Ecumenical Studies. From experience to knowledge

The Licentiate in Comparative Theology of Christian Traditions - Ecumenical Studies has just seen its first students complete the cycle. Launched in the 2022-2023 academic year, the Licentiate offers students from different Christian denominations the opportunity to study together for a two-year course in Rome, under the guidance of a group of professors who also belong to different Christian denominations. “The study of theology is more fruitful when it is accompanied by meaningful relationships. In this way, the subject matter is combined with real-life experience, and thus gains vitality,” says Fr. Vincenzo, a diocesan priest from Padua who completed the cycle. This vitality transcends academic patterns and gives rise to a continuous exchange. “I have given to the university what it has given to me”, says Anastasiya, a student with dual Russian and Belarusian citizenship, “namely, a reciprocal and sincere desire for a living faith tradition, the joy of God’s presence in other people, cultures and experiences in the traditions we are learning to discover.”

The two-year program comprises courses, seminars, residential trips abroad, a thesis and a final examination. “The core of the program, however, consists of a series of two-voices seminars that focus on the study process and on reflection,” explains Fr. Gerard Whelan S.J., moderator of the Licentiate. “In this way, the professional expertise of teachers from different denominations in various areas of theology and ecclesial life is combined with the actual experience of enrichment and reflection through mutual exchange. The most innovative feature is the method, i.e. the shared experience of living and studying together for two years, which is why the students’ voice is at the centre.”