Capstone
OBJECTIVE
Students should become familiar with the history of the church, with a focus on the early spread of Christianity and the three Ecumenical Councils that the Orthodox Church recognizes (Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus). Understanding the councils will give students insight on how to strengthen their faith while emphasizing the importance of the prayers that we chant during church.
INSTRUCTIONS/IDEAS
Option 1
After you complete the week 4 lesson, have students vote on which council they would like to reenact. You may assign certain roles to each student that is relevant to that certain council. For example, if your class chooses to reenact the Council of Nicaea, assign the role of St. Athanasius to one student, and Emperor Constantine I to another student. The attached table will include a list of topics and roles that should be discussed/assigned for each of the councils. Explain to the kids that this will be a reenactment and they should try to do research to be able to have a solid discussion, similar to what occurred during the councils. In addition, each student should come with one saying from the Church Fathers that is related to the council that is chosen.
If you have a larger class, it is possible to split the class according to councils and have each group reenact a certain council. This will be up to the servant's discretion.
Option 2
Have each student choose which Church Father they would like to present on. The attachment below includes a list of the fathers in red and bolded that were discussed in each council. They should be able to include in their presentation AT LEAST one work of literature that was written, which council they were involved in, what they argued during that council, the time period in which they lived, and the lasting impact they had in the church. The presentation should also display one icon of the Church Father they chose.