St. Antony

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Saints module is to teach the children about the lives of the saints. In Kindergarten, we will go over Saint Demiana, Archangel Michael, Saint Antony, and Saint George. It is important to explain that the saints are simply members of our congregation who together praise and worship God. We do not worship the saints, instead, we ask them as our friends to pray for us. Week 5 is the capstone week to review and serve together. The objective of this lesson is for the kindergartners to familiarize themselves with the story of Saint Antony and his effect on the Coptic Orthodox Church.

INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

Sing "My Fathers, The Monks" with the kindergarteners. Lyrics can be found here.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Memory Verse

"Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'" Matthew 19:21

LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 Minutes

St. Antony was Egyptian and born to faithful Coptic Orthodox parents. He lived with his parents and younger sister, growing up in the church and being obedient to his parents. When he was about eighteen years old, his parents died and he became the guardian of his sister. He continued going to church and trying to please God, when something very special happened.

During the gospel reading, St. Antony heard the Word of God speaking directly to him The verse was the book of Matthew 19:21, "Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." He immediately went out and sold all his possessions and left his sister in the care of faithful nuns.

At this time there were no monasteries, so St. Antony lived alone in the desert near his village. He would always find any righteous man that he heard good things about and learn from them. He was continually trying to better himself so he could be ready for God.

St. Antony worked with his hands, like crafting baskets out of palm leaves. He only earned enough money to buy himself bread, if he earned any extra he gave it to the poor. Saint Antony never stopped praying, he was always talking to God.

God allowed St. Antony to meet another holy saint living in the desert, St. Paul the Hermit. A hermit is someone who lives alone and separate from everyone. God guided St. Antony to the place deep in the desert where St. Paul lived, and they shared a special meal of bread and water together. After that meeting, St. Antony saw the soul of St. Paul being carried by angels up to Paradise, to be with God. St. Antony buried St. Paul and told others about the life and virtues of his holy friend.

St. Antony became the spiritual leader, or abbot, of many monks who followed him into the desert to live alone with God. As the number of these men grew, they would stay in their own private rooms called cells. These cells were located in a community called a monastery, where men would work and live together. The three main goals of this life are poverty (living poor), obedience, and celibacy (not having family). By working on these three goals, St. Antony created a life for monks to follow to work towards their eternal home in Heaven.

St. Antony went to Heaven to be with Jesus when he was one hundred and five years old. God gave St. Antony the gift of knowing that he was going to leave this world soon. He gave special gifts to his friends; his staff to St. Macarius, his cloak to St. Athanasius, who wrote the story of Saint Antony, another cloak to St. Serapion. We celebrate the life of St. Antony every year on the 22nd of Touba of the Coptic calendar or January 30. To this day, hundreds of people visit the active monastery and private cell in the mountain of St. Antony near the Red Sea in Egypt.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Create weaved paper mats with the kindergartners to mimic Saint Antony's woven baskets (see sample photo in Appendix below).

Materials:

  1. Colored paper- large sheets of 12x18 work best, but regular sized construction paper can also work
  2. Strips of colored or patterned paper, the same size
  3. Scissors

Instructions:

  1. Fold your base paper in half, width-wise, and cut slits starting at the fold. Stop the slits an inch or two from the edge.
  2. Cut multiple strips of paper from different colors and patterns. The strips should be about an inch wide and the same length as the base paper.
  3. Unfold your paper and begin weaving your strips over and under, over and under, until your strip goes through the whole base in a pattern. Young kids might need your help to get started, but they should pick up the simple technique pretty quickly.
  4. Alternate starting your strips over or under and keep weaving until you run out of room. (If necessary, trim up the edges and you're done.)
  5. If possible, laminating their finished projects will make a great placemat to keep at home or in the Sunday School classroom. Make sure their names are on the back of their weaved mats.

RESOURCES

COPTUNES+ VIDEO LINK:

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Review the story of Saint Antony with your kindergarteners and share any other monk stories that your child will enjoy. Encourage your child to ask for the prayers of Saint Antony during prayer routines.