8) understanding of symbolism:

9) moral concepts;

10) historical consciousness.

Younger children (5, 6 and 7 years old) Stages of thinking development Religious and pedagogical material assimilated at this level of development 1. Family The family plays a central role in the child's consciousness, although life experience begins to expand when attending preschool classes. Infantile confidence in the "omnipotence" of parents, in the fact that "dad and mom can do anything", is gradually decreasing. Children are close to the stories from the Holy Scriptures about the meaning of the family. For example, in the story of Noah, the children's attention should be drawn not to the world catastrophe – the punishment for sins – but to how God saved the only family that remained "good" and saved a family from each type of animal. The story of the salvation of the infant Moses. From the New Testament – the Nativity of Christ, the Meeting of the Lord. The birth of John the Baptist, the Nativity of the Mother of God, the Entry into the Temple. 2. The idea of one's personality Children are very self-centered and have little ability to understand the other's point of view. They understand the specific causal connection in the story, but their understanding is limited to historical and geographical concepts that are still inaccessible to them. Concentration is limited to a few minutes. A great need to move and an inability to be still. Very good memory – even incomprehensible short words are remembered, especially those related to movement and melody. For the spiritual development of children, simple stories are very useful, causing a feeling of pity, sympathy and a kind attitude towards other people and animals. For example, from the Old Testament there are stories about how Abraham helped his nephew Lot, about how Balaam learned the truth from his donkey. From the New Testament there is a story about a boy who brought his fish and bread to Christ to feed the crowd, or about a good Samaritan. 3. Attitude to the environment In addition to his family, the child comes into contact with the world of preschool classes and the first grade of school. Children begin to assimilate the concept of "common" labor. A friendly atmosphere of joint play and work in the lessons of the Law of God is as necessary for the spiritual development of children as what is being told at this time. Children can well perceive stories from the Old and New Testaments about joint efforts. For example, about the construction of the tabernacle, and from the New Testament about the Lord's entry into Jerusalem and the role of children in this event, about the Last Supper as the institution of the Sacrament of Communion, that is, the closest communion of Christ with the disciples. 4. The concept of the Church This concept is limited exclusively to impressions in the church building. It is important for children to get acquainted with the church and church utensils, as well as all the objects in the church, with the vestments of the clergy, and to get acquainted mainly with the help of all their five senses. This "sensual" perception of the temple is quite legitimate and will not be forgotten in subsequent stages of development. 5. The concept of the surrounding world In children's ideas about the world, the areas of fantasy and reality are not distinguished. The objects around them are often endowed with human properties. They often ask questions about the world around them, but are satisfied with the simplest answers. Children willingly accept that the world around them was created by God if adults tell them so. It is useful to cultivate in them the ability to feel the beauty and wisdom of the world around them, to acquaint them with the life of nature. The Old Testament story of the creation of the world should be passed on to children in such a way that they feel how God has invested in the world He created and in man the opportunity to grow and develop. 6. The concept of God The concept of Jesus Christ is reduced to the fact that He was very kind, loved people and helped them, and that evil people killed Him. Stories from the Old Testament about God the Creator and God the Provider are accessible to children, if they are not connected with historical and geographical or overly complex theological concepts. From the Old Testament there are brief accounts of the appearance of God to Moses, of the giving of the Ten Commandments, without considering the commandments themselves. Stories about the apparitions of the Holy Trinity from the Old and New Testaments as stories that provide material for a deeper understanding in the future. Stories about the miracles of Jesus Christ as a manifestation of His love for people, and not "magic". 7. Prayer On the one hand, children perceive daily prayer and church attendance as a duty established by their parents, and on the other hand, they willingly believe that through prayer you can receive from God everything you want. In young children, it is necessary to strengthen the consciousness that prayer is an appeal to God, and not only with a request, but also with gratitude, and that what we want does not always coincide with what God wants, for example, the story of the prophet Jonah. Children easily memorize short prayers, and knowing them helps them feel that they are taking part in the service. For home prayer, it is good for children to remember for themselves what they want to pray about or what they want to thank God for. Children's prayer is simple, and they should not be required to be particularly reverent or overly attentive. 8. Understanding Symbolism Small children easily perceive the symbolism of objects: "a stick is a gun, a chair is an airplane." But the symbolic meaning of stories and narratives is inaccessible to them and is often distorted by them. Children easily perceive the symbolism of objects in the temple: candles are our prayers, smoke from incense is our praise to God, the cross on the temple is a sign that the temple belongs to God, bread and wine are symbols of food and drink that we need to live, oil and holy water are means for healing. This simple symbolism should be introduced without going into deeper explanations. 9. Moral concepts Evil is identified with material damage, something broken, spoiled, as well as with the displeasure of parents and the severity of punishment. The child is acutely aware of what seems to him to be an injustice to him, but does not notice when he causes pain or grief to others. Goodness is identified with the approval and praise of others. Children's understanding of "do6ra" and "evil" should be deepened as much as possible. For example, the stories about the fall of the angels, about the sin of the first people, about Cain and Abel, and from the New Testament – the parable of the prodigal son, the merciful king and the evil servant. If they are simply told, without going into theology, symbolism or special moral reasoning, they make a great impression on children, teaching the right attitude to evil and good. 10. Historical consciousness Such consciousness in young children is limited to the concepts of "a long time ago", "one of these days", "evenings", "tomorrow". The chronology of historical events has no meaning for them. It is pointless to teach Holy History systematically in these years. Even the division into the Old and New Testaments becomes available only at the very end of this age. Stories from the Holy Scriptures should be told each by itself, for the sake of the impression that it can make on the soul of the child.

Middle-aged children (8, 9 and 10 years old) Stages of thinking development Religious and pedagogical material assimilated at this level of development 1. Family The need for family support is still strong, although parents are no longer the only authority. Children tend to notice their shortcomings, but without much judgment, In relationships with brothers and sisters there are inevitable conflicts and jealousy, and at the same time loyalty to the family as a whole. Scriptural accounts illustrating the role of the family in preserving God's blessing to the people are helpful; Examples from the life of Russian saints: relations with the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Sergius. Seraphim of Sarov with her mother. Children's interest in grandparents, the keepers of family traditions, is awakened. 2. The idea of one's personality Children's thinking is now capable of drawing general conclusions from concrete cases, but it is not yet ready for abstract thought. Understanding the connection between the cause and effect of a phenomenon contributes to the development of primitive rationalism. Greater sensitivity to personal relationships with friends and desire to have a personal friend. When introducing children to Holy History, it is worth drawing their attention to the cause-and-effect relationship of events: for example, from the Old Testament – the story of Joseph, the story of Moses and the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the behavior of the three youths in Babylonian captivity, etc. 3. Attitude to the environment School is increasingly taking over the life of a child. School discipline is more demanding than at a younger age, Conflicts at school arise and are resolved without the participation of parents. The opinions and behavior of friends can be very different from the opinions and behavior accepted in the family. The child increasingly has to decide for himself what is good and what is bad. The question is becoming more and more acute: "What is good and what is bad?" "How can you find out?" and it is important that the proposed material is useful to them in this regard. These are stories from the Holy Scriptures, especially from the New Testament, describing the moment of choice: the murder of John the Baptist, the incident with the rich young man, the denial of Peter, and others. From the Old Testament, children are able to assimilate the theme of choice in the story of Esau, who preferred soup to his birthright. 4. The concept of the Church The Church is identified with church services. Children at this age are often burdened by attending services because of long inactivity and lack of understanding of the meaning of the service. It is necessary to help children overcome the tediousness of the services, introducing them to the plan of the service, to the general meaning of what they see during the service. The main help is to involve children in active participation in divine services: altar boys, singing in the choir, taking care of candlesticks, giving notes, etc. 5. The concept of the surrounding world The child begins to feel more consciously the existence of evil, cruelty, and injustice in the world, and this sometimes shakes his child's faith, he begins to doubt the power of good. He is fascinated by the information he receives at school on natural science, on the history of the development of our world, and often does not know how to reconcile this with his childhood ideas about God as the Creator and Provider It is very important that at this age the Christian educator helps the child to reconcile "science" and "religion" in his worldview in an accessible and simple form. It should be explained that the sphere of religious knowledge is the understanding of an event, and the sphere of science is the study of how an event occurred. It can be explained that God created man free, not a robot, and therefore evil actions are possible. By the example of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, it is possible to show the redemptive, healing power of suffering. 6. The concept of God The child's idea of God begins to move away from the image created by the realistic imagination of early childhood. Their thoughts about God are often quite primitive and rationalistic. They easily recognize the existence of God as the Creator and Master of the world, but it is difficult for them to feel the presence of God in their personal lives, to feel their personal relationship to God. In miracle stories, they are usually interested in the external side – how exactly the miracle was performed The task of Christian education at this age is to help children feel the closeness of God in their own, personal lives. They are able to perceive more consciously the parables and narratives of the New Testament that make them feel the nearness of God: the Sermon on the Mount, Christ and the Children, the Calming of the Storm, the Healings, the Parable of the Sower, and many others. 7. Prayer The attitude to prayer fluctuates between following the rule prescribed by adults and believing in the magical power of prayer to fulfill desires. More conscientious children begin to understand that it is not possible to ask God for all their desires, although most Orthodox children at this age take communion and confess, they still have little understanding of the meaning of the sacraments. The main task of a Christian educator is to deepen the understanding of the meaning of prayer as an appeal to God. It is necessary attentively, with many examples from life and listening to the children's questions, to analyze the petitions of the Lord's Prayer – "0chee nash". With the help of such parables as the parables of the publican and the Pharisee and the prodigal son, it is necessary to deepen the child's understanding of the prayer of repentance. It is necessary to explain the meaning of the Sacraments that they already know – baptism, communion and confession. 8. Understanding Symbolism Children of this age are able to understand the symbolic meaning of parables when it comes to the experiences available to them. They can also understand that a story about someone else may be relevant to themselves. Children can explain the symbolism in the sacraments to which they are approaching. An explanation of the symbolic meaning of parables is also available. 9. Moral concepts Children of this age are well acquainted with the rules of behavior both at home and at school, and recognize their obligation. The concept of justice is quite primitive and even cruel. They are still egocentric, but they awaken the ability to admit their guilt, to feel a sense of remorse, to sympathize with others. Evil is still valued mainly as material damage, and the significance of the offense is determined by the degree of censure or punishment. Children easily learn that there are laws and rules of behavior given to us by God. They are also interested in the rules of conduct in the church, a kind of "church etiquette". This childish understanding of "lawfulness" should be deepened so that they will assimilate the basic law of love for God and for people as the basis of a moral life, not just by expounding it in words, but by resorting to as many examples as possible. 10. Historical consciousness Children of this age have a much better sense of the sequence of events and a sense of time. An important role is played by the desire to know: "Was it really so?" Children have a general understanding of the meaning of history – the creation of the world, the fall of people, the expectation of the Savior, the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the idea of the end of the world – but very superficially. But they are interested in various archaeological details related to stories from the Holy Scriptures.

Older children (11, 12 and 13 years old) Stages of thinking development Religious and pedagogical material assimilated at this level of development 1. Family The critical attitude towards parents, which preceded the "rebellion" of adolescents, is increasing, but there is still an almost fanatical loyalty to family habits and opinions. Children still need the moral support of the family. It is very useful for children of this age to get acquainted with stories from the Old and New Testaments and the lives of saints, in which the issue of family conflicts is raised, such as the conflict between Joseph and his brothers, the role of the eldest son in the parable of the prodigal son, etc., and it is important to understand the motives of both sides. It is useful to tell the story of the twelve-year-old boy Jesus in the temple, which tells of His apparent disobedience to His Mother and Joseph. 2. The idea of one's personality The consciousness of oneself as a person is strengthened. Children feel joy, success, failures, disappointments more deeply. They have accumulated a lot of different knowledge and information, but their thinking is still quite superficial, and this often leads them to frivolous rationalism and denial of what they believed in earlier childhood, to a mocking attitude towards many things. They are able to assimilate logical explanations and conclusions, if they are sufficiently concrete. At this age, it is possible to acquaint children with a deeper meaning of those events of Holy History that they have known so far, such as, for example, stories about the dogma of the Holy Trinity, about the meaning of redemption, about the kingdom of God, about life after death. It is necessary to try to deepen the Christian understanding of their relationships with others – friendship, responsibility (the parable of the talents), sympathy, obedience. An analysis of the Sermon on the Mount with examples from modern life can be very useful. 3. Attitude to the environment The influence of the school environment is very strong, but the process of "selection" is outlined. "own company", whose opinion is especially authoritative. Girls begin to be interested in boys, but boys prefer the company of boys. A lively interest in the behavior of older youth and the desire to imitate them. During this period, the fragmentation of children's consciousness between the sphere of faith and life is especially intensified. The educator is called upon to awaken in them a sense of Christian responsibility in relations with the environment, peers and adults. Emphasis should be placed on the meaning of choice – on the need to make one's own choice. From this point of view, it is necessary to reconsider long-known parables, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is good to give children the opportunity to give similar examples from modern life. 4. The concept of the Church Although children of this age have a somewhat deeper understanding of the meaning of the service, the attitude towards the Church remains rather superficial, going to church seems to be a boring duty, which is willingly performed only if they take some part in the service – acolyte, sing, etc. Friends of the same age in church are of great importance. Children are more clearly aware of the contradictions between the Christian church worldview and the views prevailing in the surrounding society, and try to find satisfactory answers. Now in their inner world there is a division, a duality: what we say, think and believe in church is one thing, and what we think and do in "real life" is another. At this age, children should be helped to think about the meaning of the Christian life. For a deeper understanding, one should reflect on the meaning of the Sacraments. What does communion of the Holy Mysteries mean in my daily life? What does repentance mean? What is the meaning of baptism? It is not enough to know the rite, it is important to understand the meaning of the Sacrament in your own life. It is important that various forms of communication between children coexist: trips, pilgrimages, visits to other parishes. 5. The concept of the surrounding world It is difficult for children of this age to reconcile the Christian understanding of the universe, faith in God the Creator and God's good providence with what they learn about life from the world around them. Their own naïve, somewhat fabulous ideas no longer satisfy them. If the religious education they receive does not help them to master the "unity of worldview," they will remain under the influence of the duality accepted in our world, and this leads to the critical attitude toward religion that is so often manifested in the next period. The main task of this period is to show children that objective, critical thinking is compatible with faith, does not contradict it. Children now need to be taught the concepts of Christian doctrine, to give answers to the following questions: How do we learn about God? What is the Holy Scriptures? How was it created? What is Holy Tradition? What is the Church? What does human freedom consist of? How does a person think? 6. The concept of God At this age, the child's pure, naïve idea of God is gradually and not without difficulty replaced by a more conscious and spiritualized faith. Sometimes, rejecting the early ideas of God and the miraculous, children abandon the very belief in God, Jesus Christ is now easier for them to imagine as a historical person, but the feeling of the presence of Christ in their own lives is weak, as well as the consciousness of their own relationship to Him. They can follow the course of abstract thought, and simple theological explanations are understandable and interesting to them. Children are ready to perceive the basic truths of theology and doctrine: the concepts of God, the Holy Trinity, the visible and invisible world, good and evil, the manifestation of God's will and God's providence. To do this, you should use stories from the Holy Scriptures as examples and illustrations. 7. Prayer By this age, the habit of praying with one's parents usually dies off, and often the habit of praying in the morning and evening in general dies off. To a certain extent, the childish attitude to prayer as a means of obtaining something very desirable is preserved. On the other hand, children have a deeper understanding of the difficulties of life and can consciously pray for God's help, for becoming better themselves, for forgiveness. It is difficult to talk about personal prayer in the classroom, but now it is possible to explain more deeply the meaning of liturgical prayers, their relationship to our daily life. A better understanding of liturgical prayers makes it easier for children to attend services, which are often tedious. 8. Understanding Symbolism Children are quite capable of understanding the meaning of liturgical symbols and symbolic narratives, which can arouse their interest and raise reasonable questions. It is no longer enough to explain the rite and the external order of the Sacraments. When working with children, it is necessary not only to explain the meaning of the ritual, but also to do it in such a way that the explanation is related to their own, today's life in modern conditions. 9. Moral concepts The moral evaluation of actions is still largely determined by the approval or disapproval of the environment – friends, family, parents, but the consciousness and understanding of love as the basis of moral life gradually awakens in children. The law of comradeship is very strong, but sometimes a personal sense of moral responsibility awakens, which can go against the opinion of the comrades. Children begin to experience a sense of moral dissatisfaction with themselves and their actions. The sense of "moral taste" is largely influenced by television and radio programs, magazines and the example of older adolescents. The sense of responsibility is somewhat stronger. The main task of religious education is to develop in children a deeper understanding of relationships with people (parents, friends, adults and younger children) as a manifestation of the Christian faith. Children should be taught that sin is not just a violation of a rule, but the destruction of relationships with other people and with God. We can consider the conflicts between people from the Holy Scriptures: for example, the attitude of the sons to Noah when he became drunk, the division of people during the construction of the Tower of Babel, and from the New Testament – the analysis of the denial of the Apostle Peter and his repentance, the betrayals of Judas and his despair. Many examples can be found in the works of Russian literature. 10. Historical consciousness Children of this age are interested in the past, history, ancient objects, willingly collect collections, souvenirs, visit museums, willingly read historical novels, watch programs on historical topics. Knowledge about the Christian faith, the Holy Scriptures, and the Church can now be presented in their historical connection and perspective. Nevertheless, it is necessary to draw the attention of children to the meaning that the information communicated now has for them personally. Knowledge about faith should not be museum-like.

Adolescence (14, 15 and 16 years old) Stages of thinking development Religious and pedagogical material assimilated at this level of development 1. Family A strong desire to be independent, to decide everything for yourself, leads to a rebellion against parents and in general against the authority of adults. Adolescents want to destroy the limitations of childhood and at the same time often get lost when they encounter new phenomena. And yet they need a family as a shelter, from where they can go to an independent life, but where they can return in case of trouble. The desire of adolescents to become independent as soon as possible provides an opportunity to offer them to look with new eyes at faith, at the problems of morality and relations with people. What kind of family would they like to have in the future? How would they like to raise their children, etc.? 2. The idea of one's personality Intellectual development reaches almost full maturity. Children are capable of formal logical thinking. Physiological growth, changes in appearance, a sharp difference in the external adulthood of adolescents of the same age, cause great self-doubt, covered by boastfulness. Puberty and a new attitude towards people of the other sex are associated with increased emotionality. There is a conflict between the thirst for independence and the need for support and protection when the difficulties are too great. But they are able to comprehend a previously unfamiliar feeling of altruism and love. The task of the educator is to help adolescents test their religious beliefs and beliefs in the light of new and more critical thinking. Perhaps the most important thing is the ability to teach them to ask questions about what they believe and don't believe and why, what is most important for them in life, how they understand friendship, love, etc. 3. Attitude to the environment There is a desire to get some kind of status, meaning, recognition. The need to increase the responsibility entrusted to them and anger at the fact that adults do not always trust them. The need to be