Orthodox Church School Games

To help construct the content of this game, contact David Elfering by email

About the Game

Holywood Squares.is designed as a play off of the old TV gameshow Hollywood Squares. This particular edition was written for Junior High School level students, but open license is granted for Sunday School teachers to adapt it to whatever grade level they need.

The goal of the game is to reinforce Orthodox doctrines in a fun, memorable format. While more material could be covered in a lecture format, the hope is that kids will enjoy learning the materials and without realizing it, retain them better. Fellowship should also be stressed. The overall intellectual objectives are in accordance with “7^th & 8^th Grace Goals & Objectives” by Phyllis Meshel Onest & Dr. Nicholas Gerassimakis (available at http://home.neo.rr.com/pmonest )

How the Game Works

Holywood squares combines strategy of tic-tac-toe with knowledge of Orthodox worship topics. If your class is large enough, pick 9 “stars” and assign them to a tic-tac-toe square. If not try assigning several student multiple squares. Pick two students to be the contestants. Any remaining students are the studio audience, but will also have a role to play.

Students pick a tic-tac-toe square. The student assigned to that square is given a question about Orthodox worship or spirituality. The student contestant decides if they agree or disagree with the answer, If they choose correctly they get an X or an O. If they are wrong the square goes to their opponent.

For a variation, you can instead arrange the students into teams and divide the game into multiple rounds, giving elevated points in successive rounds of play. Feel free to experiment with game play to adjust it to your class. If this game works well for your class, consider having the game across several weeks of class with students really competing. To be fair in this instance you may with to provide them all with copies of the study materials. This might also get them interested in seriously reading the materials out of class.

Reference Materials for Questions

All questions in this edition are taken from the following resources:

Liturgy and Life: Christian Development Through Liturgical Experience, Father Alexander Schmemann, ISBN 0-86642-041-X, Published by the Orthodox Church of America (OCA)

Orthodox Worship: A Living Continuity with the Synagogue, the Temple and the Early Church, Benjamin D. Williams & Harold B. Anstall, ISBN 0-937032-72-7, Published by Light and Life Publishing Company

Worship in the Orthodox Church, Xenophon Diamond, ISBN 0-86687-007-5, Published by Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Department of Religious Education

Guide to Byzantine Iconography, Constantine Cavarnos, ISBN 0-9433405-05-X, Published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery

Introducing the Orthodox Church, Fr. Anthony Coniaris, ISBN 0-937032-25-5, Published by Light and Life Publishing

Orthodox Spirituality, His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos, ISBN 960-7070-20-8, Published by Birth of the Theotokos Monastery

Divine Liturgy, Mission Priests of Minnesota (OCA), Published by Light and Life, item number DZLI010 (flip chart format book of the Divine Liturgy)

Rules

·         You will be playing against other students to get the most points by answering the most questions right and by winning the tic-tac-toe game.

·         Each right answer is worth 100 points in the first round, 200 points in the second round, and 300 in the third round.

·         There will be a secret square in each round that is worth 500 additional points if the question is answered correctly

·         The winner of each round will receive 500 points added to their total. There are no “cat’s games”, the player with the most X’s or O’s on the board wins the tic-tac-toe game for that round.

·         If a contestant answers a question incorrectly the other player wins the square but receives no points.

·         Contestants may listen to the studio audience for advice.

Question Bank (with cited references)

Q:One of the three Liturgies used in the Orthodox Church is __________?

A: Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Basil or Presanctified

R:

Q: The word Liturgy means “common work”, yes or no?

A: It means "common work" or "common action", the Divine Liturgy is the common work of the Orthodox Church. It is the official action of the Church formally gathered together as the chosen People of God. The word church, as we remember, means a gathering or assembly of people specifically chosen and called apart to perform a particular task. 

R: Father Thomas Hopko, “The Orthodox Faith: Worship” available online at http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Faith/Worship/The-Divine-Liturgy.html

Q: Name one of the three basic parts of the Divine Liturgy.

A: Preparation, Liturgy of Catechumens, and Liturgy of the Faithful

R: Liturgy and Life, page 40 paragraph 3

Q: Name one way in which Orthodox “New Testament” worship is different than Old Testament worship (by the Jewish people).

A: Range of answers permitted, but one centrally important theme is that Christian worship is “centered in Christ”.

R: Orthodox Worship a Living Continuity, page 30 paragraph 2.

Q:

A:

R:

 etc.

To help construct the content of this game, contact David Elfering by email