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. 

SYNC via Zoom: Tuesdays 6:00-9:00pm PST) 

This course introduces students to the basics of reading Coptic (Bohairic dialect). No prior knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language or Greek is required. The course will include grammar, morphology, syntax, and hundreds of vocabulary words. Following this course, students should be able to read passages in the New Testament. This course is required for those who are seeking enrollment in the Coptic Studies or Masters' Degree Programs. This course fulfills a core requirement for all MTS and is a general elective for all other programs or certificates.  

This course is designed to help students understand different approaches to Church ministry and administration, and to use and develop planning and management tools. It will also identify, analyze, and present solutions and alternatives for several human resource related issues in a congregational and nonprofit setting. Students will discover and research appropriate stewardship models from a management perspective and give practical tools that will help congregations evaluate their current health and strategies for growth. Overall administrative and management principles and practices for churches and ministries will be examined from leadership, human resources, stewardship, and growth and management perspectives. This course fulfills a core requirement for the OCL certificate and is a general elective for all other programs. 

This is an in-depth survey of Christian history from the Apostolic Age through the Arab conquests of the seventh century. While the emphasis is on the Coptic Orthodox Church (the See of Alexandria) and the development of Christianity in Egypt, the course discusses all major political and theological developments and personalities of the early Christian era. This course fulfills a core requirement for all MTS and ECS certificate and a general elective for all other 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 for all programs and certificates. 

The eucharistic liturgy in the Coptic tradition is the result of centuries of historical evolution throughout the medieval period. In this course, this historical evolution is explored in its major phases through the available textual evidence of historical witnesses, liturgical manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic tradition, and relevant works of Copto-Arabic literature. The course is structured around the major sections of the Coptic eucharistic liturgy: the prothesis, the Liturgy of the Word, the pre-anaphora, and the anaphoras of Basil, Gregory, and Cyril. This course fulfills a general elective for all programs and certificates. 

“Surely the Lord is in this place...How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!” (Gen 28:16-17). This declaration which Jacob made at Bethel reflects the Orthodox understanding that the Church is not simply a type and figure of heaven, but the actual substrate of that future transformation. Such a heavenly paradigm is the cornerstone upon which the entire liturgical tradition of the Coptic Orthodox Church is established. This course provides an introduction to the liturgical rituals and rubrics of the Coptic Orthodox Church and provides some insights into the history and development of this rich tradition. This course fulfills a core requirement for all MTS and a general elective for all other programs or certificates.  

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 is a core requirement for the MTS and OSC certificate and a general elective for all other programs or certificates.  

Christ’s birth, life, crucifixion, and glorious Resurrection were all prophesied centuries earlier in Old Testament times. This course aims to reconstruct the prehistory of Christ or Old Testament messianism. Selected messianic texts are interpreted in the light of the patristic tradition with reference to modern scholarship. This course fulfills a Church History elective for all programs and certificates. 

Live In-Person Dates: Jan.19, Feb 16, March 16, April 20.

This course covers the life, writings, doctrines, and thoughts of the early church Fathers. It presents the living story of the early church in all its aspects of worship, pastoral and social concepts, preaching and spirituality. This introductory core-course consists of two parts: (1) a general introduction to the Fathers and the main periods of Patristic Literature from post-apostolic times to the beginnings of the Schism between the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches; and (2) a brief profile of some of the most important Fathers of this period and their writings and doctrines focusing on the most influential of them. This course is a core requirement for the MTS and ECS certificate and a general elective for all other programs or certificates. 

This course explores the instructional methods of the Catechetical School of Alexandria and how its practices shaped the development of Christian education. Students will analyze the characteristics of Alexandrian teachers such as Clement, Origen, Athanasius, and Didymus the Blind, and learn how to apply these methods to contemporary Coptic Orthodox education and various church services. Instruction will integrate extrapolating the Orthodox Fathers on education, Jerome Bruner’s constructivist learning theory, adult learning principles, and Orthodox praxis. This course fulfills a Church History elective and general elective for all programs and certificates.