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 is a prerequisite for all certificates and degrees.

This is a survey of the structure and content of the biblical books of the Old Testament, and associated literature. Additional topics covered include the manuscripts of the Holy Bible, development of the Old Testament Canon, different patristic methodologies for interpreting the Old Testament as well as modern interpretive approaches. This course fulfills a core requirement for the MTS program and the Orthodox Scripture Certificate.

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 its 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 general elective requirement.

This course focuses on the Orthodox doctrine of the knowledge of God—the Trinity, the humanity and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Other topics discussed include the doctrine of Creation and cosmology, biblical inerrancy, the nature of the Church, and the means of grace and salvation, and eschatology. This course fulfills a core requirement for the MTS program and the Early Christian Studies Certificate.

This course is a careful study of the Gospel of John. We will explore the gospel from a literary and historical perspective with the objective of uncovering the author’s intended meaning and message. To this end, we will examine the historical, cultural, and geographical setting of the Gospel as well as its authorship, audience, literary techniques and characteristics, theology and important themes. We will investigate the literary, religious and philosophical currents in first century Judaism and in the Greco-Roman world. We will also study the history of the reception of the Johannine writings, the ancient and modern controversies they engendered, and compare the purpose, themes and orientation of the Fourth Gospel with the other three gospels This course fulfills a requirement for the THM program and a Biblical Elective or general elective for all other programs.

This course is an examination of the origins and development of the Coptic liturgical tradition of Holy Week, comprising the services for Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and the Resurrection. An initial survey of liturgical time, the liturgical year, and the development of feasts in the Early Church paves the way for exploring the Coptic services of Holy Week as a unique expression of the paschal mystery in the life of Coptic Orthodox Christians reflected in medieval primary sources. This course fulfills a requirement for the THM program and a general elective for all other programs.

As Fr. V.C. Samuel has stated, “There are five facts constitute the background of the Council of Chalcedon: (1) The Christological teaching of the Antiochene and the Alexandrine ways of theological thinking; (2) the Council of Ephesus in 431, which condemned Nestorius as a heretic; (3) the Formulary of Reunion, by which in 433 St. Cyril of Alexandria, the leader of the Alexandrine party, and John of Antioch, the leader of the Antiochene party, arrived at a concordat; (4) the Home Synod of Constantinople, which in 448 excommunicated Eutyches as a heretic; and (5) the second Council of Ephesus in 449, which, having reinstated Eutyches, deposed his judges at Constantinople as well as a number of the leading men on the Antiochene side. This course will provide a thorough examination into the historical events, political tensions, and Christological controversy related to Chalcedon from a Coptic Orthodox perspective. This course fulfills a requirement for the THM program, a Church History elective for MTS and a general elective for all other programs.

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 fulfills a core requirement for the MTS program and the Early Christian Studies Certificate.

Modern scholarship acknowledges St. Cyril of Alexandria’s unique contribution to the articulation of essential elements of Christian doctrine, especially at the ecumenical council of Ephesus and through his impeccable expression of the doctrine of the Incarnation. His contribution is so extensive, that some have argued that all subsequent Christology could only proceed, by way of interpretation of his portrayal of Christ. St. Cyril carried the Athanasian Christology from Nicaea to Ephesus and developed the terminology critical to articulate the Mystery of Christ in forthcoming generations of patristic heritage. St. Cyril’s exegetical writings have been somewhat neglected, even though he is virtually unsurpassed in the production of biblical commentaries in the Christian East, save Origen and Chrysostom. This course surveys the extensive Cyrillian corpus, from his early exegetical treatises, to his letters and discourses during the Nestorian Controversy, and his paschal epistles.

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.