General
The course is offered as a freestanding course. It is an elective course in the one-year Master’s program in Eastern Christian Studies.
Course Description
The course introduces students to the systematic approach to the variety of Eastern Christian liturgical traditions and spirituality understood in a theological sense as well as from the perspective of liturgical traditions as embodying the intersection between textual criticism, literary criticism, history and linguistics. An important aspect of the course will be the historical development of Eastern Christian liturgical traditions in proximity with the question of how the liturgy is perceived and lived by all the members of the worshiping community.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
- explain the ways in which the Eastern Christian liturgical families map onto the different Eastern Christian churches today
- describe the range of methodological approaches to the study of Eastern Christian liturgical traditions utilized by scholars today
- identify the major tools of scholarly research in the discipline of liturgical studies and any ancillary disciplines pertinent to the student’s research interests.
Competence and skills
- use a variety of methodological approaches in solving specific scholarly problems in Eastern Christian liturgy, within a given time frame, and present them clearly in writing and argue for the relation between conclusions and arguments
- independently apply standard scholarly tools in the field of liturgical studies, followed by analysis and assessment, even with limited information
Judgement and approach
- critically assess the variety of methods in liturgical studies utilized by scholars today, from both a disciplinary, social and ethical perspective.
- reflect critically on the limitations of the theological and methodological foundations of the field of liturgical theology as it emerged in the mid-20th century and now exists in the 21st century
- reflect critically on the responsibility and possibilities of the liturgical scholar for how research is used in the church
See Course Plan for more details.