_edi.png)
Welcome to the St. John of Damascus Adult Religious Education Program at the Nativity of the Theotokos Antiochian Orthodox Church​
Brought together by our Orthodox Christian belief, and the love for continued growth in our faith we continue our Adult Religious Education classes. The intent of this program is to help our adult faithful continue to grow in both human and Christian maturity, by enriching our whole lives in our holy Orthodox Tradition. In a rotating cycle throughout the year, we will offer three courses based on the particular needs of our community focusing on the study of Sacred Scripture (Bible), Liturgics, and Patristics (the Holy Fathers). The goal of this program is to build upon our faith, a life in Christ, in five overarching ways: worship; community; discipleship; service; witness. Pursuing these goals will help our adults form a Christian conscience rooted in continued religious education in order to live their lives in the world as faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus.
"All Scripture is
inspired by God and is profitable
for training in righteousness." [2 Tim. 3:16]
The soul therefore gains great advantage from the reading of the Bible.
"Like a tree planted by streams of water," [Ps. 1:3] the soul is irrigated by the Bible and
acquires vigor, produces tasty fruit, namely, true faith, and is beautified with a thousand green leaves,
namely, actions that please God. The Bible, in fact, leads us towards pure holiness and holy actions. In it we
find encouragement to all the virtues and the warning to flee from evil. The Bible is a scented garden, delightful, beautiful. It enchants our ears with birdsong in a sweet, divine and spiritual harmony, it touches our heart, comforts us in sorrow, soothes us in a moment of anger, and fills us with eternal joy. Let us knock at
its gate with diligence and with perseverance. Let us not be discouraged from knocking. The latch
will be opened. If we have read a page of the Bible two or three times and have not
understood it, let us not be tired of re-reading it and meditating on it.
Let us seek in the fountain of this garden `a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.' [John 4:14] We shall taste a
joy that will never dry up, because the grace
of the Bible garden is
inexhaustible.
​
--St. John of Damascus
