St. Athanasius and Council of Nicea
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the church history module for Grade 4 is to understand the beginning of Christian literature and the establishment of our theology.
In this lesson, children will learn about the Council at Nicea and about St. Athanasius, who defended our faith in this council. Stress to the children the importance of knowing your faith and being able to defend it when asked about it.
INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes
Please review the previous week's lesson. (5 minutes)
Ask the children what they would do if someone were to say something incorrect about their family or friends; would they stand up for them? Ask them how much more important it is that we stand up for our faith and for our religion, which we know is correct.
Then ask the children what would happen if they went to a test in school, but they did not study before the test. They would fail Now tie this to defending our faith, and explain to them that in order to stand up for the church, we need to first get close to the church and learn about it. If we do not know our faith well, we wouldn't know what is correct or incorrect when we are asked.
HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes
Memory Verse
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 20 Minutes
In the early 300s AD, there was a priest named Arius who was preaching beliefs that went against the teachings of the Church. Simply stated, Arius denied the Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by claiming that God the Father is superior to God the Son. Remember, we know this is not true because there are three parts to the Holy Trinity, and they all work together and are equal to each other. After Abba Alexandros, Pope of Alexandria, learned about Arius and his false teachings, he said to Arius and his believers "If he repents of his sin against our Savior, I will gladly take him back into the church fold." This made Arius very mad, and he continued to teach his heresy, winning over many people to his false beliefs.
In an effort to convince Arius that the teachings he was spreading were false, Abba Alexandros held a council. Pause and ask the students what a council is. (A council is "a meeting of bishops and other leaders to consider and rule on questions of doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters"). In this first council, Abba Alexandros tried to convince Arius through persuasion, patience, and gentleness, but Arius refused to listen to him and stubbornly continued to teach his false teachings. Wanting to stop Arius, Abba Alexandros called a second council where 100 Egyptian Bishops attended, but at the end, two of them still agreed with Arius and didn't sign the paper to excommunicate Arius. After this council failed to stop Arius, a third council was called, which also failed. After realizing that Arius was going to continue teaching despite these small councils, Bishop Hosius, Emperor Constantine's bishop and an attendee of the third council, talked to Emperor Constantine about having an Ecumenical council (ecumenical means representing different Christian churches). Emperor Constantine agreed, and the date for the first ecumenical council of Nicea was set for June 14, 325 AD.
Who attended the Council of Nicea?
The council of Nicea was a universal council, including bishops from many places around the world. There were a total of 318 priests and bishops at the council. Some of the attendees included the pope of Alexandria, Abba Alexandros, and twenty of his bishops, and St. Athanasius, who was only a deacon at the time.
Who was St. Athanasius?
St. Athanasius was born to pegan parents (they worshiped idols rather than God) in about 298 A.D. One day when Athanasius was young, he saw children at school reenacting some Christian rituals, and decided to join them. Pope Alexandros, whom he would later get to know at the Council of Nicea, passed by and said "This child will be in a great position one day." When Athanasius' father died, his mother took him to Pope Alexandros to care for him and teach him the faith. Athanasius was baptized in the Orthodox faith, and was raised and mentored by the pope. In the year 325 A.D., Athanasius was invited by the Pope as his chief deacon assistant to the Council of Nicea to defend the Orthodox faith against the Arian heresy. He was the only person there that wasn't a priest or bishop, as he was just a deacon at the time. After the council condemned Arius as a heretic using Pope Alexandros and Athanasius's explanations, Athanasius gained the title of "The defender of the faith" and "Father of Orthodoxy." After the council, Athanasius became the Pope of the church. Throughout his life, Athanasius continued to defend the faith despite being exiled five separate times by the Emperor or Arius's followers.
What was the outcome of this council?
- The doctrine of the Divinity of the Son was established, and the Church reinforced that the Father and the Son are equal.
- The Nicene Creed was written:
"WE BELIEVE IN ONE GOD: THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH: THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE. WE BELIEVE IN ONE LORD JESUS THE CHRIST, THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, BORN OF THE FATHER BEFORE ALL AGES. LIGHT OF LIGHT, VERY GOD OF VERY GOD; BEGOTTEN NOT CREATED. CONSUBSTANTIAL WITH THE FATHER; BY WHOM WERE ALL THINGS MADE. THIS IS HE WHO FOR US HUMANS, AND FOR OUR SALVATION, CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, AND WAS MADE MAN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE VIRGIN MARY. HE WAS INCARNATE; CRUCIFIED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, HE SUFFERED, WAS BURIED AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES. HE ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN AND SITTETH AT THE RIGHT HAND OF HIS FATHER, FROM WHENCE HE SHALL COME IN GLORY TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD; FOR WHOSE KINGDOM THERE IS NO END. WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT."
This first creed is very similar to our current Orthodox Creed, but it stops before we say "Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life Giver..." (Which was added at a later council)
- Other topics were debated in the council, such as the subject of the Easter date, ideas concerning rebaptism, and other matters that ended up forming twenty new canons or laws.
- Arius was excommunicated from the church for his false teachings.
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes
- What are the big take-aways from the Council of Nicea?
- What can we learn from St. Athanasius? Remind the kids that Athanasius was still very young when he defended the faith, and we should strive to become like him by reading the holy scripture and learning about the church from a young age.
- What are ways that we can improve our knowledge and understanding of our faith?
LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes
Just as St. Athanasius did, we need to defend our faith. To do so, we need to know about it It is important for us to constantly try to learn more about our faith by reading the Bible, listening to sermons, memorizing and understanding the Orthodox Creed, etc.
ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes
Option 1: Creed Bounce. Have a beach ball ready. Sit or stand in a circle on the floor. Begin with the first few words of the Creed. Bounce the ball to a student who continues for another line. He bounces the ball to another student... Do the Creed 2-3 times thru.
Option 2: Make a Creed Scroll. Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria, in Egypt. Egypt was the home of papyrus, the first paper made of plant fibers soaked, pressed together, and dried. Scrolls were made by pasting together squares of papyrus to make a long, thin document that could be rolled up and stored or carried easily. A great improvement over stone tablets Take some nice paper, preferably one with the fibers showing. Have each student write the Creed on their paper, and roll it up and tie with a ribbon. Have the student keep it with them or in the car to work on the creed
SERVANT RESOURCES
A Brief History of the Christian Church
Adventures of Professor Brainiac 3
PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK
This week, have the students read the bible every night and/or memorize the Orthodox Creed in an effort to learn more about the faith. Encourage the students to do what they don't do already. For example, if they already read the bible every day, challenge them to memorize the Orthodox Creed. If they already know the Creed, challenge them to read the Bible.