A list of set texts in each language is included in the Course Handbook, which can be accessed via the faculty's course webpage. Set texts are agreed with candidates at the beginning of the academic year, and a list of these can be obtained from the Course Director.
Teaching takes the form of text classes, supervisions and/or seminars, and background lectures. The Armenian and Syriac set texts are read in the first year in text classes, for which you will be expected to prepare, while the Greek set texts will normally be left to you to work through alone. You will also be required to write and present essays, either for supervisions or for seminars. The second year is normally left for work on the thesis, the subject of which must be approved by the Faculty Board, and for this your supervisor will provide general guidance.
The examination towards the end of Trinity term in the second year takes the form of four papers. These consist of:
- essay questions on the development of doctrine and the history of the Church in the Christian East to AD 717
- specified Armenian or Syriac historical texts
- specified Armenian or Syriac theological texts
- Greek ecclesiastical texts
