The Institute of Theology offers a two-year study program leading to the redaction of the graduation thesis in fulfillment of the Master of Theology Degree.

1. To earn the M.Th. degree, a student needs to successfully complete a minimum of 33 credits distributed as follows:
• 3 Credits of Methodology of Research
• 18 Credits of core courses in the main theological fields according to the offering.
• 6 Credits of 2 tutorials in the field of concentration related to the student’s thesis.
• 6 Credits in directed thesis preparation
2. The academic year is spread over two semesters: Fall and Spring. Courses are offered in block seminars. Students are required to attend intensive program during the semester for a period of five days per month. During this period, accommodation is available at the Institute.
3. The field of concentration shall be one of the following: New Testament, Old Testament, Church History, Dogmatics, Pastoral Theology, Patristics, and Canon Law.

 

RULES AND REGULATIONS

A.            Time Limit

           Full-time students should be able to complete all requirements for the degree in a maximum period of three years. Students should petition in writing to the IOT Council for any exceptions.

B.            Evaluation

Graduate students are evaluated at the end of each semester. Evaluation of academic progress is based on the average of the graduate courses taken during one semester.

C.            Passing-Grade

                The passing grade for each course is 75.

                The passing average at the end of each semester is 80.

D.            Evaluation of Academic Performance

D.1 Grading Scheme

The following grading scheme is adopted for reporting final course grades:

Grade	Notation
95 and above	High Distinction
90 - 94	Distinction
87 - 89	Very Good
84 - 86	Good
80 - 83	Fair
75 - 79	Weak
<75	Fail

D.2 Academic Probation

If a student’s average in one semester is less than 80, he/she is put on probation.
If a student fails one of his/her courses, he/she is put on probation.

D.3 Removal of Probation

A student placed on probation will be given the opportunity to earn 80 or above in all courses by the end of the following semester.

D.4 Dropping from the program

A Student will be dropped from the program for any of the following reasons:

i. He achieves a semester average less than 75.

ii. He is on Probation and is not able to remove the probation by the end of the next semester.

E.             Appeal

            A graduate student may petition to the IOT Council concerning any exceptional case related to an academic regulation.

 

THESIS REGULATIONS

 1.      Description

An MTh thesis is the final project for the Master of Theology degree. As much as possible, it should be an original contribution that draws on the knowledge acquired through the program. The thesis work reveals the student’s abilities to perform research with adequate methodology, demonstrate his/her knowledge in the subject of the thesis, and that he/she is acquainted with the literature pertaining to the Thesis topic.

2.      The Thesis Proposal

During the first semester the enrolled student should have obtained the assent of a Professor, teaching at the Institute of Theology, to supervise his Thesis. It is mandatory that before the end of the second semester, the student submits to the coordinator of the MTh Program a thesis proposal signed by his advisor. The coordinator forwards the proposal to the Dean for final approval.

Students who fail to obtain an approval of their detailed thesis proposal at the end of their second semester will be placed on academic probation.

The Thesis proposal must include the following:

1. Main Title and Subtitle
2. The Relevance of the Topic of Discussion (no more than 200 words)
3. The problematic:
• Issues that the thesis aspires to address (no more than 200 words)
• Research Context
• Research Questions
4. Contemporary related research: The student mentions at least four scholars and their related books which dealt with the related research (no more than 800 words).
5. Research Methodology: Presenting the scientific methodology for research and the steps taken leading to achieve it (no more than 200 words).
6. Hypotheses: Presenting the main idea in each section of the thesis and how it addresses related questions (no more than 200 words).
7. Proposed Table of Contents
8. Bibliography of sources and references in alphabetical order (at least 20 references)

 

3.       Supervision

1. Appointment of Supervisor
   
   The Dean officially appoints the supervisor of the thesis.

2. Supervisors’ Responsibilities

   The supervisor mentors the student’s research work and the writing of the thesis with a view to ensuring completion as required.

    

   The supervisor is expected to:

   i.      Prepare the thesis proposal with the student.

   ii.      Support the student in conducting his/her research.

   iii.      Provide supervision on a regular basis, read and discuss the student's work.

   iv.      Evaluate the progress of the student in his/her research project and report on this to the Dean in semiannual written evaluations. (fixed form)

3. The Student's Responsibilities:
   
   1. The student must keep his supervisor informed about the progress of his/her research, by providing him with the following:

   • All the drafts of the gradual phases in writing the thesis.
   • All-important research results.
   • The process of the editing of the final text of the thesis.

4. Semi-annual Evaluations
   

   Every six months, the supervisor provides the Dean with an evaluation of the student’s progress in his/her research. Based on the evaluation, the Dean decides whether the student’s academic progress and research is satisfactory or not.

   Students who present unsatisfactory performance will be placed on academic probation.

5. change of supervisor
   A request for a change of supervisor may come from the student or from the supervisor. The Dean may also initiate the change of supervisor. The appointment of a new supervisor takes place in agreement with the abovementioned regulation.

 

4.       The Format of the MTh Thesis

 

A master's thesis consists of approximately 100 pages. Students must follow the MTh Guide and Style manual issued by the Issam Fares Library Learning Center.

 

5.       The Assessment Committee

a. Definition

The Assessment Committee is in charge of reading and examining the final text of the Thesis. Upon completion of the MTh Thesis, the student submits by hand to the coordinator of the MTh Program four copies of the manuscript, and applies in writing for the Thesis defense. His application needs the approval of the Dean, who appoints the assessment committee and the committee chairperson.

 

b. Composition

The Assessment Committee consists of 3 members: the supervisor, the first and the second readers, who are professors, associate professors, or assistant professors in related fields of specialization. The Thesis Supervisor may chair the Assessment Committee.

 

c. Tasks

The members of the Assessment Committee are expected to fulfill the following tasks:

i.      Attend the defense session personally and present their evaluation orally during the session.

ii.      Deliberate and agree on the final grade of the Thesis.

iii.      Participate in the writing of the Report on the defense.

The chairperson is responsible, for ensuring the defense procedures, about:

i.      Submitting the required number of copies to the Assessment Committee

ii.      Communicating the date of defense

iii.      Coordinating the session

iv.      Submitting all needed reports and documents.

 

6.       Defense

The student must defend his MTh Thesis before the Assessment Committee. The defense session is open to the public, and it respects the following rules:

The date for the defense session is set by the Dean.

The Thesis is graded with a pass/fail assessment.

A secretary of the committee writes down the session report.

The final session report is signed by all members of the Assessment Committee.

 

 7.       Award of the MTh Degree

The MTh degree is awarded to students who have completed the required coursework, defended the MTh Thesis, and submitted the required copy forms (see the MTh Guide and Style Manual) by hand to the Library after making the requested amendments. The corrected text of the thesis shall be submitted within four months after undergoing the oral examination.

Students are eligible to receive the MTh degree when they offer by hand to the Dean’s office the following documents:

1. A copy of the Thesis after the final amendments, signed by the three members of the Assessment Committee
2. A Library receipt of the Thesis.
3. The Clearance Form for graduation.

After reviewing the above-mentioned documents, the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology grants the academic degree of MTh to the student.

 

COURSE OFFERING 

Code	Course Title	Credits
THEO 300	Methodology of Research	3
THEO 311	The Passion Narratives in the Gospels	3
THEO 315	The Apostles Peter and Paul and the History of the Early Church in Acts	3
THEO 316	Ancient Israel and the Church in St. Paul’s Epistles	3
THEO 318	Christ’s Death and Resurrection For Us in the New Testament	3
THEO 319	The Debate about the Genuineness of some Pauline Letters	3
THEO 332	Schools of Thought in Contemporary Orthodox Theology	3
THEO 340	History of the Church of Antioch	3
THEO 349	Parameters of Orthodox Ecclesiology	3
THEO 351	Anthropology in the Thought of St. Basil the Great	3
THEO 352	Some Theological Aspects in the Thought of St. John of Damascus	3
THEO 362	The Antiochian Church during the Renaissance	3
THEO 363	Reading the Scriptures through the Quran	3
THEO 373	Approaches to the Study of Church Hymnology and Byzantine Music	3
THEO 375	Canonical Foundations of the Church Sacraments and their Practice	3
THEO 386	The Holy Scripture in Pastoral Care	3
THEO 387	Problematics in Family Care: Marriage and Sickness	3
THEO 388	Advanced Seminar in Psychology for Pastoral Studies	3
THEO 391	Seminar in the Field of Concentration	3
THEO 392	Seminar in the Field of Concentration II	3
THEO 399	The Master of Theology Thesis	6

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

THEO 300 METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

                             Credits: 3                            Hours: 45

The course THEO 300 intends to initiate students to different methodologies of research. It aims at helping them to write their master’s thesis. The first part of the course includes general methodologies on how to choose their subject and their supervisor, how to constitute a bibliography.

It helps students to establish questions of the problematic issues and to answer previously to those questions in the hypothesis. The students also learn about more specialized methodologies such as: analyzing documents, editing manuscripts, monographs, and archiving periodicals, among others.

THEO 311 THE PASSION NARRATIVES IN THE GOSPELS

                             Credits: 3                             Hours: 45

In this course, students are introduced to the following topics: the passion narratives in the gospels and the information available in ancient writings; the sources of the passion narratives; a comparison between the synoptic tradition and the gospel of John; the historicity and the genuineness of the passion narratives. This
study is based on narrative analysis, which sheds light on the particular aspects of each of the narratives about the last days of Jesus in Jerusalem.

 

THEO 315 THE APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL AND THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH IN ACTS

                             Credits: 3                              Hours: 45
In its first section, this course offers an in-depth study of the methods of narrative analysis as it is practiced in modern biblical criticism. Then the students research the following topics: the deeds and sayings of the Apostles Peter and Paul following Luke’s narrative in Acts, the sources of their biographies, and the Apocrypha in a synoptic comparison. The study is based on both narrative and rhetorical analysis and aims at highlighting the specificity of each Apostle within the Lucan work.

 

THEO316 ANCIENT ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH IN ST PAUL’S EPISTLES

                             Credits: 3                               Hours: 45
St. Paul identifies the seed of Abraham, the elected People of God who received the promises, with all those who show faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of their origins and roots. Students learn to apply high criticism in studying St. Paul’s discussions of the identity of the People of God and the relation between Israel and the Church. Through case study analyses, group discussions, article reviews, students focus on the identity of the “Israel of God” and evaluate the different viewpoints and argumentations in modern studies.

THEO 318 CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION FOR US IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

                             Credits: 3                                Hours: 45
“For us” or “for our sake” is one of the most beautiful and deep theological expressions that the Apostles learnt from Christ and frequently repeated it, either in their oral or written kerygma about the death and resurrection of the Lord. This course deals with the Christ event, especially with His death and resurrection, and searches its various ways of interpretation in the New Testament, either as a sacrifice, expiation, reconciliation, justification… Meanwhile, the course clarifies the background of these concepts in the Old Testament. Thus, it goes within the spectrum of this course to critically investigate the Old Testament Messianic expectations, and the extent of their agreement with the Divine Economy that was achieved in the death and the resurrection of the Messiah.

 

THEO 319 THE DEBATE ABOUT THE GENUINENESS OF SOME PAULINE LETTERS

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
The issue of genuineness of some Pauline epistles became a timely subject in the last years, since it is seriously reconsidered. Even the German consensus on rejecting the genuineness of these Letters started to fall down.
This course presents the arguments and the counter arguments about the debated genuineness of seven epistles. This issue is of great significance, not only because it weighs in studying the historical environment of these Letters, and their true authorship and objectives, but also in view of their importance as normative in studying the thought and style of St Paul, and accordingly as relevant to define Christian tenets.

THEO 332 SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN CONTEMPORARY ORTHODOX THEOLOGY

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
The course is an analytical survey of the different historical factors, intellectual trends, and social sensitivities which shaped the contemporary Orthodox theological mind. It examines the contribution of the most influential theologians in the modern times and highlights the major debates pertinent to Orthodox theological discourse in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries.

THEO 340 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
This course presents research seminars in the history of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. It offers an analytical and critical reading of an anthology of texts selected from the Antiochian Christian literary heritage written in the Arabic language. It aims at shedding light on the Arabic identity of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in its cultural and religious environment by studying the aspects and value of the historical interaction between Antiochian Christians and their environment where they formed a cultural bridge among the diversified religious and linguistic components in the East.

THEO 349 PARAMETERS OF ORTHODOX ECCLESIOLOGY

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
The course is a historical and theological study of the evolution of Ecclesiology from St. Ignatius of Antioch up to the present day. Students analyze problems and discuss different issues related to the nature of the Church’s organization, administration, unity, and mission in the history of the Divine Economy, as well as the dialectic of Church and culture.

THEO 351 ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE THOUGHT OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
St. Basil was unique in approaching anthropological issues as a physician presenting his theology from the point of view of sickness, healing and growth, stressing on one hand the concept of the sickness of the human nature and its healing, not only from the perspective of fall, incarnation and redemption, but also by using
terms such as dissection, diagnosis and weakness. On the other hand, he talks about the call for this nature to be deified. St. Basil presented a pure Christian anthropology based on the Bible and in total harmony with the tradition of the Church. He made of it a realization of a Christian education.

THEO 352 SOME THEOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN THE THOUGHT OF ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
The aim of this course is to examine the unique contribution made by Saint John of Damascus to Orthodox theology. This course demonstrates the Antiochian theological and Liturgical Tradition, describes the Life and Works of John of Damascus, and elucidates his influence on Arabic-speaking writers.

THEO 362: THE ANTIOCHIAN CHURCH DURING THE RENAISSANCE

                             Credits: 3                                 Hours: 45
During the period extending from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, Antioch has known several political changes and Church troubles. At the same time, important figures appear in the Church, who try to spread the thought of the Church and participate in its renewal. So this course focuses on their writings kept in the manuscripts, and studies their contribution in order to evaluate their role in reviving the Antiochian Church.

 

THEO 363 READING THE SCRIPTURES THROUGH THE QURAN

                             Credits: 3                                  Hours: 45
This master level course offers an innovative approach to the study of the Qur’ān and the Bible. It aims at shedding light on their intertextual relationships through intensive hermeneutical analysis of selected Qur’ānic texts taking into account their biblical Vorlagen. Students will obtain knowledge about pre- and early-Islamic Christianity in the Middle East and, thus, about the theological and intellectual context in which the rise of Islam happened. Students will also understand how the Qur’ān conceives of Orthodox Christianity, which would equip them with epistemological tools needed in contemporary Christian-Muslim encounters.

 

THEO 373 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF CHURCH HYMNOLOGY AND BYZANTINE MUSIC

                             Credits: 3                                  Hours: 45
This course sheds light on this new science, despite its presence for more than a thousand years. The lectures give us an idea of how the study of this beautiful and creative science developed, through presenting some of the topics that have been addressed by researchers. For example: Rhythms of poetry and changes, problem of eight tones before and after Christ, until this day, and how to analyze the analytical study of musical material that existed before the reform of 1814, according to what researchers had done with the science of ecclesiastical music: analyzing the musical material and shedding light on the latest developments and musical discoveries. This course attempts to decode some musical ambiguities such as codes, symbols, musical forms, and others.

 

THEO 375 CANONICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHURCH SACRAMENTS AND THEIR PRACTICE

                             Credits: 3                                  Hours: 45
The course aims to provide a survey of the canonical heritage of the Orthodox Church from the perspective of the latter’s approach to the holy sacraments. It reviews the entirety of the ecclesiastical canons (from the first millennium) that dealt with the sacraments from several aspects, whether theological, organizational, or dissuasive. Hence, students can deduce how the Church understands the sacrament, based on the texts of the sacred canons of the first millennium, which are considered a common ground for the Church in the East and the West.

THEO 386 THE HOLY SCRIPTURE IN PASTORAL CARE

                             Credits: 3                                  Hours: 45
This course is a seminar in applied theology, in which the student approaches Biblical exegesis in a functional way that qualifies him or her to effectively transfer the theology of the Bible to the modern man. It aims at studying scientific tools to stimulate Bible study in the parish. First, the student analyzes the pastoral challenges and trends in interpreting the Holy Scripture, as well as the characteristics of pragmatic functional analysis. Second, the student practices in applying this pragmatic analysis to address various scriptural topics, and discusses ways to present them to different age groups in the parish.

THEO 387 PROBLEMATICS IN FAMILY CARE: MARRIAGE AND SICKNESS

                             Credits: 3                                  Hours: 45
This course deals with the challenges facing the Christian family and the marital relations from the theological and practical perspectives in a postmodern world. It discusses, in the first place, the theology of marriage and its development from Holy Scripture, while presenting Patristic views on issues related to marriage such as intimacy, authority, and procreation. It also discusses the contemporary social conditions facing Christians who are seeking to live marriage as a domestic church. Thus, it critically offers possible pastoral, spiritual, and psychological tools that can assist the priest in his ministry and care for families, especially while dealing with marital conflicts, divorced families, accompanying newlywed couples, and comforting those suffering from sickness and grief.

 

THEO 388 ADVANCED SEMINAR IN PSYCHOLOGY FOR PASTORAL STUDIES

                             Credits: 3                                   Hours: 45
This seminar is a master level course that follows a holistic approach, that discusses the dialectical relationship between physical, social, cognitive, affective and spiritual components of personhood in shaping one’s development and change. The seminar aims to critically engage with two psychological theories (attachment
theory and Rogers Theory) to explore phenomena that are particularly relevant for pastoral care like marriage, parenthood, death, palliative care, delinquency, personality change, etc… It also seeks to prepare the future pastors to develop a deeper understanding of the basic problematics that different age groups deal with especially adolescents, youth and the elderly.

 

THEO 391 Seminar in the Field of Concentration

                             Credits: 3                                   Hours: 45
The primary goal of this course is to guide students explore the major theological topics related to the area chosen for their thesis project. In the first phase, the student search and read second literature to get an overview of the research in progress. In addition, they choose themes according to their field of interest to develop a research paper in well-defined stages.

 

THEO 392 Seminar in the Field of Concentration II

                             Credits: 3                                   Hours: 45
This course is designed to deepen the research in a particular topic under the advice of the thesis supervisor. These sessions are designated to help students process their immersion in the specific issues addressed in their theses and broaden their knowledge of the sources and the latest literature available in this area. The instructor guides the students through the thesis writing process, reinforcing their knowledge in a specific academic field.

 

THEO 399 The Master of Theology Thesis

                             Credits: 6
An MTh thesis is the final project for the Master of Theology degree. As much as possible, it should be an original contribution that draws on the knowledge acquired through the program. The thesis work reveals the student’s abilities to perform research with adequate methodology, demonstrate his/her knowledge in the subject of the thesis, and that he/she is acquainted with the literature pertaining to the Thesis topic.