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 is a careful study of the gospel of Matthew. We will explore the gospel from a literary, historical and patristic perspective for the purpose of uncovering the author’s intended meaning and message and its application to the Christian life. To achieve this end, we will examine the historical,cultural, and geographical setting of the gospel, authorship, audience, literary techniques and characteristics, as well as the theology and important themes of the first gospel. We will consider the literary, religious and philosophical currents in first century Judaism and the Greco-Roman world which are reflected in the gospel. Our primary patristic source will be the sermons of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of Matthew.

This course fulfills a Biblical and a general elective.

Hybrid: ASL + Live Sessions via Zoom on the following dates: Wednesday 6:00-9:00pm PST

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.

SYN: Live Sessions via Zoom on the following dates: Mondays 5:00pm PST

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 is a core course for the M.T.S. program and a general elective for all other programs. 

“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 is a core course for the M.T.S. program and a general elective for all other programs.

Many writers throughout Christian history have left behind commentaries on liturgical rites, especially the Eucharistic liturgy. As texts about the liturgy, commentaries are exegetical works describing and interpreting liturgical rituals, much like biblical commentaries explain and interpret the texts of holy Scripture. This course provides an overview of this important literary genre from its origins in the Early Church to the medieval period and in its various examples in the Coptic Orthodox tradition, but also in Byzantium, Syria, and Ethiopia. Discussion of each text pays special attention to its authorship, historical context, liturgical details, and hermeneutic principles. message of the Gospel. This course will prepare and equip servants to respond to basic challenges of the faith.

This course fulfills a general elective for all programs.

Hybrid: ASL + Live Sessions via Zoom on the following dates: Saturday; faculty will poll class to determine time.

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. 

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 will provide participants with an opportunity to examine the strategies and practices of participatory servant leadership style, biblically and with a strengths-based mindset, focusing on the application of strengths, and service through strategic collaboration and interdependence. The course will encourage participants to experience the power of team building and developing servant-leadership concepts among communities they work with or minister to, establishing a legacy. They will be able to experience challenges of leadership and how to face them.

This course fulfills an elective requirement for all programs and a core requirement for OCS certificate.

This course examines early Christian reflection on Jesus before the Council of Nicaea. Its purpose is not to read late first-, second-, and third-century Christian texts as incomplete Nicenes, nor to measure every early text by later conciliar formulas. Rather, students will examine how early Christians spoke about Jesus within their own exegetical, liturgical, apologetic, pastoral, philosophical, and polemical contexts. The course centers on consequential pre-Nicene witnesses, texts, and controversies: 1 Clement, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Melito of Sardis, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Paul of Samosata. These figures and debates provide a focused historical-theological account of major ways early Christians confessed Jesus as suffering Lord, divine Logos, revealer, teacher, Passover, recapitulator, true flesh, Son distinct from the Father, eternal Word, God-human, and the one in whom divine saving action is made present.The course is historical theology. Students will ask how particular claims about Jesus emerged within concrete exegetical, pastoral, ecclesial, philosophical, liturgical, and polemical settings. Later doctrinal categories may clarify why certain questions became urgent, but students will not use those categories anachronistically as the starting point for analysis.

This course fulfills a Dogmatics core or concentration for ThM students, a Church History elective or general elective for all other programs