"Chapter 1: The World" of Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy's textbook The Law of God. Excellent resource for Christian educators, Sunday school teachers, science teachers, catechumen classes, etc. Made by Orthodox Christians parents, with much love, for their children.

1. !e Law of God
Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy

2. Basic Concepts

3. 1. The World

4. All that we see:

5. the heavens
the sun
the moon
the stars
the clouds

6. the heavens
the sun
the moon
the stars
the clouds

7. the heavens
the sun
the moon
the stars
the clouds

8. the heavens
the sun
the moon
the stars
the clouds

9. the heavens
the sun
the moon
the stars
the clouds

10. the air we breathe

11. the earth on which
we live,
including the

12. the earth on which
we live,
including the
grass

13. the earth on which
we live,
including the
grass
trees

14. the earth on which
we live,
including the
grass
trees
mountains

15. the earth on which
we live,
including the
grass
trees
mountains
rivers

16. the earth on which
we live,
including the
grass
trees
mountains
rivers
seas

18. sh
birds
beasts

19. sh
birds
beasts
...all animals

20. sh
birds
beasts
...all animals

21. and nally
people...

25. God created all of this.

26. Yes indeed, the world is the
creation of God!

27. When we see God’s world,
then we understand how
beautifully
and wisely it was made.

28. Here we are in a meadow.

29. Overhead, the blue sky with
white clouds is stretched
out like a tent,
and on the earth there is
thick, green grass, sprinkled
with owers.

30. In the grass we can hear the
sounds of various insects

31. butter ies uttering
around the owers,
and bees and gnats of
different kinds ying
through the air.

32. The whole earth is like a huge, beautiful carpet.

33. But there is no
carpet woven by the
hand of man
that can be
compared with the
beauty of God’s
meadow.

34. Let us take a walk in the woods.
The forest is like a great world unto
itself.

35. There we can see a
multitude of
different kinds of
trees

36. the mighty oak

37. the lordly pine

38. the spotted birch

39. the fragrant linden

40. the maple

41. the tall r tree

42. the thick chestnut tree.

43. There are little clearings
with bushes and all kinds of
herbs.
Everywhere we hear the
voices of birds, the buzzing
and chirping of insects.

44. Hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the forest.

45. Hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the forest.

46. Hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the forest.

47. Hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the forest.

48. Hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the forest.

49. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

50. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

51. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

52. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

53. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

54. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

55. And how many different kinds
of berries, mushrooms, and
owers there are!

56. And here is the river.

57. It quietly ows, sparkling in the sun
among the forests, elds, and meadows.

58. How much fun it is to go
for a swim!
All around it is hot, but in
the water it is cool and
pleasant.

59. How many different kinds of sh, frogs, water bugs, and
other living creatures there are!
It has its own life, its own little world.

60. How magni cent the ocean is,

62. with its huge and rich underwater world of living creatures.

63. How beautiful the mountains are with their lofty peaks
covered with eternal snow and ice, high above the clouds.

64. The world is marvelous
in its beauty,
and all that is in it
is full of life.

65. It is impossible to count all the plants and
animals that populate the earth

67. from the very smallest,
which are invisible to
our eyes,
to the
very largest.

68. They live everywhere

69. on the land

71. in the water

73. in the air

75. and even deep
beneath the earth.

77. It is God Who gave all this life to the world.

78. In all this vast variety, there reigns
a marvelous and de nite order
established by God:

83. the laws of nature.

84. All the plants and animals
are distributed throughout the world
in keeping with this ORDER.

85. What each one is supposed to eat,
that is what it eats.

101. And there is
a de nite and logical purpose
given to everything.

102. Everything
in the world is
born
grows
and dies...
one thing
is replaced
by another.

103. God gave a special time
and place and purpose to
everything.

104. Man alone lives everywhere on the earth
and has dominion over everything.

105. God granted him reason
and an immortal soul.

106. He gave man a special and great purpose:

107. to know God
to be like Him,
that is…
to become constantly better
and inherit eternal life.

108. In their external appearance
people are different

109. In their external appearance
people are different

110. In their external appearance
people are different

111. In their external appearance
people are different

112. In their external appearance
people are different

113. In their external appearance
people are different

114. In their external appearance
people are different

115. but they all have the same
reasonable and immortal
soul.

116. but they all have the same
reasonable and immortal
soul.

117. but they all have the same
reasonable and immortal
soul.

118. but they all have the same
reasonable and immortal
soul.

119. but they all have the same
reasonable and immortal
soul.

120. but they all have the same
reasonable and immortal
soul.

121. Through this SOUL, people are lifted above the animal world
and become like God.

122. Now let us look into the deep, dark
night, from earth up to heaven.

125. How many stars we see scattered there.
There is an in nite number of them!

126. Many of the stars are just like our star, the sun.

128. There are some that are many times larger than ours,

129. There are some that are many times larger than ours,
but they are so far away from the earth that they seem to
us to be tiny, twinkling pinpoints of light.

131. They are all in motion in an
orderly and
harmonious manner,

132. They are all in motion in an
orderly and
harmonious manner,
according to de nite
paths and laws.

133. Our earth amid the heavenly vastness
seems like a tiny speck of light.

135. We can neither account for nor measure the world,

136. We can neither account for nor measure the world,
for only God, Who created
everything,

137. We can neither account for nor measure the world,
for only God, Who created
everything,
knows the measure
and weight and
number of all things.

138. God created the entire world for the life and bene t of
people, for each of us.

140. God’s love for us is in nite!

141. If we love God and live
according to His law,
then much that is
unintelligible in the world
will become understandable
and clear to us.

142. Let us love God’s world
and live in friendship, love,
and joy with everyone.

143. Then this joy will never end,
and no one will take it
away from us,

144. Then this joy will never end,
and no one will take it
away from us,
for God Himself will be
with us.

145. In order to REMEMBER...
...that we belong to God
...to be closer to Him
...to love Him,
(that is, to ful ll our purpose on earth and to inherit eternal life),

146. we must know more about God, know His
holy will, that is, GOD’S LAW.

147. Questions:

148. Who created the world
and gave it life?

149. Who made de nite order in the
world (or as we often say,
established the laws of nature),
and what does this consist of?

150. What purpose did God
give to man?

151. For whom did God create
the world?

152. Why is it necessary for us
to know God’s Law?