Current Courses - Fall2024

This seminar introduces seminary students to graduate-level research and writing skills with specific attention to academic writing, theological research, citations, and elements of writing style. The seminar introduces the nature of theological reflection and “thinking theologically” concerning various topics and issues they encounter in academic study and ministry. This course will also cover a basic introduction to Populi including how to use your school email account, access files, submit assignments etc.. This course is a prerequisite for all certificates and degrees.

This course surveys the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church and community from the seventh through the twentieth centuries. Several themes are privileged throughout the course: Christian-Muslim interactions, shifting communal identities, liturgical developments, and the importance of Coptic-Arabic literature. While the emphasis is on the history and historiography of the Coptic Church (the See of Alexandria), the course will also discuss the major political and theological developments and personalities of the Christian east in general.  This course is a core requirement for the MTS program and the Early Christian Studies Certificate.

This course is an introduction to the New Testament, the Orthodox understanding of the New Testament and its interpretation, as well as an introduction to the field of modern biblical studies. Together we will survey the history, culture, geography, literary aspects, authorship, theology and important themes of the New Testament and its books. We will also explore the formation of the New Testament canon, manuscripts and issues of translation. We will study the persons, interpretive style and techniques of important early patristic interpreters as well as the theories and methods employed in modern biblical studies. This course fulfills a core requirement for the MTS program and the Orthodox Scripture Certificate.

This course is a careful study of the life, thought and writings of St. Paul. We will explore Paul’s epistles from a literary and historical perspective for the purpose of uncovering the author’s intended meaning and message, with special emphasis on passages which became important theological statements of the early Church or for Orthodox Christian life. We will examine the historical, cultural, and geographical setting of the Pauline writings, including authorship, audience, literary techniques and characteristics, as well as the theology and important themes of Paul’s epistles. We will investigate the literary, religious and philosophical currents in first century Judaism and the Greco-Roman world which we see reflected in these letters. We will also study the ancient and modern controversies which Paul and his writings engendered and the influence of Paul’s writings on the development of early Christian communities as well as how St. Paul’s thoughts were interpreted later by Christians of heterodox traditions. This course fulfills a Biblical and General Elective for all programs.

This course is a survey of the liturgical history of the Church's liturgical traditions. During this course, students will learn the fundamental methodology of liturgical research, how to properly proceed from data to conclusions. Next, the course will explore the liturgical tradition of the church from a historical perspective during the New Testament period, the Early Church before Nicaea (AD 325), the post-Nicene Church, and later developments. The emphasis throughout will be on the development of the Eucharist, the Church's most-central worship event, and on the sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation. This course fulfills a core requirement for the MTS Program and fulfills an elective for the Certificate Programs.

This course will examine theological thought inspired by engagement with the Coptic Orthodox liturgical tradition. After an in-depth examination into the theological understanding of Orthodox worship and the use of hymns in the liturgical tradition, the course will explore the sanctification of time (in relation to the Book of Hours, the Sabbath and Sunday, and the liturgical year), the sanctification of place (in terms of the Church building), and the sanctification of the gifts (in the Mysteries of Baptism and the Eucharist). This course fulfills a core requirement for the ThM, a general elective for the MTS and certificate programs.

This course provides a preliminary study of Koine based on the New Testament. The basic concepts of New Testament Greek grammar, syntax, and vocabulary are studied and applied to the text of the Gospels. This course is for students who have little or no prior knowledge of Greek. A basic outline of the Grammar, both in etymology and syntax, sufficient for earlier stages of the study with graduated exercises will be introduced. Examples to be studied will be taken primarily from the Scriptures and from the Greek language in the Coptic liturgy. This course fulfills a core requirement for the MTS program and a general elective for the certificate programs.

This course is a study of Christian spirituality and the life of sanctification through the life of St. Pope Kyrillos VI. It will include an overview of the saint's life while introducing the principal themes and influences on his spirituality. Special attention will be given to the ascetical life, the passions and virtues, personal prayer, the liturgical spirituality of the Eucharist, and spiritual persecution.. This course fulfills a general elective requirement for all programs.

This course introduces students to the psychology of how culture shapes and impacts our understanding of the world, others and self. Even within one home, different cultures emerge and impact relationships and values. This course is designed to foster understanding and communication on the psychology of culture. In this course, students develop knowledge of the history, major tenets, theories, research findings and behavioral practices in multicultural psychology. Students develop awareness, knowledge and skills for engaging in intercultural contexts, which are present in our world, and even within one home. Students are also asked to advance their cultural self-knowledge as well as knowledge of diverse others in order to develop cultural competence in working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. This course fulfills a general elective requirement for all programs.

History elective/patristics) approaches the history of the Coptic Church through the centuries by focusing on several case studies centered on Coptic Popes, such as patriarchs Demetrius I, Athanasius I, Cyril I, Dioscorus, Benjamin I, Abraham ibn Zar’ah, Gabriel II Ibn Turayk, Cyril III Ibn Laqlaq, and Cyril V. Each case study focuses on the patriarch and community as products of their immediate socio-religious environment and longer trends within the Coptic Church, as well as exemplars reflecting the timeless essence of the faith. This course fulfills a Church History elective for all programs.