At their most recent national convention the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA) approved funding supplies for the church school program at St. Tikhon's Seminary.

The increase in married students over the past decade has given way to a number of other additional considerations for the health and spiritual well-being of student families.  

The Fellowship contributed $1,300 to fund 15 student chairs, scissors, prayer books, a visual catechism and numerous books, including pop-up parables and Bible stories, icon coloring books, on the 12 great feast days, “Power of the Cross,” “Illustrated Life of the Theotokos,” various saints, and “Alyosha’s Apple: A Tale of Old Russia.”

FOCA’s newly-elected national recording secretary, Allison Steffaro who coordinated the effort wrote the following:

“I am happy to let you know that the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America will be sending you a check to cover all the needed supplies on your list (including shipping). Our treasurer will be sending it out today. We send our blessing to you and your students and hope that their families will continue to educate their children in the Orthodox Faith for many years to come.”

This is only the most recent example of FOCA’s continued commitment to Orthodox education and reinforces the Orthodox understanding that an Orthodox education is not something limited to institutions of higher learning but is something that fundamentally must begin in the home.