MA in Christian Liturgy

Download a leaflet on the MA in Christian Liturgy

Validated by the University of Winchester

Why Study Liturgy?
Day by day and week by week, Christians gather together for public worship and have done so since the apostles met to pray, read the scriptures and break bread in the days after the Ascension. The study of Christian Liturgy within theology seeks to learn how Christians have worshipped in the past, and to understand better the evolving worship patterns in today’s churches. The influence of social, cultural and even political matters lie behind many of these developments just as much as theological and historical ones and so the study of Christian Liturgy has developed to draw insights from many different disciplines outside those traditionally found in theology.

Contemporary Application
The primary concern of the study of Christian Liturgy is what happens in worshipping communities and our studies necessarily look for application to the contemporary church. Studying Christian Liturgy at Sarum will not tell you how the eucharist should be celebrated, rather it will enable you to understand the many different factors which lie behind the celebration: the history of the text, the function of ritual, the theological interpretations, the pastoral issues.

The MA in Christian Liturgy at Sarum College is a new programme and has been designed to allow students to study the most significant aspects of Christian worship – the eucharist, baptism, prayer, the calendar, music, art and architecture, mission and culture as well as the opportunity to pursue personal interests in a guided reading module and of course in the dissertation. The programme is designed to equip students to competently interpret contemporary worship as well as the historical sources and this emphasis runs through all the modules.

Programme Structure
The course is suitable for those who live outside the Salisbury area and even overseas. Students from the Islands (eg, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, etc) are classed as ‘home’ students and do not pay overseas fees.

To be awarded the MA in Christian Liturgy, students must successfully complete six modules and a dissertation. The core (compulsory) module must be taken first and then five others chosen from the list of seven optional modules. It is also possible to take one module from another MA programme offered at Sarum College or Winchester University. The dissertation is begun when all the modules have been completed. Normally students take three years to complete the MA: that is, three modules in years one and two, and the dissertation in year three. It is possible to leave the course after successfully completing three modules (the core modules plus two optional modules) with the award of Postgraduatae Certificate in Christian Liturgy; or after completing six modules (the core module plus five optional modules) with the Postgraduate Diploma in Christian Liturgy.

Teaching Methods
It is a key component of the MA that we meet together to learn and discuss the topics being studied and so attendance at the residential study weeks is required. There will be three or four of these in each academic year. The core module will always be offered and then two or three of the optional modules on a rolling programme. The residentials start on Monday afternoon and continue until Thursday afternoon during which time there will be lectures or seminars, tutorials and some study time in the library. All this takes place in the excellent educational and residential facilities of Sarum College. Assessment of learning is mostly by essays of 5,000 words but in some modules a shorter essay may be combined with a seminar paper or report.

For further information:
Module Information
Academic Staff
The Library
Hospitality at Sarum College

If you are interested in the MA in Christian Liturgy Programme, contact Dr Juliette Day by email.

For an application pack, please either contact academic administrator Anne Jensen by email, phone her on 01722 424827 or download the application pack from the sidebar of this page.

Online Application Pack:

MA Application Form

Application Checklist

Referee Request Form

Further Information

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form