St. Lawrence Academy is a nonprofit Orthodox Christian parochial school affiliated with St. Lawrence Orthodox Church. We are located in downtown Felton, five minutes from downtown Scotts Valley, CA in Santa Cruz County. Our school was founded in 1990 in Ben Lomond, under the name Saints Peter & Paul Academy. The school began teaching grades six and seven and over the years has been able to expand and offer a full curriculum for grades K-8. We offer small classes where teachers can give attention to every student, and we welcome all who can subscribe to our mission statement.
Our Mission
Our mission is to cultivate the Orthodox Christian formation and education of the whole child – heart, mind, soul, and body – in an inspiring and nurturing environment.
Our Goals
Our mission is fulfilled to the degree that we are successful in:
- Providing a strong, traditional academic curriculum for children from Kindergarten through 8th grade.
- Providing a school environment focusing on the development of virtue.
- Providing a vehicle for children to enter into the life of the church through daily prayers, divine liturgies, and confession.
- Providing a systematic catechism that supplements and expands upon parental and parish catechism efforts.
Statement of Faith
The Nicene Creed, which was formulated at the Councils of Nicaea in 325 and of Constantinople in 381, has been recognized since then as the authoritative expression of the fundamental beliefs of the Orthodox Church. The Creed is often referred to as the “Symbol of Faith.” For generations, the Creed has been the criterion of authentic Faith and the basis of Christian education. As a ministry area of St. Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church, St. Lawrence Academy recognizes the Nicene Creed as the definitive expression of our beliefs, which also provides the foundation for our teachings, principles, and practices as an Orthodox Christian school.*
Our Statement of Faith is best expressed in the Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by whom all things were made:
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
*Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, https://www.goarch.org/-/teachings-of-the-orthodox-church.
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