School diaries: Three Holy Hierarchs

Today, January 30th, is a day dedicated to our great Ecumenical Teachers, the Three Holy Hierarchs.

The Three Hierarchs (Ancient Greek: Οἱ Τρεῖς Ἱεράρχαι; Greek: Οι Τρεις Ιεράρχες) of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea), Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of Nazianzus) and John Chrysostom. They were highly influential bishops of the early church who played pivotal roles in shaping Christian theology. In Eastern Christianity they are also known as the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, while in Roman Catholicism the three are honored as Doctors of the Church. The three are venerated as saints in Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, and other Christian churches.

^{source: wikipedia.org}

Normally, it's a school holiday in order to honor the memory of those great teachers and protectors of education, but unfortunately those last few years, our Ministry of Education has decided to turn this special day for teachers and students into another ordinary school day. Since I can remember from my days as a student, on that special day we would all gather at school and lead the Greek flag to church to attend the service. Then, we would go back at school for another hour, discuss their life and work and then return home. No homework, no lessons, just a day dedicated to those people. This has changed sadly, as it is now considered a normal school day, we are allowed to take the students to the morning service and then return school and go on with the rest of our schedule.

During Art class though, I could not pretend that was not an important day for us teachers and students, therefore I brought an easy handcraft for my second graders.

They painted the Three Teachers, learnt their names and we talked a bit about their work. Later, the kids took their craft home to show it to their parents and talk about what new they learnt about those Holy Men.

^{Original content by @ruth-girl - Photos taken with Moto G22 - All rights reserved}