OUR STORY

Let us take you on a little journey—a story of how a toy made with love in a small Canadian home became a way to share the Orthodox faith with families all over the world. Our family lives in British Columbia, Canada, and like many Orthodox Christian families, we try to serve God in everything we do. We go to church, sing in the choir, decorate our parish for feast days, bake prosphora, and read the Bible with our children. But a few years ago, something special happened that changed our lives.
It all started in January 2019, when our youngest daughter wanted to understand more about church architecture and the purpose of each part of the building. Not just the outside—but the inside too! 
What is the Narthex? What is the Nave? What happens inside the Altar? 
So we built something just for her—a little wooden block church made from real wood, shaped with care, and filled with all the beautiful parts of our Orthodox faith. We added a bell tower. A wooden altar. Even an iconostasis with stickers of real icons. We used Canadian Red Cedar for its beautiful texture and smell, and added crosses made from olive wood brought from Bethlehem. That was the first spark.
Orthodox Christian Educational Toy
By August, we had created our first full set. It wasn’t fancy, but it felt like a blessing. And soon, we were making more for our friends. Everyone loved it, and they said, “You should make more. Families and other churches need this too.”
We spoke with our priest, Father Lawrence Farley. He gave us his blessing to keep going and to create even more tools for teaching children and new believers about the Orthodox faith.
So, in January 2020, with prayers and a bit of cedar dust on our sleeves, we opened our little Etsy shop called Orthodox Toys. We didn’t start this project to make money. We started it to serve—to share the joy of Christ, the beauty of His Church, and the teachings of the saints with others. 
Orthodox Educational Toy
And we are still doing it. Together, as a family.
We now make many educational products—not just wooden block toys, but also icons, crosses, prayer rope kits, bracelets, candles, and sets that teach children about Bible stories, the Holy Theotokos, the lives of the saints, the Liturgy, and even how to bake prosphora for church.
We make and package every item ourselves. One of our daughters checks each piece for quality. Another helps to write the instructions. Mama helps with icons. Papa designs everything and carves the wood in the evening after work. Our older children help with proofreading. Even our service dogs and cat sometimes sit nearby when we pray together as a family.
Orthodox Christian educational resources
Some of our toys now travel to faraway places—Greece, Serbia, Australia, Romania, Japan, and more. Some go to Sunday Schools. Some are birthday gifts. Some help catechumens to learn the faith. But every box we send is a small gift of love and a little piece of the Church.
Handcrafted Orthodox Toys
Here, on our website, we will show you our products in five categories:
• Learning About the Church and Its Traditions
• Learning to Pray
• Learning About the Saints
• Faith Through Art and Hands-On Lessons
• Stories and Books 
This way, it will be easier for you to learn more about each set and choose your next educational journey. We also include this list of all our educational products in every book we publish and every educational set we make. This is not for advertising, but as part of our mission—to share the resources we’ve prayerfully developed to glorify God and nurture young hearts in the Orthodox faith.
So now, let us walk together through these treasures—each one made with care, and each one created to help you discover the beauty of the Church and grow closer to Christ.
Handmade Wooden toys

Explore Our Handcrafted Products

Discover unique toys and resources designed for Orthodox families.
Learning Church Traditions

Learning Church Traditions

Educational toys that help children to explore and understand the meaning behind the Church’s beauty and structure.

Learn more
Learning to Pray

Learning to Pray and Glorify God

Educational toys to help children, families, and young catechumens not just learn about prayer but practice it.

Learn more

Learning about Saints

Learning about Saints and their Lives

These products help to discover that saints are real people who lived with love, courage, and faith, just like we are called to do.

Learn more
Faith Through Art

Faith Through Art and Hands-On Lessons

These products guide children into discovering that faith is something we think about, pray, create, touch, and live with our hands.

Learn more