Pantaenus and the School of Alexandria
OBJECTIVE
When we follow church fathers, saints, and monks' paths, it is considered as a roadmap toward the Kingdom of Heaven. Church history helps us equip ourselves with correct teachings to resist any wrong teachings and defend our faith. Also, we become immersed in the Bible and church history to drive away every temptation
The children will learn about the contributions of St. Pantaenus to the Coptic Church and the School of Alexandria, along with his love for knowledge.
INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes
Show the kids pictures of Hieroglyphic letters; ask them if they know what it is and where and when it was used. Then, explain to them what it is and let them know that after hearing the story, they will understand why we don't use it now.
Close your eyes and imagine the smartest people you know. Where are they? What are they doing? Are they teaching a class? Arguing about a tough problem? Imagine there was a place where you could predictably find some of these smart people, a true tome of knowledge. Imagine a place where it was known as the center for all things "smart."
HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes
Memory Verse
"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge." (2 Peter 1:5)
CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes
St. Pantaenus was born in Sicily as a Hebrew Christian. From a young age, he studied the Holy Scripture and Greek philosophy. Because of his curiosity and excellence, he excelled in learning about the true and accurate Christian faith from the disciples and the apostles. Even though St. Pantaenus was excellent in learning about Christianity and was very knowledgeable, he was always very humble and never told anyone about his profound knowledge. Eventually, people discovered his talent and they made him the head of the School of Alexandria. His knowledge and excellent methods of teaching about the faith helped him make the School of Alexandria one of the best and most well-known schools at the time. This success helped attract other philosophers to Christianity and many converted. One of his well-known students at the School of Alexandria was St. Clement.
When some Indians came to Egypt and witnessed the amount of knowledge that St.Pantaenus had, they begged him to come to preach in India to get rid of all of the false religions there. In India, St.Pantaenus found the Gospel of St. Matthew, which was brought by St. Bartholomew when he preached there.
After St. Pantaenus returned to Egypt, he felt that the Church needed to translate the Holy Bible from Greek and Hebrew into the Egyptian language (which was not the Coptic language at the time) so that people could read the Bible at home and learn about the Christian faith. The Coptic language at that time was Hieroglyphic, words consisting of symbols and small drawings. You probably have seen some of the characters before but have not been able to read them. St.Pantaenus knew that this language would not be accurate and adequate enough to translate the Holy Bible, so he adopted the Greek letters for writing the Coptic language and added to them seven Hieroglyphic letters that did not exist in the Greek alphabet. Thankfully, with the help of his students, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, he was able to translate the Holy Bible. Ever since, the Coptic language, which we still use to pray within the Church, came into use and the Greek language was abandoned.
Fun fact: St. Pantaenus was the first to use the fish to represent Christianity. This is because the Greek word for "fish", is an acronym for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior". The fish symbol was used to recognize Churches and other believers because they were persecuted by non-Christians and often were in secret.
St. Pantaenus had left us interpretations of all the books of the Bible, besides many works of Christian literature, before he died. Pantaenus was not only a teacher but also "a helper to many people". He closely identified with the people and they called him, "Our Pantaenus."
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes
Ask the children what stood out to them the most about St. Pantaenus and how they can apply that virtue in their lives.
LIFE APPLICATION - 05 Minutes
Ask the children to read the Bible every day at home while being proactive by asking questions and taking notes. This will help them be more engaged and understand the scripture more. This relates to St. Pantaenus' dedication to learning about the Holy Scripture and his immense knowledge.
ACTIVITY - 15 Minutes
Print out the attached sheet and have the students write their name in Hieroglyphics.
Students can then cut out their names and glue them to cardstock, where they can decorate around it with stickers and color it.
SERVANT RESOURCES
PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK
Parents should help their children read a spiritual book and learn more about the church, just like St. Pantaenus spent time learning about the Holy Scripture and the Church.