On Saturday 30 May 2026, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, His Grace Bishop Christophoros of Kerasounta, Chancellor of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, addressed a Seminar for all Sunday School teachers of New South Wales.
Held at the Orthodox Mission Centre, of the Greek Orthodox Christian Society in Kingsgrove, around 100 teachers attended from across the parishes of NSW.
His Grace Bishop Christophoros delivered the keynote address for this seminar, titled “The Liturgical Life as an essential ingredient for the Sunday School Teacher”.
His Grace explaining how the teaching of God, including Sunday School, is impossible outside the liturgical life of the Church. He discussed that for the sacred ministry of Sunday School to occur, the teacher must live an active life within the Church so that they can express the joy of encountering Christ, to their students.
The key focus of His Grace’s address was that the calling of the Sunday School teacher is far deeper than just teaching abstract information about God and the Faith, but rather the teacher should be one who actively encounters Christ through prayer, worship, and the sacramental life of the Church. “The task is not merely to teach children about Christ, but to introduce them to the living Christ Himself.”
“Before becoming a teacher of the faith, we must first be a worshipper. Before speaking about Christ, we must have learned to stand before Him in both private prayer and corporate worship. Before seeking to communicate the joy of the Gospel, we must have personally tasted that joy within the liturgical life of the Church.”
His Grace concluded by reminding the teachers that children may forget many of the lessons they hear, but they will remember if, through their teacher, they encountered “the joy, the peace, and the love of Christ”.
The Sunday School teachers were greatly edified and inspired by the words of Bishop Christophoros and warmly thanked him with a small gift as a token of their gratitude.
