Pope Timothy and Council of Constantinople
OBJECTIVE
The objective for the Church History Module in fourth grade is to teach students about the early saints of our church that impacted our church theology. In this lesson, we will focus on St. Timothy and his role in the early church.
INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes
Please review the previous week's lesson. (5 minutes)
Introduce the subject of humility (being humble) to the children and ask them to share what they think it means. Then, ask the children to imagine if they sold everything they had, and gave it to the poor, to serve God. This is what St. Timothy did. He was a selfless Pope who devoted his life to serving God and others.
HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes
"Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father..."
CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes
Pope Timothy I was the 22nd Patriarch of Alexandria. He was a disciple of St. Athanasius, who was the 20th Patriarch. St. Timothy was called "the poor" because he sold all of his possessions and distributed them among the poor. Pope Athanasius ordained St. Timothy as a priest; he was also one of the teachers of the Theological School of Alexandria.
St. Timothy went with Pope Athanasius to the council of Tyre. When they were there, the enemies of Pope Athanasius were trying to accuse him of committing a sin that he did not commit. St. Timothy helped to expose the false conspiracy that these people were lying about. Therefore, the innocence of Pope Athanasius was revealed because of the wisdom of St. Timothy.
After the departure of Pope Peter II, the priests and bishops all agreed to choose St. Timothy for the patriarch, so he was ordained as the new Pope. Pope Timothy cared greatly for all the people; he renovated the churches and also was taught the people, warning them against the Arian heresy.
Along with 150 other bishops, Pope Timothy went to the Second Ecumenical council at Constantinople in the year 381 A.D. to judge Macedonius (the Patriarch of Constantinople), Sabilius, and Apolinarius for their blasphemy against God the Word and the Holy Spirit. After listening to the debate, Emperor Theodosius called Pope Timothy "the saint" because of his many canonical sayings. With the help of Pope Timothy, the council excommunicated the three heretics and all those who agreed with them. Then, they completed the Creed of faith from "...Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life..." all the way to the end. Lastly, they also wrote down many cannons (rules) that were needed for the church.
Pope Timothy remained on the throne for 6 years, 4 months, and 6 days before he departed in peace.
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes
Review the lesson by asking the children different questions from St. Timothy's story. Go around the class and have each child share one thing that stood out to them or one thing that they learned from the story.
LIFE APPLICATION - 10 Minutes
At home, the children should finish learning the Orthodox Creed during the week. You can start teaching them the rest of the Creed, starting from, "Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit...".
ACTIVITY - 15 Minutes
Have the children complete a word search puzzle that includes words from the Creed.
SERVANT RESOURCES
Adventures of Professor Brainiac 4
PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK
Parents should try to finish teaching their children the Orthodox Creed.