night as the angel of the Lord asked him to tell the believers about his and his wife's virginity. The next day after the liturgy, Pope Demetrius brought fiery charcoal from the censor and held it in his clothes with his wife as well, and turned around the church for everyone to see. Miraculously, the charcoal did not hurt or burn them. Then he announced to the believers they were still living pure lives. This pleased the congregation and praised God in His saints.
St. Demetrius was not a very educated man but he was very smart. He decided to study and learn quickly what he missed. He went to the Theological School of Alexandria school, which teaches about Christianity. It was a very famous school back then. St. Demetrius learned the hymns of the Church and he was very humble as he used to sit at the feet of the deacon who was teaching him. The Holy Spirit was helping him in everything he did and gave him much understanding.
At the time of St. Demetrius, The church was not able to figure out the correct date to celebrate the feast of Resurrection (Easter), because it needed to combine two different calendars (see if the children ever noticed how Orthodox Easter is sometimes a different day than their school or calendar might say). St. Demetrius made several calculations and was able to develop a formula to put the date of the feast for any year in the past or the future. He showed his calculation to all the bishops and they approved it and this calculation is the one we use as a Coptic Church now.
He stayed as a Pope for over 32 years until he departed in peace.

Current Rules for Choosing a Pope:

After St. Demetrius departed and after several Patriarchs/Popes were selected, the church put more rules about the Pope's selection. The group of all the bishops in the Church (Holy Synod) gather together after the departure of the Pope and select some names for the next Pope. But there are now rules to nominate or select names for the new pope. The nominated pope has to be originally a monk or a bishop but preferred to be a general bishop, which means he does not serve a location but should be a general bishop, like the bishop of education or bishop of the youth, etc. The Holy Synod meet and reduce the nomination to three after talking to all nominees. Then the Church asks every Coptic Christian around the world to fast and pray for 3 days to ask God to put His hand in the selection.
The Bishop temporarily in charge of the church makes a special liturgy and at the beginning of the liturgy, he has someone write the 3 names of the nominated ones on a piece of paper. Each name is written separately before the liturgy starts and without anyone seeing them. This Bishop puts the 3 papers in balls, seals them, and puts them in front of the altar. Once the liturgy is finished, they bring a young boy about 3-4 years old who was attending the liturgy but not was known to the bishop or anyone around him. They bring this boy and blindfold him and open the seal of the bowl. He puts his hand in and brings out one folded paper. The bishop reads the name of the newly elected pope for the Church of Alexandria.
The current pope in our church is Pope Tawadros II and he is the 118^th pope after St. Mark who was our first Pope. He is Pope Tawadros the second because there was another Pope before him and was named Tawadros. Similarly, Pope Kyrillos the VI (6th) is named this because there were 5 other Popes before him who were named Kyrillos.

DISCUSSION (Challenge)- 5 Minutes

What was the name of the 11^th pope and what did he see before he died?
Did Demetrius know he will be ordained a Pope for Alexandria?
What did the people did not like about St. Demetrius? (He was married)
How St. Demetrius show the people that he and his wife had vowed to stay virgins? (fiery coal)
Was St. Demetrius well educated? What did he do to improve himself?
What was one of his major accomplishments? (setting a calculation to find out when Easter should for any year in the past or the future)
What are the rules to elect a Pope that was set by the Holy Synod?
Who is the current pope in our church what is his number?
Why is Pope Tawadros II called the second?

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

St. Demetrius' life story is probably new to you. I want you to tell his story to one of your friends or relatives, maybe to your parents, and tell them what you liked most about his life and his accomplishments, and which of these you like to have in your own life.

ACTIVITY - 5 Minutes

Below is a short video of when the most recent Pope was selected in 2012. Watch with the children and ask them what they notice (during the Liturgy, the boy is blindfolded, a huge celebration, etc.) Why do you think it has to be done this way? Why don't all the bishops vote as we do for the President? We put our trust in God as He knows the correct choice for the Church.

SERVANT RESOURCES

Use the above references

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

This week we talked about St. Demetrius the 12th pope and we asked the children to tell his story to their friends and family. Please check and ask your child to share with you his story. Also, please check with your child about St. Demetrius' accomplishments they like best.