Bishop’s School for Clergy
The Missionary Diocese of the South and Ozarks
The United Episcopal Church of North America
Program of Instruction
Concept
The purpose of the Bishop’s Licentiate Program is to establish, through the Bishop’s School in the Missionary Diocese of the South and Ozarks, a standardized program of study and examination leading to ordination of Clergy within this Missionary Diocese. A Diocesan Committee under the chairmanship of the Archdeacon will oversee the creation, organization and conduct of the School under the direct supervision of the Ordinary. The entire Diocesan clergy is involved in one way or another in the operation of the School, and thus in the Licentiate program.
The School will be centrally administered at the Diocese. Students will enroll individually and instruction will begin shortly thereafter, on an individual basis. It is possible, even likely, that once we are “up and running”, two or more students may be enrolled in the same course at the same time, but this is not necessary. Some students, especially in the early days, may progress through the entire curriculum as individuals, and for that matter, may not follow any particular sequence of courses, though all must be completed. Each student will be assigned, at the outset, a Supervising Clergyman (usually, his local pastor) who will be responsible for insuring that all coursework is completed and who will notify the School when he believes the student (s) is/are ready for examination. Examinations will be coordinated through the Office of the Ordinary and will consist of proctored essay examinations scored by the Bishop or a designated scorer.
Qualifications for Enrollment
The Missionary Diocese of the South and Ozarks clergy licentiate program established by this document is not designed to be, is not, and will not become an academic course of study. It is not a college, a seminary, or a replacement for either of those. Men interested in pursuing a seminary degree are earnestly encouraged to follow that course, but the Bishop’s School in this diocese is designed to prepare and license men to effectively preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and efficiently administer a parish of this diocese. That is all.
They must be male, of legal age, Christians and meeting all the biblical requirements for service as Presbyters or Deacons. But, there are no academic requirements for admission. Potential students should have the ability to read the Bible, understand and be able to explain its teachings, write clearly and correctly, and use typical Bible documents (e.g., lectionaries, commentaries, concordances, lexicons, etc.) and understand that the standard to which they will be held is equivalent to undergraduate-level work. Also, they will have to be interviewed and recommended by a local minister (ordinarily a UECNA Presbyter) and be interviewed and approved by the Ordinary or his designated representative.
Method (s) of Instruction
Initially at least, instruction will be delivered individually. It may be face-to-face or it may be conducted via “zoom”, e-mail, text or other electronic methods agreed upon between the student and the instructor. Every student will be assigned a Supervising clergyman. This supervisor may also function as the instructor for some (or many) of the courses, themselves. This will almost certainly be true for the majority of the Bible courses. The Bible will be the assigned primary text for all Bible courses. Each student will be required to obtain and use at least two Bibles: one, a King James Authorized Version, with Apocrypha, and another agreed upon with the instructor/supervising clergyman. This second Bible may be an approved Study Bible (see the appendix) or some other approved translation. There will also be an assigned textbook for each Testament, designed to serve as a supplemental document. Other textual and video resources may be assigned by instructors/Supervising clergymen.
Expectations
Time: Each course outline as included in this Program of Instruction will include the maximum expectation in terms of time. Most will NOT include a minimum. That is because the likely students will come from a wide variety of backgrounds and there is no reason to put in time for time’s sake. The only reasonable way to specify the time required for any given course is to say that the expectations are that the time adequate to meet the objectives will be expected.
Effort: There will be no “gimmes”. Every student will be expected to work. At the same time, most, if not all, enrollees will be working adults, many will be married and have families, and already be donating significant time to the Church. If questions arise, they should be discussed with the supervising clergyman, and may certainly be brought to the attention of the Ordinary.
Assessment of Progress
Upon enrollment, each student will be assigned a Supervising Clergyman (usually, his local pastor) who will be responsible for insuring that all coursework is completed and who will notify the School when he believes the student (s) is/are ready for examination.
In addition to the proctored examination that each student will write for each course, there will be oral and written assignments within each course. These assignments will include reports on books read and/or videos watched, Sermons or Homilies written on subjects assigned by instructors or Supervising clergymen and shorter written works involving textual exegesis, Biblical or homiletical exposition and exhortation, and persuasive apologetics. Examinations will be coordinated through the Office of the Ordinary and will consist of proctored essay examinations scored by the Bishop or a designated scorer.
Curriculum
1.“The Pentateuch”: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy:
2.The “Major” Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,
3.The “Minor” Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
4.“The Writings”. Ruth, Job, Esther, Song of Songs, (Song of Solomon) Lamentations,
and Daniel.
5.“Histories”: Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra
and Nehemiah.
6.“Wisdom”: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
7. Psalms.
8.“The Synoptic Gospels”. The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke.
9. “The Gospel of John”. The Gospel according to John.
10. “Acts of the Apostles”. Acts.
11.“The Pauline Letters 1. The letter to the Romans.
12. “The Pauline Letters 2: 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy,
Titus and Philemon.
13. “The Pauline Letters 3”: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians
14.“The General Epistles”. Hebrews, Jude, James, 1 and 2 Peter and 1, 2 and 3 John.
15.“Revelation.” The Apocalypse.
16.“Early Church History” The Pre-Nicaean Church; The Fathers, The first seven
Councils, Constantine, The major heresies, the Great Schism, Rome in the Middle Ages.
17.“Modern Church History”. The Reformation, The English Reformation, Puritanism,
the transition from “the Church of England to The Protestant Episcopal Church”, The Oxford
Movement, St. Louis and Continuing Anglicanism, today.
18.“Exegesis, Exposition and Homiletics”. How to take apart a piece of Scripture,
examine it and put it back together in such a way as to make sense to a Congregation.
19. “Parish Administration.” The “nuts and bolts” of running a mission or parish.