Grade 1 - Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

Sunday School Curriculum Grade 1
Week 1 - The Sign of the Cross
Objective:
To teach the children the sign of the cross and its importance
Memory Verse:
“God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14)
References:
Coptic Synaxarium Vol III- The tenth day of Baramhat
Introduction:
Prepare crosses of different shapes and colors of different materials. It is better to give each
child a cross.
In this lesson concentrate on the value of the cross and making the sign of the cross and how
to make it.
Lesson Outlines:
Once upon a time there was a queen her name was Queen Helena. She wanted to find the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. So, she asked her son King Constantine to let her go to Jerusalem where the
Lord was crucified to find the cross. So, King Constantine gave her money and soldiers to go with
her to Jerusalem and help her find the cross.
She went to Jerusalem and was looking everywhere for the cross but could not find it. She asked
everybody about the cross of Jesus Christ but no one could tell her. Finally, she found an old man his
name was Judas who told her where was the cross. The bad people were trying to hide the cross so
they were covering it was papers and garbage. Queen Helena went and removed the big mountain of
paper and finally found three crosses under it. Queen Helena did not know which one of the three
crosses is the one the Jesus Christ was crucified on. So, she but each cross on a died man, nothing
happened with the first cross and second cross but when they put the third cross of Jesus Christ, the
man woke up. They knew that this is the cross of our Lord. Queen Helena was very happy that she
finally found the cross and she sent and told her son king Constantine about what she found. She built
a big nice church and put the cross in it.
Conclusion:
The sign of the cross gives us strength, power and peace. The cross protects us from every evil and
76 THE GREAT FAST