On Sunday, 1 June, after the divine service in the parish centre of the Cathedral of St. Sergius of Radonezh, an open class dedicated to the Russian alphabet was held. The event was timed to coincide with two significant dates - the Day of Slavonic Script and Culture and the birthday of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
The rector of the parish, Archpriest Daniel Lugovoi, told the adult parishioners and children about Saints Cyril and Methodius, the enlighteners of the Slavs and creators of the first Slavonic alphabet. The event was given a special atmosphere by a musical performance - a student of the Dimitri Sunday School performed a hymn in honour of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Bulgarian.
Father Daniel then invited the children to the art exhibition "The Russian Alphabet in the drawings of Marina Hankova", opened on 24 May with the assistance of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in South Africa. During the talk, the children recalled characters from Russian bylinas, fairy tales and Pushkin's works, looked at the ornaments and amazing design of the illustrations, and tested their knowledge of native Russian words.
The event ended with a creative masterclass. Together with Matushka Elena, the pupils of the younger group were inspired by what they had seen and tried to create their own letters, decorating them with patterns and decorative elements. Afterwards, the children enjoyed participating in a thematic quiz game, competing to memorise the stories presented at the exhibition.
Русский 
English (South Africa)