Swedish version coming soon

One-year Master’s Degree in Eastern Christian Studies, Distance Education

Program Description

Our one-year Master’s program offers an advanced theological education focused on the rich traditions of Eastern Christianity. Students engage with the biblical, patristic, liturgical, and ecclesiological foundations of the Eastern Churches through rigorous academic study and critical methodological training.

The program includes foundational courses in method and theory, Biblical reception, patristics, liturgics, and ecclesiology. Students then choose an elective course that allows them to specialize either in manuscript studies, linguistic traditional texts, or modern texts, assessing how the text relates to sociological and applied practices. The program culminates in a Master’s thesis on a topic of the student’s choice within Biblical Studies, Church History, Liturgical Studies, or Ecclesiology.

Students benefit from a unique learning environment that bridges academic scholarship with lived tradition. The program is offered both on campus and online, making it accessible to students worldwide. Throughout their studies, students work closely with faculty supervisors and engage in seminars with peers from diverse Orthodox traditions.

Graduates are equipped for leadership roles in churches, educational institutions, and research, with the academic foundation needed for further advanced studies. The program prepares students not only to understand Eastern Christian tradition deeply but also to engage critically with contemporary theological and social questions.

See Program Syllabi for more details.

Autumn Term, 30 ECTS
Spring Term, 30 ECTS
Module 1: 31 Aug 2026 – 8 Nov 2026
Method and Theory in Eastern Christian Studies (10 ECTS)
Scriptures and Eastern Christianity (5 ECTS)
Module 3: 18 Jan 2027 – 28 March 2027
Choose 1:
Manuscripts: Text and Context in Eastern Christian Studies (15 ECTS) or
The Church in Theory and Practice (Linguistic Variant, 15 ECTS) or
The Church in Theory and Practice (Non-linguistic Variant, 15 ECTS)
Module 2: 9 Nov 2026 – 17 Jan 2027
Patristics: Sources and Methods (5 ECTS)
Liturgics and Liturgical Theology (5 ECTS)
The Church as Polis (5 ECTS)
Module 4: 29 March 2027 – 6 June 2027
Master’s Thesis (15 ECTS)

Application forms available in:

Quick Facts

Length: 1 year (60 ECTS)
Study Pace:  

100%

Type of Instruction: Online
Language of Instruction: English
Level:

Second Cycle

Organizer: Stockholm School of Eastern Christian Studies
Requirements:

Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent, comprising 180 credits and an independent thesis that demonstrates the applicant's academic writing skills, in humanities, social sciences, educational sciences, theology, law or health sciences, as well as 60 credits in Religious Studies/Theology, or Eastern Christian Studies, or equivalent competence (as part of, or in addition to the Bachelor’s degree). Students with backgrounds in other relevant subjects may also be admitted after a special examination. Applicants must also demonstrate knowledge equivalent to the English 6 proficiency level.

Svenska