Rafaela Prifti/
On Sunday, Albanian Orthodox Cathedral of St. George marks the 100th anniversary of the Sunday School. The event pays homage to an institution that was organized in 1923 at the directive of Bishop Fan Noli. Since that time for a few decades, the Sunday School classes, much like the church services, were held at different locations in Boston.
The church school has provided generations of children in the community with a fundamental education in the Orthodox faith. According to Fan Noli writings, in November 1955, the Diocese acquired a building at 529 East Broadway, South Boston which was used for Sunday School classes.
Linda Tochka, the current head of the school, was once a student there and remembers fondly how the fellow classmates gathered around the piano as Mr. George Atwater provided the instructions of the liturgical hymns. In honor of the distinguished and dedicated director of the institution, the school has established a scholarship named after him. Dr. George Atwater scholarship is awarded annually to a deserving former Sunday School students and altar servers.
The classes run from October through the beginning of May and are conducted each Sunday during liturgy with the students coming to church to receive holy Communion. Linda says that “the most anticipated part of the graduation program each year is the quiz where students compete with the congregation. It was initiated by the late Father Arthur Liolin to showcase what the students have learned in the course of one year and it includes a range of questions. Of course, the students always win,“ says Linda Tochka.
Evans Liolin, son of Father Liolin, recalled how he attended the Sunday school with a large group of kids in the early 80s.
Tomorrow the Albanian Orthodox Cathedral of St. George invites the community to join in celebrating three events: the centennial of the Sunday School, the Atwater scholarship as part of the graduation ceremony and Mother’s Day!