The purpose of this course is to help the student understand the basics of pastoral care, with an emphasis on “foundations,” covering both theories and types of personalities and various methods in pastoral care. It will also help the student to discern the most important elements of the Spiritual life in the Eastern Christian experience. The course will highlight the importance of prayer and encounter as a key to theology and the different aspects of spiritual life.

This course surveys the Church Fathers of the East and the West. Despite the emphasis of the course on the Fathers who wrote in Greek and Latin, it will touch on the Fathers who wrote on other languages like Syriac, Coptic, and Arabic. This Course also introduces the student to the historical context of the various Church Fathers. It also aims to give biographic information about those Fathers, their writings, how their thoughts were shaped, and what contributed to their formation. It then explores the literature of the various Fathers, the specific characteristics of each of them, and the contribution of the literature on the overall Christian thought that was preserved by the Church. Introducing the Patristic literature would require us to be introduced to the heretical teachings that urged the Fathers to confront them by their orthodox teachings.

This course explores the theological evolution of Christian Mission with particular emphasis on Orthodox theology of mission. It provides an account of multiple ranges of biblical, theological, and liturgical perspectives of the theology of mission. By analyzing the works of Orthodox mission theologians, the course explains the relevance of the Orthodox mission theology in today’s global and local contexts. It furnishes relevant missional narratives from various historical contexts for illustrating the Orthodox mission practices. The course also examines the salient features of mission theology in other Christian traditions to encourage a more comprehensive understanding of the theology of Orthodox Christian mission.

Students will research, write and submit their 14,000-word Master thesis under the guidance of a supervisor from the Faculty. Typically, students have six months to complete and submit the dissertation.

This course is required for the Master of Theological Studies and the Master of Theology programs.

The purpose of this course is to complete the capstone project in the Master degree programs and validating the students as master practitioners. Based upon the thesis proposal and recommendation of the thesis supervisor with the approval of the University faculty, students are able to complete their thesis writing. Upon successful completion of this module, in addition to satisfaction of all other required academic and financial obligations, the students are deemed qualified to graduate with the Master of Theology or Master of Theological Studies degree.

In consultation with the thesis supervisor, each student will develop his or her own work schedule for the course. At the beginning of the course, all students are required to attend a virtual research and methodology orientation seminar. All students are entitled to a total of 10 hours of supervision per term by their thesis supervisor.

Sample schedule: