The Law of Rites and Sacraments
An intensive Canon Law Course at St Stephen’s House
Tuesday 24th – Thursday 26th June 2025
In person at St Stephen’s House, Oxford, or online via Zoom.
Lead Tutor: The Revd Stephen Coleman
Honorary research Fellow and Visiting Tutor at St Stephen’s House
Assistant Director of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University
Convenor of the Church Law History Consortium
and of the Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers
Other tutors involved in the teaching of the module include
Professor Norman Doe KC FBA
Distinguished Visiting Fellow of St Stephen’s House,
and other visiting academic and practitioners in the field of ecclesiastical law.
The Rev'd Stephen Coleman
Professor Norman Doe KC FBA
Course Content
This course focuses 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.
- to equip students with an informed understanding of church law relating to rites and sacraments, including baptism, eucharist, marriage, burials, and other rites;
- to equip students with an informed understanding of how the law relating to rites and sacraments relates to the mission and ministry of the church;
- to enable student to reflect on and develop their critical understanding of the law of rites and sacraments and its relationship to history, doctrine, ecclesiology, and civil law;
- for students who decide to submit work for assessment, it also aims to enable them to undertake in-depth critical study of the law relating to rites and sacraments.
This course is designed for and open to anyone who is curious about Church Law surrounding the celebration of the Church’s rites and sacraments: interested lay Christians, people preparing for and exercising a range of ministries in the Church, students of law, students of theology, ordained ministers seeking ministerial development, practising legal professionals seeking professional development.
Teaching is delivered at post-graduate 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.
Course Fee: £800 (with assessed work); £750 (audit only)
Board and Lodging (Monday dinner – Friday breakfast) for residential participants: £210
Lunches and Afternoon Tea for non-resident in-person participants: £40
Thursday Formal Dinner (3 courses): £30 wine to be purchased separately from the Common Room Bar
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:
- Post-Graduate Certificate in Theology, Ministry & Mission
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Theology, Ministry & Mission
- MA in Theology, Ministry & Mission
- MA in Church Law (forthcoming)
Full application, admission and registration would be for a future academic year, and could take place after the intensive course.
Please see https://www.edwardkingcentre.org.uk/qualifications for details of the fees and entry requirements for these programmes and how to apply.
For enquiries about the course, please email ekc@ssho.ac.uk
