Course Catalogue 2025-2026

This course will begin with a biblical and historical review of the field of pastoral care, and will assist students to develop a model of pastoral care based on understandings of God and human experience, for congregations or faith communities. Students will work toward developing caregiving skills as well as a workable paradigm for offering pastoral care in their ministry setting. Class time will be divided between a two-hour teaching block and a one-hour skill development block.

This course will survey the role of a correctional chaplain in Canada. Consideration will be given to purposes and types of prisons, mental health and spiritual care policies and security concerns. The multi-disciplinary environment in corrections is unique and rapidly changing. Care for staff, volunteers and prisoners is investigated through a variety of methods, including direct client contact, programs, studies, and literature. Grief and loss, guilt and shame, and temptation and suffering will be explored in tandem with effective psycho-spiritual care. As rehabilitation programs within corrections are considered essential, this course will endeavor to aid the student in the development of a program from the planning stage through to completion.

This three-hour pass/fail course introduces students to the basics of what it means to have healthy self-awareness and is designed to lay the foundation for effective and ethical pastoral care practices. The primary focus is to encourage students to recognize and enjoy their gifts and strengths without ignoring the limits of those good things. It is also about seeing and accepting ownership of the sometimes laudable, sometimes questionable motivations and needs that shape our perceptions and guide our behavior. The overarching goal of this course is for each student to gain accurate self-understanding and an appreciation of the ways in which he or she is predisposed to bring him or herself as a person to interactions that require sensitivity and skill.

The Syriac, Armenian, and Coptic traditions of Oriental Orthodoxy witnessed diverse challenges that contributed to theological developments responsible for the shape of these Oriental Orthodox Churches today. The writings of Philoxenus of Mabbug and Severus of Antioch in response to the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon shaped the Miaphysite Christology of Oriental Orthodoxy. This course will explore the marks of Miaphysite Christology as inherited and interpreted by the figures above. Additionally, this course will explore Orthodox spirituality through the writings of Philoxenus and Jacob of Serug from the Syriac Church, and Gregory of Narek from the Armenian Church. The dawn of Islam marked a new development in Oriental Orthodox theology as various theologians were compelled to author polemical and apologetic treatises articulating the logic of Trinitarian and Christological theology in ways comprehensible to their foreign conquerors who do not share their convictions about these subjects. As such, this course explores elements of dogmatic theology, apologetics, spirituality, and asceticism through Oriental Orthodox patristic thought in the Medieval era. 

The Syriac, Armenian, and Coptic traditions of Oriental Orthodoxy witnessed diverse challenges that contributed to theological developments responsible for the shape of these Oriental Orthodox Churches today. The writings of Philoxenus of Mabbug and Severus of Antioch in response to the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon shaped the Miaphysite Christology of Oriental Orthodoxy. This course will explore the marks of Miaphysite Christology as inherited and interpreted by the figures above. Additionally, this course will explore Orthodox spirituality through the writings of Philoxenus and Jacob of Serug from the Syriac Church, and Gregory of Narek from the Armenian Church. The dawn of Islam marked a new development in Oriental Orthodox theology as various theologians were compelled to author polemical and apologetic treatises articulating the logic of Trinitarian and Christological theology in ways comprehensible to their foreign conquerors who do not share their convictions about these subjects. As such, this course explores elements of dogmatic theology, apologetics, spirituality, and asceticism through Oriental Orthodox patristic thought in the Medieval era. 

This class introduces the student to close reading of the New Testament in Greek. The student will read, in Greek, significant selections from Paul and the Gospels. The course will emphasize close reading and the development of exegetical skills. We will focus on theological exegesis, through an exploration of a theme that is central to both Paul and the Gospels: cruciformity. The course will also develop the student’s facility with the Greek language: we will (i) give attention to syntax and grammar, (ii) introduce more advanced elements of the Greek language as they appear in the biblical texts, and (iii) draw attention to the ways in which a thorough understanding of biblical Greek opens up the meaning of the biblical text and enriches scholarly study and pastoral ministry alike. The class is the first part of a two-part Intermediate Greek exegesis and grammar program and will prepare the student for further New Testament exegesis at an advanced level.

This class introduces the student to close reading of the New Testament in Greek. The student will read, in Greek, significant selections from Paul and the Gospels. The course will emphasize close reading and the development of exegetical skills. We will focus on theological exegesis, through an exploration of a theme that is central to both Paul and the Gospels: cruciformity. The course will also develop the student’s facility with the Greek language: we will (i) give attention to syntax and grammar, (ii) introduce more advanced elements of the Greek language as they appear in the biblical texts, and (iii) draw attention to the ways in which a thorough understanding of biblical Greek opens up the meaning of the biblical text and enriches scholarly study and pastoral ministry alike. The class is the first part of a two-part Intermediate Greek exegesis and grammar program and will prepare the student for further New Testament exegesis at an advanced level.

his course will address the issues and challenges surrounding the current pastoral care ministry in churches and explore the genuine role and function of pastoral care within the church. The course will delve into the biblical, theological, and historical foundations of pastoral care to reclaim the authentic pastoral identity that is not overly fixated on psychological theories, psychotherapeutic skills, and techniques, Students will also learn about the cure of souls in their denominational tradition to gain wisdom and inspiration from religious predecessors. The course aims to explore who provides care, whom the care is for, and how the care is given. The course will comprehensively analyze the development of pastoral care practices within the church, ranging from the Early Church to the Reformation, Modern, and Post-modern eras, in order to investigate how the church provides care, as well as to evaluate the evolution of methods and approaches employed over time. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze and evaluate the essential characteristics of pastoral care practices from classical models to contemporary approaches. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this course is to cultivate the authentic role and function of pastoral care ministry in the church by promoting a balanced approach that integrates classical, modern, and contemporary methods while maintaining its pastoral identity, so that the church can offer sufficient care to those in need.

Surveys the origin and development of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century in its magisterial and radical dimensions, and in its theological, social, educational, cultural, and political expressions. Provides a narrative overview of key developments; examines Reformation historiography; probes the impact of reform ideas on lived spiritual experience; outlines the dynamic between print, literacy and reform ideas; explores changes in education, the arts and culture; addresses changes in the relationship between church and state wrought by new theological perspectives; and considers the legacy of the Reformation.

Surveys the origin and development of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century in its magisterial and radical dimensions, and in its theological, social, educational, cultural, and political expressions. Provides a narrative overview of key developments; examines Reformation historiography; probes the impact of reform ideas on lived spiritual experience; outlines the dynamic between print, literacy and reform ideas; explores changes in education, the arts and culture; addresses changes in the relationship between church and state wrought by new theological perspectives; and considers the legacy of the Reformation.

After looking at the roots of confessionalism in the creedal statements of late antiquity, this course focuses on the historical, cultural, and theological context of the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The confessional documents that are the focus of primary attention are the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Irish Articles, the Three Forms of Unity, the Westminster Standards, and the First and Second London Baptist Confessions. The reception history of these confessions is also considered as well as their significance for confessional communities today. Students will have the opportunity to study more recent confessional texts, such as the Barmen Declaration, in a major course requirement.

After looking at the roots of confessionalism in the creedal statements of late antiquity, this course focuses on the historical, cultural, and theological context of the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The confessional documents that are the focus of primary attention are the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Irish Articles, the Three Forms of Unity, the Westminster Standards, and the First and Second London Baptist Confessions. The reception history of these confessions is also considered as well as their significance for confessional communities today. Students will have the opportunity to study more recent confessional texts, such as the Barmen Declaration, in a major course requirement.