Available as

• Postgraduate Certificate in Christian Spirituality East and West (60 Credits)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Christian Spirituality East and West (120 Credits)
• MA in Christian Spirituality East and West (180 Credits, including a 15,000 word major project)

Full-time or Part-time Distance Learning

Compulsory Module

Christian Spirituality East and West (30 Credits)

This module will give students an overview of the historical development of the Christian Mystical tradition East and West. It will introduce students to key themes and debates in the study of Christian mysticism, including the relative importance of experience, and the relationship between Christian mysticism and agency with reference to politics and society. Students will examine a variety of mystical texts, teachings and figures from a variety of Christian traditions and will explore the continuities and discontinuities between pre-modern mystical texts understood in their historical and cultural context and contemporary interpretations from East and West. Students will explore the languages and images used within mystical texts and key doctrinal beliefs associated with Christian mysticism, such as apophatic anthropology and deification.

The Core Module gives an introduction to the foundations and forms of Western Christian Spirituality and Eastern Christian Spirituality.

Optional Modules

*Optional modules include:

• Celtic and Medieval Spirituality 15
• Ignatian Spirituality 15
• Embodying Wisdom 15
• Christian Spirituality and the Arts 15
• Life in Liturgy: The Spiritual Traditions of the Christian East 30
• Christian Mysticism East and West 30
• Christian Spirituality in the Contemporary World 30
• Spirituality, Materiality and the Body 30
• Wesleyan Theology and Spirituality 30

Students also have the possibility of take some of the other optional modules from other MAs run by CTF and validated by ARU.

• Children’s Spirituality 30
• Mystery of Love 30
• Christianity & Ecology 30 (Faith & Belief)
• Interfaith Relations from Theory to encounter 30

* Not all optional modules run every year.

Assessments for modules vary. They include book reviews, essays, presentations and blogs. All 30 credit modules have assessments equivalent to 6,000 words. All 15 credit modules have assessments equivalent to 3000 words.

The normal entrance requirement for the postgraduate programmes in the Cambridge Theological Federation is a first- or good second-class honours degree in a relevant subject. Examples would include Ethics, Philosophy, Theology, or other related subjects.

The CTF will also consider graduates in other disciplines who may also be admitted to the programme on a case by case basis. The CTF will also take seriously, on a case by case basis, applications from candidates without an appropriate undergraduate degree but that can demonstrate significant relevant experience, such as within professional or ministerial roles, especially for candidates who have not had the opportunity to engage in formal higher education before.

Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed by the House they have applied to. The Federation reserves the right not to admit applicants who do not satisfactorily demonstrate their motivation or ability to fit into the learning community of the chosen Federation House. Applicants can only be admitted if the interview confirms their teachability, and if there is clear indication that they are able to establish and maintain meaningful learning relationships with their tutors and fellow students.

English Language requirements

Our standard entry criteria for postgraduate courses is IELTS 6.5 or equivalent, with nothing lower than 5.5 in any of the four elements (listening, speaking, reading and writing).

We also accept the following English language tests as equivalent to IELTS 6.5 with 5.5 in each element:

• ETS TOEFL iBT with 88 overall and a minimum of 17 in Writing and Listening, 18 in Reading and 20 in Speaking
• Pearson PTE with 61 overall and a minimum of 51 in all components.

However, students requiring visas to study full time in the UK should note that the government will only accept an IELTS result as evidence of meeting the English language requirement.

This programme is especially suited for those interested in pursuing careers in spiritual direction, Christian ministry or teaching. It also enables students to enrich their own spiritual journey with an academic grounding in classical and contemporary texts and methods of study of spirituality across the Eastern and Western traditions. 

Our programme in Christian Spirituality East and West provides a unique opportunity to explore the richness of Christian spiritual traditions from both Eastern and Western perspectives. This programme will enhance your ability to critically assess the study of Christian mysticism, the life in liturgy, considering the Spiritual traditions of the Christian East, and the meaning of Christian spirituality in the contemporary World

You will join a lively debate in the unique ecumenical context of the Cambridge Theological Federation on the meaning and the role of spirituality in the context of the Christian traditions as well as in today’s multi-cultural and multi-religious environments.

*Featured Artwork:  “Bautismo de Jesus” by Kiko Arguello.