Honours Bachelor in Theology ‐ Eastern Christian Studies (B.Th.) for Augustine College Graduates

Program description

Saint Paul is proud to be the home of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies. This Institute is named after the primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Andrey Sheptytsky (1865-1944), who dedicated his life to the furthering of East-West understanding and rapprochement between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

The Sheptytsky Institute specializes in Eastern Christian Studies, with special but not exclusive emphasis on the tradition of the Church of Kyiv. Its main interests lie in the fields of theology, spirituality, history, and ecclesial polity of the Eastern Churches, both Orthodox and Catholic. The Institute studies all four families of Eastern Churches: Eastern Orthodox, Pre-Chalcedonian, Assyrian and Eastern Catholic.

A student enrolled in the Eastern Christian Studies Honours Bachelor may add a complimentary minor in Conflict Studies, Group Intervention and Leadership, Philosophical Theology, Philosophy or Social Communication providing an additional 9 credits.

*The foundational courses are a compulsory part of every bachelor’s degree program offered at Saint Paul University.

What you’ll learn

During your studies you will acquire a sound basic knowledge of a range of research areas in theology: sacred scripture, Church history, ethics, systematic theology and Church practice. You will also reflect on the major issues facing our society and the Church today.

Why choose Saint Paul University?

For its small class sizes and close student-teacher ratio
For its safe, secure and friendly campus with personalized services
For its bilingual setting in the heart of the national capital
For its diverse student population and international vision
For its solid reputation, experience, history and Catholic tradition

Career opportunities

Attendant for the elderly
Catechist
Community or not-for-profit organization worker
Missionary
Ordained minister
Pastoral agent in a school, hospital or prison setting
Pastoral associate
Youth development worker
Youth minister
Youth services worker

Click here to find out more about Admission Scholarships at Saint Paul University.

Other programs that may interest you

The list of required courses is presented under the Program Requirements tab.

Fabrice Blée, Professor
Normand Bonneau, Retired Professor
Catherine E. Clifford, Professor
Christian Dionne, Professor
Miriam K Martin, Associate Professor
Ramón Martínez De Pisón, Professor
Yvan Mathieu, Associate Professor
Mark Slatter, Professor
Andrea Spatafora M.S.F., Professor

Information to come.

Augustine College Graduates complete 90 credits to obtain an Honours Bachelor in Theology - Eastern Christian Studies (B.Th.)

Foundational Courses (12 credits)

Compulsory Courses (12 credits)

HTP1103 People, Politics and the Planet
HTP1104 Faith, Justice and the Common Good
ISC2309 English Composition
PHI2181 Human Knowledge

Discipline Specific Courses (60 credits)

Compulsory Courses (54 credits)

PHI2311 Selected Topics in Philosophy I
THO2130 Foundations of Eastern Christian Theology
THO2131 General Introduction to the Eastern Churches
THO2315 Ethics and the Human Person
THO3160 Pentateuch and Historical Books
THO3161 Gospel Interpretation – Mark
THO3301 Hermeneutics and Exegesis in Eastern Christianity
THO3315 Eastern Christian Doctrine II: Salvation, Humanity, the Church and Escathology
THO3316 Ecclesiology and East-West Ecumenism
THO3318 Eastern Christian Spirituality
THO3319 Eastern Christian Doctrine I: Trinity, Christ, and Holy Spirit
THO3322 Byzantine Eucharistic Liturgies
THO3323 Canonical Tradition of the Christian East
THO3324 Introduction to Eastern Christian Ethics
THO3328 The Holy Mysteries: Byzantine Sacraments
THO3347 Byzantine Liturgy of the Hours and Liturgical Year
THO4102 Pauline Literature
THO4103 Johannine Literature

Optional Courses (6 credits)

3 credits from (Ethics):

THO4104 Sexual Ethics
THO4105 Social and Political Ethics
THO4124 Feminist Ethics

3 credits from (Scripture-O.T.):

THO4100 Wisdom Literature
THO4101 Prophetic Literature

Elective Courses (18 credits)

Students choose 18 credits to complete the bachelor program.

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HTP 1101 - Trends in Western Thought

This course addresses multiple aspects of the evolution of western thought, from Antiquity to current times, and the impact of major events and thinkers, and the influence of other civilizations on the contemporary understanding of human nature, culture and society.

HTP 1102 - Approaches in the Humanities: Interpreting the Human Experience

Introduction to theoretical approaches in the Humanities and to the methods that are applied to interpret the multiple expressions of human experience, particularly those expressed in important works of art and literature.

HTP 1103 - People, Social Justice and Ecology

Social and ecological challenges facing humanity today, and related issues of social justice. These questions will be examined from a perspective of community building and efforts towards ecological and social transformations for a hopeful future.

HTP 1104 - Faith, Justice and the Common Good

This course investigates faith, justice and the common good from religious, philosophical and human science perspectives. The course draws on classic and contemporary resources, in particular those from the Christian intellectual traditions.

ISC 2309 - English Composition

This course is dedicated to the improvement of writing skills in order to become an effective communicator in several contexts.

ISC 2314 - Public Speaking

Learning the techniques of efficient public speaking. Introduction and training to personal impression making in electronic media. Development of a professional attitude and self-confidence.

PHI 1103 - Fundamental Philosophical Questions (UO)

A critical examination of fundamental philosophical problems such as the mind and body distinction, the possibility of knowledge of the external world, freedom and determinism, the definition of the concept of truth and the meaning of life.

Prerequisite: PHI1101.

PHI 1104 - Great Philosophers (UO)

An historical introduction to philosophy through the study of writings of major Western philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Sartre. (HP)

Prerequisite: PHI1101.

PHI 2154 - Moral Philosophy

Survey of the major ethical systems in the Western world. Relationship between philosophical and religious thinking in ethical matters. Fundamental questions facing contemporary moral consciousness.

PHI 2154 and PHI 2174 are mutually exclusive. PHI 2154 was previously under course code PHI 3183.

PHI 2181 - Human Knowledge

Study of the traditional, universalist, approach to knowledge as well as contemporary standpoint approaches, such as feminist and postmodernist.

PHI 2182 - Philosophical Anthropology

Study of different philosophical conceptions of the human being.

PHI 2184 - Philosophy of Religion

Philosophers and religion. Questions raised by the scientific study of religion in the contemporary period. Contributions of linguistic analysis to the study of the expressions of religious faith.

PHI 2311 - Selected Topics in Political Philosophy I

Study of a particular theme in political philosophy or of a particular author in political thought.

THO 1306 - Exploring the Sacred

The human effort to express the experience of the sacred and to name our sense of the “Beyond”. The different forms such expressions have taken: cosmic wonder and its symbols, foundations stories, ritual life. The meaning of this effort for understanding the quest of the human spirit and its attempts to build order in society and community.

THO 1307 - What is the Bible?

The Bible: book or library, history or story? History of the Jewish people and of the culture in which the Bible was written. The Bible and its content. Interpreting the text. The Jesus event. The influence of the Bible on history and on contemporary culture.

THO 2130 - Foundations of Eastern Christian Theology

Revelation, and our access to it. The Trinitarian nature of Revelation. Interaction of Logos and Spirit in the process of Holy Tradition. Scripture within and above Tradition. The sources of Tradition: Bible, Councils, Creeds, Fathers, Liturgy, Icons, etc. Tradition vs. traditionalism. Questions of theological method.

THO 2131 - General Introduction to the Eastern Churches

A general survey of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of the East, with attention to the history as well as the theological, liturgical and spiritual traditions of ecclesiological considerations: Church as an image of the Trinity; Church as communion of eucharistic communities; Church as eschatological reality. Pentarchy and Papacy; The conciliar process "sobornost".

THO 2137 - Selected Topics in Eastern Christian Thought

Study of a particular tradition, period, or representative author from the Eastern Churches, with an emphasis on the history of ideas.

THO 2138 - Selected Topics in Eastern Christian History

Study of a particular tradition, period, or representative author from the Eastern Churches, with an emphasis on the history of ecclesiastical institutions.

THO 2189 - Introduction to Theology

An introduction to basic questions and fields of inquiry in Christian theology.

THO 2315 - Being Human

What is ethics? Introduction to the key ethical ideas that shape our lives. Ethical riches of the Christian tradition to understand ourselves and our responsibilities to other persons.

THO 2410 - World Religions

Introduction to the world religions with an emphasis on Christian faith in interaction with other living faiths.

THO 3167 - History of the Church: The First Five Centuries

Relationship between history and theology. Methodology of historical research. Overview of the historical evolution of Christianity from its beginnings to the end of the fifth century.

THO 3301 - Hermeneutics and Exegesis in Eastern Christianity

Patristic approaches to Scripture. Literal and non-literal exegesis. Allegory, theoria, typology. Alexandrian and Antiochene schools. Scripture in Byzantine worship. Contemporary Orthodox authors.

THO 3303 - The Seven Ecumenical Councils in Eastern Christian Tradition

Development of conciliar structures and processes. Historical context and ecclesial setting of each of the great councils of the first millennium. Doctrinal and other ramifications of each council. Their significance for the Church today.

THO 3309 - Contemporary Moral Issues in Eastern Theology

A survey of moral thought in modern Eastern Christian authors and ecclesiastical pronouncements in the areas of both personal and social morality, with special attention to emerging thought in the areas of bioethics, sexual ethics, and a response to social, political, and technological changes in the world today.

THO 3315 - Eastern Christian Doctrine II: Salvation, Humanity, the Church and Eschatology

The human person before God. Creation, fall, and salvation in their anthropological and cosmological aspects, as well as an examination of understanding of the Church, according to the ancient and modern exponents of the tradition of the Christian East.

THO 3317 - History of the Ukrainian Church

Christianity in the Kyivan-Rus’ before the tenth century. Official Christianization and the establishment of the metropolitanate of Kyiv. Relations with the Churches of the West and with other Churches in the East. The first Ukrainian state. The Union of Brest-Litovsk and its aftermath. Ukrainian monasticism and the reform of the Order of Saint Basil the Great. The Synod of Zamost. The metropolitanate of Halych-Lvov. Orthodox and Catholics in Soviet and post-Soviet Ukraine. Catholic and Orthodox Ukrainians in Canada.

THO 3318 - Spiritual Life in the Eastern Churches

The sacramental foundations. Major trends. Contemplation and praxis. Forms of holiness.

THO 3319 - Eastern Christian Doctrine I: Trinity, Christ and Holy Spirit

Essence and Energies in God. God as Three and One. Christ as Divine and Human. The procession and activity of the Holy Spirit.

THO 3322 - Byzantine Eucharistic Liturgies

Historical evolution and theological analysis of the Byzantine liturgies of St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. James, and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

THO 3323 - Canonical Tradition of the Christian East

The Eastern Churches and ecclesial communion. Historical development of the canonical tradition of the Eastern Churches, both Orthodox and Catholic. The teaching of Vatican II and post-conciliar documents on the Eastern Churches. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. General principles of Eastern Catholic canon law with particular reference to the dispensing authority of ordinaries. Ecclesial institutions: eparchies, parishes. General principles of Eastern sacramental legislation.

THO 3324 - Introduction to Eastern Christian Ethics

An overview of the distinctive sources, history, spirit and methods of Eastern Christian ethics, past and present.

THO 3325 - Theology and Spirituality of Icons

Icons and image theory in Byzantine Christology and anthropology. Theology of icons, theology in icons. Use of icons in worship and personal prayer.

THO 3328 - The Holy Mysteries: Byzantine Sacraments

The Holy Mysteries in the Byzantine tradition. Historical, theological and practical considerations. The Seven Sacraments and the issue of other sacraments. Sacramentality of the world and the Church.

THO 3347 - Byzantine Liturgy of the Hours and Liturgical Year

Vespers, Matins, Lesser Hours, and the liturgical seasons and feasts of the Byzantine tradition. Theologies of time and ritual. Historical, pastoral, and theoretical considerations.

THO 4100 - Wisdom Literature

General introduction to Wisdom Literature: its origin and evolution. Exegesis of selected passages.

Prerequisite: THO 3160.

THO 4102 - Pauline Literature

Overview of the life of Paul and his work. Special study of some of his letters.

Prerequisite: THO 3161.

THO 4103 - What is Truth? The Gospel of John

A study of Johannine writings, their structure, theology, and cultural setting. Exegesis of selected passages in the Gospel of John and Letters of John, and the Apocalypse. Special attention given to the meaning of "truth" and "life."

THO 4105 - Social and Political Ethics

Human being as personal and social being. Respect for human rights. Freedom in the socio-political context. Society as the milieu of personal growth.

Prerequisite: THO 3166.

THO 4124 - Feminist Ethics

An introduction to ethics from feminist perspectives. Historical background to feminist approaches to ethics; introduction to feminist analysis; approaches within feminist ethics; Christianity and feminist ethics; Christian praxis as foundational to ethics; the social, cultural, and political dimensions of ethics; specific issues arising in contemporary discussions.

Prerequisite: THO 3166.

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