Courses
The Sheptytsky Institute offers a wide array of courses in Eastern Christian theology, history, liturgy and spirituality. Some courses are offered in alternate years.
As part of their programs, Sheptytsky Institute students also take USMC courses, as well as courses in other colleges in the Toronto School of Theology (TST) ecumenical consortium.
All courses taught by Sheptytsky Institute faculty take place at Sheptytsky Institute, Windle House, 5 Elmsley Place, on the campus of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto.
For a listing of courses for the current and upcoming academic year, please visit the TST website.
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Fall 2023
From the subapostolic age to the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" in the East and the Carolingian revival and Treaty of Verdun in the West. Geographical expansion of the church; the relation of Christian faith to cultural settings and other religions; the development of doctrinal and ethical positions; forms of Christian life and worship; the rise of Islam.
- Date: Mondays
- Time: 19:00 - 21:00
- Instructor: Fr. Andrew Summerson
- Location: Seminar Room, Windle House and Remote Delivery
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Fall 2003
Gregory Nazianzus called Origen "the whetstone of us all." In this advanced degree seminar, spend the semester reading the sparks that caught fire and forged Christian theological language, biblical interpretation, and engagement with secular philosophy and sciences.
- Date: Thursday
- Time: 14:00-16:00
- Instructor: Fr. Andrew Summerson
- Location: Seminar Room, Windle House and Remote Delivery
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This course provides a survey of Eastern Christian teaching on the Triune God that focuses both on patristic and contemporary authors read in English. The course situates doctrine within the broader array of Holy Tradition (Scripture, Fathers,Councils, Creeds, Liturgy, Iconography, Hagiography, etc.), paying attention to the historical contexts in which various teachings arose and were defined. Comparisons will be made between Eastern and Western Christian approaches to certain questions, with some attention to ecumenical repercussions. Apophatic and antinomic approaches to theology will be emphasized as well as the connection between doctrine and spirituality.
- Date: Wednesday
- Time: 17:00-19:00
- Instructor: Fr. Andrew Summerson
- Location: Seminar Room, Windle House and Remote Delivery
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Summer 2024
The course aims at a general introduction to the four families of Eastern Churches: Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and the Assyrian Church of the East. After reviewing the history of the Eastern Churches and the critical moments that shaped their development (including schisms, attempts at re-union and the impact of Islam), the course will give particular attention to the history and culture of the Assyrian Church of the East, the Coptic and Armenian Orthodox Churches, the Orthodox Churches of Ukraine, Greece and Russia, the Maronite, Melkite and Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Churches. Subsequently, the course will briefly survey the East's distinctive approaches to liturgy, art, architecture, music, spiritual life, monasticism, social service, hagiography, mission and theology. The course ends with an assessment of the current state of these Churches in North America and their approaches to inter-Christian and interreligious relations.
- Date: TBD
- Instructor: TBD
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This course will use the Christian preaching in the first millennium as a laboratory to inform and develop the composition and delivery of contemporary homilies. We will discuss their methods of biblical exegesis, deployment of classical rhetoric, contributions to moral formation, and the development of Christian doctrine. Beyond exercises in composition and delivery of homilies, course also gives students an opportunity to refine peer review and self-assessment skills.
- Date: TBD
- Instructor: Fr Andrew Summerson