Opening Ceremony of the Bible Institute
Opening Ceremony of the Bible Institute
The People’s Joy in Specialized Institutes
The opening ceremony of the Bible Institute and the Institute of Pastoral Care and Education.
Specialized institutes are the first step toward establishing the Coptic Theological University. These institutes will prepare church scholars and the second line of the teaching staff.
Monday, 11/11/74, was a day of joy in the Bishopric of Religious Institutes, during which the Clerical College (the Seminary) and the General Council celebrated the opening of the Bible Institute and the Institute of Pastoral Care.
The Address of His Holiness the Pope
He said that advancing the Seminary requires depth in work and a radical change. He said that superficial study, in which the student studies about 22 subjects each year, cannot produce a student who is strong in his subject; therefore, the Seminary cannot advance except through specialized institutes.
The current study is general, and through these institutes we need to enter into depth. It is not a matter of changing one teacher for another, nor organizational formalities; rather, we must enter into the depth of the subject matter itself. This can only be achieved through specialized institutes.
“For this reason, I consider this day on which we opened the Bible Institute and the Institute of Pastoral Care and Education to be a historic day in the life of the Seminary.”
His Holiness explained the mission of these two institutes and the sciences that will be studied in them in great detail. He said that these institutes will help in forming a group of specialized scholars, will increase our scholarly wealth in religious sciences, will help in forming the Coptic library, and in preparing the second line of the teaching staff.
His Holiness said: “Do not think that these institutes will begin as giants, or will begin at a degree of perfection. What matters is that they begin, then grow and develop over time, and gradually reach their perfection, like all universities of the world, and like the Seminary itself. When it began in the year 1893, there was not a single teacher of religion in it; then it grew over time until God brought it to this hour… and this is the law of life in its entirety: birth, growth, and maturity.”
He also said that the Bible Institute will begin with general studies, then branch into a department for the New Testament and another for the Old Testament. As for the diplomas of these institutes, they will be at the level of a master’s degree, qualifying their holder to proceed to the doctorate.
His Holiness then said: During the coming year, God willing, we will work on opening an institute for Church History and another for Rites and Liturgies, then the specialized institutes will follow in succession. From the total of these institutes, the Coptic Orthodox Theological University will be formed.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in Al-Keraza Magazine – Fifth Year – Issue Eight – 23 November 1974.
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