The Office of Religious Education is one of the offices of ministry of the Consistory (Administrative Center) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and member jurisdiction of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America. The ORE is under the direction of Very Rev. Dr. Harry Linsinbigler, and the hierarchical supervision of the President of the Consistory, His Eminence Archishop Daniel. The ORE is a participating member of the Orthodox Christian Education Commission, on which Fr. Harry sits as a member of its Board of Directors.
The ORE recommends the purchase of written materials from the Orthodox Christian Education Commission as well as its participating jurisdictions. However, there is a need for immediate access to free educational materials for the upbuilding and advancement of Christian Education in our communities and beyond for the propagation of the Holy Faith delivered by Christ for the salvation of the world. We seek to give access in a central location for such resources, and it is for this purpose that this website exists.
The primary form of education for most centuries since the time of Christ has been tutorial studies and mentorship. It is these forms that we seek to revive in our day. We wish to provide means by which every parent, godparent, Christian Ed teacher, or willing parishioner can intelligably speak regularly about the faith with children, those new to the faith, and longstanding members. We wish also to provide means by which every one of the faithful who wishes to study indepth and are blessed to take on a teaching role in the parish may become mentors to parents and godparents for the purpose of instruction and spiritual development.
All of this is provided free of charge by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA at its own expense, to the faithful who wish to enrich their own lives and spread the good tidings of the Kingdom of God. Our first concern is the propagation of the authentic Christian Faith delivered once for all to the saints, and passed down intact to us, to be shared with others that we may make disciples for Christ of all nations.
As the oldest form of Christianity, Orthodox Christianity has a long history of instruction and education. Although many academics deem Orthodoxy as the most mystical and spiritual form of Christianity, it is heavily centered in instruction and discipleship to Christ. The Orthodox Christian Church shares a common history with the Roman Catholic Church up until the 11th century. This Church was the Christian Church of the first millennium. It is from her that the Bible came, and it is from her people that many advancements in medicine and the sciences came. Although through some of this period the West was in the "dark ages," the Orthodox East was thriving with educational institutions and resources--in areas not only of theology and philosophy, but of medicine, science, and law.
The Lord bless you richly and strengthen you to do His will and to inspire others to do the same, making Christ the king of the hearts of humankind.