THE ROLE OF THE LESSON FUNDAMENTALS OF ORTHODOX CULTURE IN EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

This article explores the role of education in Orthodox Christian culture, focusing on the importance of teaching values, morality, and spirituality in the classroom. It discusses how the teachings of Orthodox Christianity can be integrated into the curriculum to instill a sense of ethics and compassion in students. The article also examines the impact of religious education on the development of students' character and their understanding of the world around them. Overall, it highlights the significance of incorporating Orthodox Christian principles into the educational system to promote holistic growth and moral development in students.

Keywords: Orthodox Christian culture, education, values, morality, spirituality, curriculum integration, ethics, compassion, character development, religious education, holistic growth, moral development.

The features of perception and understanding of the world are determined by the mechanism of emotionally-figurative perception and visual-practical thinking. Therefore, the formation of spiritual and moral concepts, including the understanding of homeland, is unique for younger schoolchildren. It is closely related to specific ideas about what is dear and close to the child, that is, with love for parents and other emotionally close people, the surrounding nature, toys, games, songs, familiar words, and things that bring joy.

The purpose of lessons on the subject of "Orthodox culture" in elementary school is to contribute to the holistic spiritual, moral, and social development of the child, to shape worldview, and to ensure their spiritual, mental, and physical health by introducing them to the highest values of Orthodox culture. Educating children without a spiritual and moral foundation is incomplete. Moreover, such education is harmful for both children and adults, as we commit a great sin by not caring about the most important thing in a child's development - nurturing their soul. The foundations of Orthodox culture are laid from a very early age. Children should be taught to have an attitude towards their parents, close ones, homeland, native nature, and their country based on the values of Orthodox culture. Orthodox education does not contradict the goals of secular education set by state standards, but enriches and complements the pedagogical process with unique traditions of Russian pedagogy, bringing a special spiritual dimension to school life.

Orthodox individuals have special reasons for joy, and educators should share them with children. We know that there is a God who loves us. We know that there is no death. We know that we are protected by angels. The world created by God is beautiful. And this world can and should be adorned with good deeds by both adults and children. It is necessary to convey these truths to children at the very beginning of their life journey. We must not allow them to wander in this world, falling into sin and despair.

The main, fundamental difference between studying Orthodox culture and religious upbringing is that lessons on Orthodox culture involve acquiring a certain amount of knowledge about Orthodoxy, whereas religious, Orthodox upbringing involves active participation in church life. Teaching children the foundations of Orthodox culture, taking into account the development of their self-awareness, will help solve the problem of internalizing the spiritual experience of humanity according to the individual trajectory of personality development. Furthermore, religious culture has an additional potential that contributes to the development of self-awareness structure, which cannot be provided by non-religious culture. Understanding the essence of Orthodox culture, one must take into account, above all, that Orthodoxy is the historical, cultural, and meaningful element of the life of the Russian people. Orthodoxy has played an exceptional role in the organization of our state and society, family and individual, spirituality and morality, culture and education. Some may not like this fact, but it must be reckoned with. The modern Russian individual, even if they profess principled atheism or are completely indifferent to religion, remains nominally Orthodox in their mentality with all their achievements or shortcomings. Ignoring this in the process of education and training (as well as in the process of state, cultural, and economic development) is unacceptable. Any endeavor undertaken without taking this circumstance into account is doomed to fail.

Over many centuries of its existence, Orthodoxy has accumulated a colossal aesthetic potential - depriving modern man of the opportunity to master it means impoverishing him immensely. Orthodox culture is literature, including thousands of volumes written by hundreds of authors, it is icons, including those of Andrei Rublev and frescoes by Dionysius, it is rich architectural traditions, it is amazing liturgical music and poetry, it is, finally, applied art - liturgical vessels, icon covers, church vestments - traditions of which are alive to this day. The most relevant circumstance characterizing Orthodox culture is that all of it, even in its smallest components, has been and remains spiritually, morally, aesthetically significant, and this alone determines the need for its study in our pragmatic age. Without understanding the essence of Orthodoxy and the ideals of Holy Rus, which are not reducible to pure churchliness and examples of ancient Russian holiness, one cannot understand the entire spiritual and moral sphere of the Russian people. Many elements of spirituality arose even before the adoption of Christianity, and Orthodoxy crowned and strengthened the ancient worldview of the Russian people, giving it a more refined and elevated character. According to the Orthodox understanding of the world, a person should strive to do good deeds. One who does not do good during their lifetime dies not only physically, but also spiritually, therefore, not only sin is harmful, but also the absence of good deeds. Not formal adherence to the law and justification of earthly passions that bear evil fruit, but a constant striving for good, for the highest good, for the universal victory of grace and goodness constitute the core values of Russian spirituality. The pursuit of goodness, truth, justice permeates the works of oral folk art, spiritual verses, which served educational and informational, as well as moral purposes.

The thirst for spiritual knowledge is inherent in a person from the very beginning, by the age of 6-7, this thirst intensifies, it is already consciously perceived by the child and is very acute due to the vivid emotional perception and experience of life's contradictions at this age. Lessons in Orthodox culture in elementary school lay the foundation for further education in higher grades. By imparting to children the very first elementary knowledge about God, His creation, about the Son of God, saints, and ascetics of Orthodoxy, one can and should combine the spiritual and material, the morally speculative and practical. Introducing children to the Sacred History and the Old Testament begins with accessible study of the Book of Genesis, chapters related to the creation of the world. A child's worldview is formed under the influence of stories about the Creator, about God's care for the world, and especially about His love for people, about the purpose of man. Studying the church will be more effective if visited during holidays, on feast days, and the visit itself is prepared in advance. It is important to acquaint children with the structure of the church, its history. Equally important is to introduce literature and visual art works into the program that introduce children to the world of high spiritual and moral images in an emotionally appealing, understandable form, conveying information of an aesthetic, spiritual-moral, and educational nature. It is very important to introduce a child to the world of higher moral values, to lay the foundations of moral behavior, for which moral conversations are indispensable. Forming such behavior in a child, when they can orient themselves to others to the fullest extent, taking into account their interests and position. It is essential to familiarize children with examples of the lives of Russian saints. Present the material in such a way that children can conclude that these people lived not so long ago. To create the effect of the reality of events, it is necessary to feel the atmosphere of the life of people of that time, demonstrating photographs, illustrations, icons, complementing this display with a lively narrative.

The teacher carries an invisible ray of goodness and light in their soul. It is embodied in the word of the educator, in their knowledge, boldness, and dreams; they serve as a guiding star for children who have embarked on the great road of education, that is, of humanization according to the divine model. After all, the warmth of this ray and the particles of light absorb into children's souls so that the relay of human kindness continues on our earth.

References:

1. Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture Archived copy dated June 3, 2010 on the Wayback Machine on the website of the Tomsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
2. The foundations of Orthodox culture — For and Against. Archived copy from October 2, 2009 on Wayback Machine
3. Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture Archived copy dated March 30, 2010 on Wayback Machine based on materials from the Sunday School newspaper.
4. Fundamentals of Orthodox culture — textbook by Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev. Archived copy from February 27, 2010 on Wayback Machine
5. Electronic version of the textbook on the course "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" Archived copy dated December 12, 2010 on Wayback Machine
6. Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture Archived copy dated August 10, 2007 on the Wayback Machine A.V. Borodina's website