We have one more page on this website dedicated to mothers, and it is all about the Theotokos, the greatest mother of all! However, after a few years of creating content for Orthodox Pebbles, we have been coming across some wonderful resources that can also help explore the role of motherhood in the Orthodox faith. We gathered them all here, and put together a few activities that celebrate motherhood through an Orthodox lens. We hope you can use these resources to plan an edifying Mothers’ Day lesson.
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Additional page: Theotokos Mother’s Day Activities
Please visit the link below for more teaching resources for this special day.
PRINTABLE PACKET
Click to download (4.8 MB)
Printing problems? PLEASE CLICK HERE
TEACHING ABOUT MOTHERHOOD
Objectives
Younger children
At the end of the lesson, the children should be able to:
- Mention one saintly mother and the name(s) of her saintly child(ren) (see Background below).
- List reasons for being thankful to their own mothers, such as “loving me”, “cooking for me”, “taking care of me”, “washing my clothes”, “hugging me”, “teaching me to love Jesus” etc.
- List ways in which they can show their love and care for their mother, such as “obey her”, “do my chores”, “draw a picture for her” etc.
- Say a brief prayer for their mother.
Older children
Older children should additionally be able to:
- Mention a few more saintly mothers and their children and briefly discuss their lives.
- Chant a troparion for one or more of the explored saints.
- Recite a Scripture verse or a saint’s saying about mothers and explain what it means.
Teaching activities
Using our printable packet above, the children can:
- Use a template to write a prayer for their mother.
- Work on Orthodox quotes about motherhood.
- Make a craft for mom (see below for instructions).
- Play a board game to explore the importance and meaning of motherhood.
CRAFT
Heart bouquet with Orthodox quotes about motherhood
You will need
- Colored paper of your choice (we used scrapbook paper in the example)
- The templates and quote hearts from our printable packet
- Popsicle sticks
- Ribbon
- Scissors, glue
What to do
This is a very flexible craft. You can use as many heart sticks as you wish, and combine the heart sizes, colors, and shapes in any way you like. We used five sticks in the photo, and included three sayings. In general, it looks better if there is a variety of sizes and colors.
Fold the colored paper in half and use the templates to cut out as many hearts as you wish. Cut out a few quote hearts and fold them in half.
Glue the heart shapes onto craft sticks in any combination that you like.
Cut out a square for the cone. Shape into a cone and glue on one edge. If the top edge corners don’t match each other perfectly, snip off the protruding end.
Tie a ribbon around the cone making a bow. It is easier if you first glue the ribbon on the back with a dab of glue.
READY!
BACKGROUND
Motherhood in the Orthodox tradition
In Orthodox Christianity, motherhood is not only about nurturing a child’s mind and body. It is, first and foremost, about nurturing the soul, so that faith in Christ can take root. Orthodox mothers have been given a sacred calling that echoes the work of the Apostles. They are entrusted with the spiritual upbringing of their children, guiding them to become followers of Christ and passing on the Faith, heart to heart, generation after generation.
The most prominent examples of this calling are the saintly mothers: Holy women who became saints themselves, and who raised children who also became saints. Our Church celebrates a large number of saintly mothers, reminding us of the holy vocation of motherhood. We are listing a few below, with links to their lives.
- The Theotokos, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ
- Saint Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary
- Saint Elisabeth, the mother of Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist
- The mothers of the Three Hierarchs, Saint Emmelia, Saint Anthousa, and Saint Nonna
- Saint Polychronia, the mother of Saint George
- Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great
- Saint Theodoti, the mother of the Holy Unmercenaries Saints Cosmas and Damian
- Saint Sophia, the mother of Saints Faith, Hope, and Love
- Saint Anthi, the mother of Saint Eleutherios
- Saint Euboula, the mother of Saint Panteleimon
- Saint Eulogia, the mother of Saint Theodosius the Cenobiarch
- Saint Martha, the mother of Saint Simeon
- Saint Julitta, the mother of Saint Cyricus
- Saint Theopiste, the mother of Saint Agapius and Saint Theopistus
- Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo
EXPLORE FURTHER
- The ascetic life of mothers – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
- A mother’s prayer – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
- The Christian vision of motherhood – Pemptousia website.
- Saints who were also Mothers – Monastiriaka Mount Athos website.
- An Orthodox understanding of womanhood, St. Makrina Lecture Series of the St. Emmelia Homeschooling Ministries of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (scroll down for the lecture and resources).
- Reading lists for the Orthodox mom – Parousia Press – a very extensive and useful list.
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