The Edward King Centre at St Stephen’s House, Oxford, has announced a forthcoming short course on the law of liturgical ministry:

“The celebration of public prayer, worship and the sacraments are central tasks of the Church: previous gifts for the world with which she has been entrusted.  Part of the prayer for the Church in the Book of Common Prayer Service of Holy Communion is that her ministers may ‘rightly and duly administer’ God’s ‘holy sacraments’.

Teaching will present the body of Church Law which has evolved to ensure that the Church’s worship and celebration of the sacraments are indeed conducted appropriately, in keeping with her universal and local mission to proclaim the Gospel, avoiding cause for scandal, dissension and doubt.  It will also explore historical and contemporary debates about the laws on these matters and their interpretation.”

Teaching is delivered at postgraduate level; there are no entry requirements for auditing the course, but some familiarity with basic theological, ecclesiological and (or) legal ideas and terminology will be helpful.”

The course will run from Tuesday 24 – Thursday 26 June and will be taught primarily by Revd Stephen Coleman, Honorary Research Fellow and Visiting Tutor at St Stephen’s House and Assistant Director of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University and Professor Norman Doe KC (hon) FBA, Director of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University.

The course can be attended either in person or online. Suitably qualified participants who choose to submit work for assessment may take this as a taster module (20 credits) for a range of Common Awards post-graduate programmes validated by the University of Durham.