I recently read\u00a0a talk given\u00a0by Dr. Constance Tarasar in Cyprus in 1994 and was discussing it with some friends afterwards. She is regarded as one of the most extensive writers on the topic of Orthodox Christian education, although much of her works are unpublished. \u00a0The following is a brief summary of the eight page presentation I read, given by Dr. Tarasar many years ago, for those of you who asked me to share a bit more about it with you.<\/p>\n
Dr. Tarasar broke up her presentation into three sections:<\/p>\n
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- Initial efforts in religious education in North America: 1824-1956<\/li>\n
- The work of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission: 1956-1980<\/li>\n
- An assessment of where we are today<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n
She talks briefly about the development of religious education in North America –\u00a0schools throughout what is now the United States. \u00a0These schools ranged from simple parish schools to formal centers of learning for future clergy. \u00a0From around 1900-1956, there was a large push to establish church schools in every parish. \u00a0Most parishes during this time provided weekly religious education along with instruction in the foreign language spoken in that particular community. \u00a0The time and length of this instruction varied from parish to parish.<\/p>\n
During the post-war years, especially after World War II, we started seeing a generation of Orthodox Christians in the United States who identified\u00a0themselves as American Orthodox because\u00a0they had been born here and fought for this country. \u00a0They found themselves wanting\u00a0to worship in the English language now instead of the language their parents or grandparents spoke from their native countries. \u00a0During this time as well, we see a greater influence of the Protestant model of Sunday School emerging in our Orthodox parishes<\/a>. \u00a0It was during this time that we adopted this model of Sunday morning religious education primarily during Liturgy because it was seen\u00a0as a solution for the children (and many of the parents)\u00a0because quite a few\u00a0of them no longer understood the native language being used in the parish. \u00a0The idea behind adopting the Protestant approach to Sunday School was that at least the kids could receive religious education in English and could understand something about the faith while the adults attended the Divine Liturgy.<\/p>\n
Since neither they nor their children received Holy Communion except during the period of Great Lent, parents and many priests never stopped to think about the fact that they were educating their children in a non-liturgical context, nor the consequences of this pattern for the future. \u00a0– Tarasar,\u00a0Experiences in Orthodox Religious Education, The North American Experience<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This situation was not unique to just one Orthodox jurisdiction. \u00a0It was found in most of them. \u00a0It’s not to say that there wasn’t some effort to address the educational needs of the parish – because there were efforts made in various forms. \u00a0There were Orthodox leaflets and books published by many of the jurisdictions. \u00a0However, it was also not uncommon during this time to use non-denominational materials produced by Protestant groups as well as supplements to the few Orthodox resources available.<\/p>\n
The primary form of curriculum at the time was “subject-oriented” – meaning that topics relating to Orthodoxy were chosen to be taught to the students. \u00a0Many of the teachers did not know much about the topics they were teaching since they grew up not understanding the services and were not given any formal religious education themselves. \u00a0In addition, many of the priests did not attend a seminary either and had very little formal education themselves due to the circumstances of the time period.<\/p>\n
In the 1950’s, several individuals – including Sophie Koulomzin and Fr. Alexander Schmemann – came together to discuss the needs for a more structured educational approach in the parishes. \u00a0The results of this pan-Orthodox meeting was the formation of Orthodox Christian Education Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n
There were several goals of the OCEC. \u00a0Some of them included, but were not limited to, creating additional Orthodox education resources so parishes would discontinue using Protestant resources (“which, in spite of its usefulness, was felt to be inadequate and, in some respects, inapplicable and even contradictory to the Orthodox understanding of religious education”) as well as seek out an Orthodox approach to education.<\/p>\n
Where are we today? \u00a0Many of you can answer this question for yourself as you reflect on the approach of religious education used at your parish. \u00a0The fact of the matter is that it’s going to be different for each parish.\u00a0The situation\u00a0depends on if you are attending an ethnic parish or a parish of primarily newly illumined individuals and families, where you’re located in the country, the size of your parish, along with\u00a0many other factors.<\/p>\n
The model Dr. Tarasar presents for use as an approach to Orthodox education\u00a0in this presentation (as well as in her doctoral dissertation) is:<\/p>\n
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- Worship (attendance and participation in services)<\/li>\n
- Formal Teaching (church school, retreats, Bible studies, etc.)<\/li>\n
- Praxis (home and community life which includes an informal “curriculum” that follows the feast and fasts of the Church, traditions, as well as constantly\u00a0striving to emulate Christ in our daily lives)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
She goes into further detail about how there’s a synergy between all three of these areas.<\/p>\n