Tag Archive for: Virtual Sunday School

For Whom They Translated

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Armodoxy for Today: For Whom they Translated

In the Spirit of the Holy Translators and on the weekend of their feast day we, at Epostle, unveiled a new space: the first virtual Sunday School classroom. This opening took place at St. James Armenian Church in Los Angeles, in the presence of church members, parents and of course, the students at the school.

Yesterday I shared with you the experience of the opening (Translators in the Metaverse) and promised that today we’d look at the audience and their reaction.

When Epostle first entered the metaverse in 2023 we shared the experience with the members of our community. We invited focus groups to gauge their reaction. Their experience, from group to group, seemed almost the same with slight variation. The patterns seemed to follow this order: At first sight members of the groups were in awe and amazed at the technology that allows for these virtual world. After a few minutes – maybe ten or so minutes – they would nod with a smile that expressed an affirmative reaction to the entire idea. And then… well, not much. It was interesting to us on the developing end. Why wasn’t their amazement pushing them to curiosity and investigation? Why weren’t they spending more time in these worlds?  One of the reasons could be that there was a learning curve and most people looked for instructions and cheat sheets to navigate around the metaverse. In other words, they were intrigued by the novelty of the metaverse, but it wasn’t a place they would engage with regularly. In common parlance, “A nice place to visit, but…”

However, we did notice something else in all the focus groups: the young kids. They didn’t need instruction. They sat at computers, phones or put on VR goggles and threw themselves into the environment! And so, we discovered our prime audience: Youth, under 16!

Our mission is to spread the Gospel, specifically with the tools of technology, hence, the name epostle as an electronic apostle. We moved forward with the creation of the virtual Sunday School classroom. And at the launch, it all payed off. While we were demonstrating the space to the parents, the students had already entered the space, jumping, running, exploring  the virtual classroom which we have designated Lake Sevan – a learning center of ancient Armenian Christianity for the new generation.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that the little children came to Jesus but the Disciples rebuked them. Why would Jesus, this Holy Man, want to waste his time with children, they thought. It is Jesus who sets the record straight, “Let the little children come to Me,” He says, “and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19)

The children have an innate love for God. Just as playing on computers, tablets and phones is second nature for them, the Kingdom of Heaven already belongs to the pure in heart. Just as they jumped into the metaverse environments boldly and without inhibition, so too they jump into the Love of God. The question that we must struggle with – and this is essential – is, what is it that we are teaching them? The curriculum and the teaching of the Armenian Church is simply to express the Love of God as it has been passed along through the centuries, in times of crisis and disaster, as well as times of joy. And then, – equally essential – is for us to take time to listen to them, the children. Jesus instructs as much. The experience of the Virtual Sunday School is one of listening to these young voices, their thoughts, their expressions and of course, their dreams.

Today’s prayer is written by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, in the voice of the student: Lord, my God, my steps lead me to school. Protect me from all kinds of dangers and unkind thoughts, so that I may arrive at my destination safely and in peace. I pray to You tirelessly, for You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.

Translators in the Metaverse

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Armodoxy for Today: Translators in the Metaverse

In October the Armenian Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Translators. This a group is unusual in that the members of the group are not contemporaries. They belong and are members of a group heralded, and responsible, for delivering the Armenian Church to the present day. The group is headed by Mesrop Mashdots, a fifth century saint who is credited for the invention of the Armenian alphabet and the translation of scriptures to the Armenian language. The group is closed off by St. Nersess Shnorhali of the 12th century, the author of countless prayers and hymns, and also led the Armenian Church as its chief bishop. In this elite group are philosophers and teachers, all of whom fall under the title of translator. They are regarded as such because they were gifted with the ability to take something that is complex and simplify it for others to grasp and hold. In its most simple expression, a person who translates one language to a second language does so, so that the message of the first language can be understood by people of the second language. Hence, St. Mesrop, took the message of Scripture, namely the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and made it accessible to Armenians via the Armenian Church.

Armodoxy maintains that the reason for these feasts and celebrations of saints is to inspire us to do the same. Opportunities are all around us, to simplify the complex and pass along the blessing of the Gospel to new generations.

This October, on the Feast of the Holy Translators, Epostle.net opened the first-ever virtual Sunday School in the metaverse. It follows in the spirit of the Holy Translators, to take the complex and simplify it for yet another audience.

At the St. James Armenian Church in Los Angeles, Epostle fitted one of the Sunday School classrooms with computers to serve as the electronic hub for a pilot program that will allow students from anywhere in the world to learn about the Faith of the Armenian Church, follow a curriculum for growth in Christian living, and to exchange ideas with other students.

As we launched this next phase of the Epostle.net ministry, I felt the spirit of the Holy Translators electrifying the students as they engaged in this new medium. The Translator saints gave access to a completely new group of people – people who otherwise may have never known the joy and blessing of Jesus Christ in their lives. There was nothing coercive about their methods, they merely facilitated the hungry soul in its desire to seek and find fulfillment.

This is uncharted waters because the technology is so new. Our Epostle Team struggled with different models for presentation because there is no examples to follow in the virtual theater. And so, the model given to us by the Holy Translators was the guiding force behind our decisions. Much like Mesrop Mashtots or Nersess Shnorhali, we want to translate what has been handed down to us to a new audience. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the audience and their reaction. Today, we end with a prayer written by Gail Chalebian, Superintendent of the St. James Sunday School and recited at the opening of the room. I present it here, asking that you join in the wishes and requests made here.

Lord bless this classroom dedicated to the education of young people. Bless all our clergy, students, teachers, parents, and friends. May this school enable all children and Sunday Schools to flourish and be happy, and may it teach the Armenian Apostolic faith in all its richness and fullness for the salvation of souls. May the children enjoy their learning and find joy in their new discoveries. Bless us Father with your wisdom as we begin our new Epostle curriculum and inspire us by your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Continued tomorrow

From The Western Diocese Newsletter (October 11, 2024)

Epostle announces First Ever Virtual Sunday School
The first-ever virtual Sunday School is being launched this coming weekend at the St. James Armenian Church, Los Angeles. With the invitation of Fr. Haroutioun Tachejian, the Parish Priest at St. James, Epostle fitted one of the Sunday School classrooms to serve as the electronic hub of this pilot program for the Diocese and, eventually, the rest of the world.
With this installation, the teachings of the ancient Armenian Church can and will be accessed by Sunday School students anywhere on the planet.
According to Gail Chalebian, Sunday School Superintendent, “Our Sunday school is thrilled and honored to pilot and incorporate the first Epostle program into our curriculum. Epostle allows our students to navigate through the many sites of Armenia and experience Armenian culture and history in a way that has never been done before.  And the opportunity to communicate directly with other Armenian students, teachers, and clergy all over the world, in real time, opens a whole new ‘metaverse’ to our community.”
Anyone with a phone, tablet, computer or VR headset can access the world created at Epostle.net. Gregory Beylerian, Creative Director at Epostle, has been working diligently with leading programmers and developers in the industry to put together the spaces. Epostle entered the metaverse in 2023 with the Cathia Hamparian Children’s Memorial. Since then there have been several “rooms” opened in the metaverse, including one where churches that were occupied and destroyed in Artsakh have their electronic footprint preserved here.
“This is a very exciting time for us at Epostle,” said Fr. Vazken Movsesian, founder of the electronic ministry. “This installation at St. James will be a pilot project. I am confident that once explored, other Sunday Schools will quickly adapt this model to their own circumstances. Soon a teacher in one part of the country will be sharing lesson plans with teachers and students in another part of the country or the world. We already have students signing up in Armenia, and plan to have an installation there by mid 2025.”
Epostle is the electronic ministry of the Western Diocese under the auspices of Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate.  Launched in 2022, its mission is apostolic evangelism for an electronic world. Daily messages, podcasts and videos in multiple languages are part of the archives that exist on the site. Epostle can be easily accessed from anywhere with an internet connection at Epostle.net
We acknowledge and thank the St. James Armenian Church priest, Fr. Haroutiun Tachejian, Parish Council and Sunday School for facilitating this project. Follow the progress and receive updates at https://epostle.net
The unveiling of the room will take place Sunday, October 13 following church services at St. James.
Caption to photo: Installation of the Epostle room at St. James – left to right: Paul Keuteliian, Maria Hamparian, Sousanna Pogosian, Fr. Vazken Movsesian, Gregory Beylerian.