On September 22 in the Orthodox community in Beijing, Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev served a Moleben for the start of the new school year. Students of the Embassy and Sunday schools, their parents, teachers, and even pre-schoolers attended the Moleben. A Divine Liturgy, served a day earlier, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos was attended by more than 40 people.
After a Moleben at the Red Fangzi, where all prayer services are conducted, this year's first Sunday school lesson began in the Orthodox community in Beijing . The lesson was opened by Fr. Dionisy, who blessed the children for the forthcoming study.
Eleven children attended the class. For the second year the Sunday school classes will be conducted by Galina Yermilova, a student of the Philological Faculty of Moscow State University and intern at Peking University.
A new subject was added to this year’s Sunday school curriculum. In addition to the Law of God, Church Slavonic, and Lives of Saints, children will study the traditional values of their native culture. This topic was introduced at the request of parents. Galina Yermilova told us, "I very much appreciate the participation and initiative of parents and willingly responded to their proposal. In addition to the above, the children happily accepted the invitation to prepare a Christmas concert.
Because there were newcomers and children of pre-school age, a tour of the Red Fangzi was conducted. After the lesson, all those wishing could stay for tea.
The first Sunday school classes of Beijing ’s Holy Dormition Orthodox community -- the first Sunday school in China -- began in the fall of 2004. The school was opened through the efforts of the management and staff of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Embassy in the People’s Republic of China , as well as Orthodox Russians living and working in Beijing . During 2006-2007 the Sunday school included classes for adults.