For me personally, it's very edifying to see the enthusiasm of the students. We're opening up the scriptures in a way that perhaps they were never taught before. 

With this course we cover all aspects of our faith in a sense, the Bible, from the beginning of the Church, how it started, the New Testament, but also we cover the Old Testament: how God created the earth, right through to the Patriarchs and the Kings. And we also, more importantly we discuss and teach theology and what it actually means, what our faith means. Within that we have Church life and Church function and how we practice it today. 

The purpose of the course ultimately is to get people excited about studying the Bible, because we do read the Bible but not many of us study it and there's a difference. We give tools to show people where to study or how to study. For example, within scripture itself there is a story and the way that the Bible is written, particularly in the Old Testament, it's not by accident, so we give pointers to look at dates and the meanings of the words and places, the meanings of people because they have their story within itself; direction day and night, they all have connotations and it's God saying something to the reader as well. Ultimately it's to enhance their spirituality. Reading the Bible is one aspect of getting to know who God is in their lives.   

The course is for anyone, but also the course is geared towards ministers who have been called into ministry or they feel they have been called into ministry because we cover the ministries, the five-fold ministry, how the Church was governed by using the Biblical scriptures, by the apostolic authority and that can be taken on board on how to govern a Church. So it's very important for ministers, because even though God has called them into ministry, sometimes they need to have direction in teaching as well, because teaching is a very important aspect of Church life. I'm not saying it's neglected but it's a gifting that needs to be rekindled in Christendom. 

This course is geared to people that are in ministry or have a calling to be into Ministry. For example Pastors and teachers etc, because it covers a lot of the early Church structure and how the Apostles taught the disciples and how the Church grew. It's all about structure, and instilling principles in which God has instilled into the prophets and the prophets instilled into the disciples. It's almost like a heritage that God has instilled into the prophets and instilled into the disciples. It's like a heritage that's passed down. 

This course began, it is the vision of the President of the Ixthus Church Council, Archbishop Evangelou who I've had the privilege of being taught by him. His teaching ministry has Apostolic heritage and it's very rich. Archbishop Evangelou founded the course to help ministers in their calling and ministry and to really get them to think about studying the scripture as one of the aspects of teaching is teaching others to read the Bible. In a sense it's passing on a wisdom or a knowledge onto other people and we've been privileged by the richness of the teaching of Archbishop and the Apostolic heritage as well. We have a lot of resources purely because of what we've been taught over the years and this has been instilled in the course 

(and I believe that's why it's flourishing).

The course covers different aspects of Biblical teaching. Primarily we use the scriptures as our reference, looking at certain theological concepts. We're also looking at how the Bible itself came about, the Old Testament Canon and the New Testament Canon. How over a process of time, how and why different books, letters and Gospels collected by the early Church come together to be/form the basis of our faith. 

I think the course is for anyone who really wants to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and also understand more about how the christian faith came together and grew and spread through initially the Roman Empire and became what is has become today. 

For those who are not able to attend on site and do the course in person, we have a fantastic facility of the online course where we are teaching the same material, the same modules, the same subjects and also having that interaction online with the tutors that guide you through the whole process. 

Part of the online course is having that tutoring and assistance-work is given to the students and handed back to us. We will go through it, mark it and if any direction is needed or any advice, any more insights into how to develop ones knowledge of a particular subject area, then that's always there to be given. 

This course is a wonderful opportunity to explore the Christian Faith from an educational perspective, within a biblical, historical and theological context.

It takes the participant on an in-depth journey of research, study and biblical exegesis, with a refreshing and thought provoking approach.

The course covers a wide range of subjects, covering everything from the person of the Holy Spirit, Church history, the Canons of the Bible and the established Creeds of belief, to name but a few.

Anyone who is considering to take their study of the Bible to a deeper level, will greatly benefit from not only the guided research and study that this course offers, but the challenging questions it poses, ultimately developing and establishing a comprehension of an array of Biblical concepts, their context within the believer's life and their place within the 21st Century Church.

The course is available in two formats, onsite teaching and an user friendly online format.  

Whichever format is preferred, the courses provide the same standard of subject material, tutoring and assistance, along with tailored study guides and a final evaluation in the form of multiple choice and short essay questions. 

 

At the end of this course the participant will most definitely be more enriched in his/her Faith, along with the confidence and assurance that studying the Bible in this way brings.