
This postgraduate module/course is taught online by Dr Razvan Porumb, Fr Dragos Herescu, Dr Christoph Schneider and Dr Elizabeth Theokritoff. There will be 10 sessions taught online in real time, the duration of each session being 150 minutes. In each session, a lecture of about 1 hour will be followed by a brief break. Depending on numbers, there may then be discussion in small groups before the full class resumes.
This module is a part of the MA in Spirituality East and West (taught by IOCS and the Cambridge Theological Federation, and awarded by Anglia Ruskin University). We are now also accepting ‘external’ students who can follow and participate in the course just like the MA students, without being enrolled in one of the MA Programmes. Auditors are expected to have good knowledge of English in order to follow this Module, while affiliated students are also required to have a BA qualification or higher.
There are two enrolment options for the course participants who are not officially enrolled in the MA programme:
1. Auditors. These students participate in the classroom but cannot write an assignment at the end of the module. They do not receive credits for their participation in the course and consequently they cannot use their participation in this course to continue onto this IOCS MA course, or to enrol or transfer to another university.
2. Affiliated students. These students participate in the classroom and will write an assignment (essay) which will be assessed properly at the end of the module. Consequently they receive credits which can then be used for continuing on with this MA course with IOCS, or they may carry over their credits to another university.
Module Leader: Dr Razvan Porumb
Teaching Timetable:
- Tuesday 15.00 – (17.30 BST/GMT) – 6, 20 May, 3, 17 June, 1, 15 July
- Tuesday 15.00 – (17.30 BST/GMT) – 23 September, 7, 21 October, 4 November
THE FEES FOR THIS COURSE ARE:
Auditors
Course fee – £230
Student fee – £100
IOCS Certificate/Diploma student fee – £30
Students of the Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) and IOCS MA and PhD students are allowed to audit this course for free.
Affiliated students (receiving university credits)
Course fee – £1,366*
*Payment of this fee is to be made directly to Anglia Ruskin University, once the application has been accepted.
Application
To apply as Auditors please send a CV at info@iocs.cam.ac.uk. To apply as Affiliated Students please go the Anglia Ruskin University application page here.
The course sessions are:
Session one – What does it mean to be Orthodox?
Session two – Worship as theology and sacramental life
Session three – Prayer
Session four – The Liturgy
Session five – Inner life and monasticism
Session six – Tradition as the life of the Church
Session seven – The Holy Trinity and Christian life
Session eight – Theosis – the ultimate goal
Session nine – The Liturgy after the Liturgy – Orthodox pastoral theology
Session ten – Orthodoxy and catholicity – the ecumenical vector
This module will address some of the essential aspects that characterise and define Orthodox spirituality – with a focus both on its liturgical life and on in its communitarian/societal understanding. Students will explore the Orthodox vision of theology as holistic, where the connection between the liturgical and sacramental life on the one hand, and social action and commitment on the other hand are seen to be so tightly interconnected that theology appears as an inseparable whole, in which societal commitment cannot be divorced from the sacramental spiritual element. This module will therefore approach Orthodox theology as an implicitly communitarian (and therefore pastoral) endeavour – founded of the model of the Holy Trinity. It will tackle the concept of theosis as ‘engine’ and ultimate goal of Orthodox theology and spirituality, while also addressing the fundamental importance of liturgical, Eucharistic and sacramental life in the life of the Orthodox Church. The module will attempt to highlight a theological vision wherein the ministry of the wider community of the Church is essentially understood as another level of sacramental participation – a Liturgy after the Liturgy – where the Eucharistic sacrament marries the complementary concept of the ‘sacrament of the brother’. This module will also address the concepts of withdrawn ‘inner life’ and monasticism. The revealed tension between the rejection of the world on the one hand and social ‘incarnational’ involvement on the other will also be explored.
This module will thus cover the following themes: What does it mean to be Orthodox, Orthodoxy as mystical and sacramental life, Prayer, The Liturgy, Life according to the Holy Trinity, the Catholicity of the Church, Tradition as life of the Church, Orthodox pastoral theology, The sacrament of the brother, Inner life and monasticism, Theosis as the ultimate goal of Orthodox spirituality.
For each session there will be reading and preparatory tasks assigned. These can be accessed via Moodle.
Please click here to find out more about our MA in Contemporary Faith and Belief.
Please click here to find out more about our MA in Spirituality East and West.
Enrolment
Please select one of the options below: