Archive materialsPhotographs and stories of the children’s Sunday school: lessons, celebrations and trips.
THE SCHOOL IN PARISH LIFE
Learning and being together
At the church, children studied the Orthodox faith, Church history and Christian art, and took part in performances, celebrations and trips. Zhanna Khekalo led the school for many years.
The materials found do not give the year the school opened. The story of its early years still needs to be completed.
Discovering the faith and the history of the Church.
Christian art and creativity
Discovering Christian culture through creative work.
Celebrations, trips and fellowship
Meeting, learning together and taking part in parish life.
YEAR BY YEAR · FROM EARLIER TO LATER EVENTS
A timeline of school life
The earliest dated entries in the available section are from 2017. The school was already active then; its founding year has not yet been established.
2017
14 January 2017A Christmas celebrationThe church’s theatre studio took part in the city’s Christmas celebration.⌄
Studio pupils prepared the performance under Zhanna Khekalo’s direction. The celebration at Santarvės School brought together Klaipėda’s Sunday schools.
February 2017 · documentClasses in the 2016–2017 school yearThe parish archive preserves a timetable for the second half of the school year.⌄
The document was published on 13 February 2017. It concerns a past school year and is not a current timetable. This publication does not establish the precise date classes began.
11 June 2017The last school bell before the holidaysThe archive records the end of the children’s Sunday school year.⌄
The event date appears in the parish publication’s title. The material was published on 13 June; that is a separate date and does not replace the day of the final school bell.
17 June 2017A trip to TelšiaiChildren and parents visited St Nicholas Church and explored the town.⌄
After the Liturgy, the rector told the visitors about the church’s history. A town tour with a treasure hunt followed. Sunday school leader Zhanna Khekalo wrote about the trip. The archive also contains Yuri Leonov’s account of the visit to Telšiai; this is not a separate event in the timeline.
September 2017A new school year beginsShared prayer, a children’s performance and a meeting between parents and teachers.⌄
The parish entry was published on 25 September. It mentions classes in the Orthodox faith and an arts studio. Although the archive calls this the opening of the Sunday school, it refers to the start of the school year, not the school’s foundation. The exact event date is not given.
8 October 2017A quiz about Sergius of RadonezhThe Yantariki and Blagovest teams represented the Church of the Martyrs.⌄
Sunday school pupils from across the deanery gathered at the Church of All Russian Saints. After the Liturgy, the children answered questions about the saint’s life and completed creative tasks.
15 October 2017From Memel to KlaipėdaA walk through the old town with parents.⌄
Marina Moteyauskene led the tour. The children learned about the city’s history, its swing bridge and sculptures, and met an organ grinder. The account was published the next day, 16 October.
12 January 2018A city-wide Christmas gatheringA joint celebration for Sunday schools at Aitvaro Gymnasium.⌄
Children, parents and teachers prepared sketches, songs and greetings. Two January articles on the parish website describe this city-wide celebration; they are not treated here as two separate events.
April 2018Paschal JoyThe parish Sunday school took part in a city festival.⌄
The celebration took place on Bright Friday at Santarvės Progymnasium. Sunday schools and children’s creative groups took part. The article was published on 16 April; its publication date is not presented as the festival date.
17 June 2018A lesson about bees before the holidaysNikolai Gorchakov introduced children and parents to beekeeping.⌄
Participants saw honeycombs and how beeswax candles are made. The source explicitly describes the end of classes for the summer holidays. This is not evidence of the school’s permanent closure.
26 June 2018A trip to KretingaA pilgrimage and educational gathering for children and parents from the Church of the Martyrs.⌄
A prayer service was held in the chapel of Saint Eleutherius; participants then visited the town museum and took part in bread-making and soap-making activities. The account forms part of a deanery publication dated 27 June.
The children’s Sunday school has closed. The exact year and circumstances are still being established. The latest entry found, from June 2018, describes the start of the summer holidays and does not establish the closing date.
Early photographs and memories from teachers and families will help complete this history.
