4th-5th Grade Curriculum Requirements

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Can make the sign of the cross:

  • Know that the three fingers together (thumb, first, and middle) represent the Holy Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

  • The other two mean Christ is both God and Man.

Know the Lord’s prayer:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. Amen.”

Know their Baptismal name and their nameday.

Know that Christmas/Nativity is on December 25th and that is the day Christ was born.

Know that Epiphany is January 6th — when Jesus was Baptized and when God spoke and the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove.

Know that Great Lent starts 40 days before Holy Week and the beginning of Lent changes every year (because it depends on when Easter is).

Know that Palm Sunday is when Jesus entered Jerusalem just prior to His crucifixion.

Last Supper happened on Holy Thursday.

Crucifixion happened on Holy Friday.

Know that Easter is the day when Christ rose from the dead and that date changes every year.

Know that Ascension is 40 days after Easter and is when Jesus rose up into Heaven.

Know that Pentecost is the day when the Holy Spirit was sent by God to the Apostles, made them speak in different languages, and allowed the apostles to spread the word about Jesus to the whole world — that happened 50 days after Easter.

Know that March 25th is the day when the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would have a Son and that her Son would be Jesus.

Know that August 15th is the day when we remember that the Virgin Mary fell asleep and went to heaven.

Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to be born as a man because God loves us very much. When Jesus went to back to heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit to help us on the earth. The Holy Spirit acts in us when we receive the sacraments, when we pray and when we do things that God likes.

St. Nicholas is our patron Saint. His feast day is December 6th. He is the saint for children, travelers, and mariners. He was the bishop of the city of Myra in the region of Lycia (south-east Asia Minor).

Know the 10 commandments

1. You shall have no other god before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself idols.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet.

Know Psalm 117 by heart.

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

laud Him, all you peoples!

for His merciful kindness is great towards us,

and the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!”

Know the Creed by heart

1. I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father through Whom all things were made.

3. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.

4. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried.

5. And He rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures.

6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father;

7. And He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; His kingdom shall have no end.

8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets.

9. In one, holy catholic, and apostolic Church.

10. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

11. I look for the resurrection of the dead,

12. And.the life of the age to come.

Amen”

Know the 4 Evangelists — Ss. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — they wrote the Gospels.

Know that the Divine Liturgy is the name of the service on Sundays.

Know that Orthros is the name for the morning service before the Divine Liturgy.

Know that Vespers is the evening service done before a Divine Liturgy.

Know that St. Nicholas is a parish or church.

That St. Nicholas is in the Metropolis of Detroit, which is lead by Metropolitan Nicholas, a bishop (Metropolitan is a special title for a bishop).

That the Metropolis of Detroit is in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is lead by Archbishop Elpidophoros.

That the Archdiocese of America is under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is lead by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Know that Holy Scripture (the Bible) has two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Know that the Old Testament is the first part of the Bible and was written over a long period of time - way before the birth of Christ.

Know that the New Testament was written over a shorter period of time after Christ’s Ascension.

Know that the icon to the right of the center doors of the church is always of Christ, the icon to the right of the icon of Christ is always of John the Baptist, who pointed everyone to Christ and set the groundwork up for Christ’s ministry.

Know that the icon to the left of the center doors is always of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child and the icon to the left of that is always of the patron saint or feastday of the church (for us, since we’re St. Nicholas, it’s St. Nicholas — if the church was called Annunciation, the icon would be of the Annunciation, etc.