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Camp “Heirs”: day twotranslated

July 20, 2026 · 1 min read

On July 16, 2026, in the “Heirs” camp at the parish of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the city of Smorgon, Mother Elena held an open lesson for children on the topic “Divine Liturgy: Symbolism and meaning of worship.”

During the lesson, the children were told in an accessible manner about the utensils, vestments, books and the actions of the priest in the altar. After lunch, the children in the playroom got acquainted with the lives of the holy wives of Belarus: Euphrosyne of Polotsk and Valentina of Minsk. The task of each detachment was to select an episode from the life of the saint and prepare a skit, and the other detachments would guess what it was about. Thanks to the work of the teachers, the children prepared very responsibly and with love and showed their skits, where they wanted to show why they liked this particular episode from the life of the saint the most.

In the evening, around the fire, the rector of the cathedral, Archpriest Anatoly Rezanovich, had a conversation with the children and answered their questions.

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Veronika Dvořáková

The children probably enjoyed it, especially the scenes with the saints. I was interested in how they focused on Evfrosinia Polocka and Valentina Minska - which episodes did they choose the most? Mother Elena is always pretty clear.

Андрій Бойко

It's good that mother Yelena again explained everything so simply and clearly about the liturgy - my children would definitely like it. And skits with the lives of holy women of Belarus were interestingly invented, especially how each squad explained why they liked that particular episode. I wonder what moment from the life of Euphrosynia of Polotsk the children chose most often?

Тетяна Марченко

Yes, mother Yelena always knows how to explain without too much water, my grandchildren also remember better after her lessons. And with Euphrosynia of Polotsk, children were most affected by the episode when she secretly ran away to a monastery in order not to get married - it was shown in almost every ward. And in your children, what moment from her life would arouse the greatest interest?

Παρασκευή Κωνσταντίνου

Good thing Mama Elena made the lesson about the Divine Liturgy so simple again. My kids seem to understand it better that way. I also liked that they chose Euphrosyne Polotsk with that episode where she sneaks off to the convent – almost all the clips showed that, as if that touched them the most.

Василь Руденко

I also like how mother Yelena puts everything on the shelves, without water. And my children were most affected when Euphrosynia herself learned to read and began to copy books. And what did your grandchildren say about Valentina Minska, there were skits there too?

Ελένη Νικολαΐδου

Yes, mom Elena always explains it with such simple examples that even my grandson remembers the utensils after the lesson. The episode with Euphrosyne sneaking out of her house was chosen by almost all the children, it made an impression on me too. What do you think, is it that kids now need to see some courage?

Δήμητρα Νικολαΐδου

Yeah, I was impressed too that everyone picked this episode with Ephrosyne. In the afternoon when they were setting up the tents, Marina's little girl from the third section said "I want to show that she wasn't afraid to go out alone". What do you think, do our children see such stories because at home we don't give them enough opportunities to make small decisions on their own?

Μαρία Παππά

Yes, Marina's little one said it very nicely. I remember that my Elenitsa, when she was little, chose exactly the same piece because she liked that Euphrosyne made the decision to go to the monastery on her own. But are our children looking for stories like this precisely because inside they want to see that you can be brave without having parents by your side all the time? How do you see it?