Margaret Beaufort Certificate of Theology
Catholic Teaching and Practice for Women
This course series comprises a minimum of 60 hours of study and is run on a Tuesday afternoon 5:30pm to 7:00pm as a women-only learning space. You can take the course online or in person at MBIT in Cambridge.
Women are welcome to attend CTP courses following application and interview. They are able to attend a single module, or may choose to work towards the Margaret Beaufort Certificate in Theology.
The Certificate is awarded to students who complete five modules, over a one- or two-year period. They will be expected to cover three of the five study areas (listed below). Attendance at five modules will lead to a Certificate. Accreditation can be awarded if two essays or presentations are submitted.
Bursaries are available. Members of Religious Orders receive a 30% discount.
The five subject areas are:
- Biblical Studies
- Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy/Liturgical Studies
- Spirituality/Theology/ Arts
- Philosophy/Ethics
- Church History/Systematic Theology
Cost: £200 per module.
For new students, please complete the CTP application form. Download form here. Email the form to: apply@mbit.cam.ac.uk. Places will be confirmed once application is accepted and fees have been processed.
For current and recent CTP students who have already completed an application, all you need to do is email your interest to apply@mbit.cam.ac.uk.
Any other questions, email info@mbit.cam.ac.uk
Learning Catholic Belief and Doctrine with Thomas Aquinas
This 8 week course provides an overview of basic Catholic belief and doctrine, based on the treatment of the “Angelic Doctor,” St. Thomas Aquinas. You will be introduced to the overall structure of Aquinas’ thought in general, and learn how to utilize the Summa theologiae, with opportunities for discussion and questions.
| Week | Topic |
| 1 | Happiness or Beatitude, What is It and How to Get There |
| 2 | The Mystery of Holy Trinity: Processions, Relations, and Persons |
| 3 | Human Passions / Emotions |
| 4 | Virtues and Vices |
| 5 | Prayer and the Spiritual Life |
| 6 | The Incarnation |
| 7 | Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection and the Last Judgment |
| 8 | Sacraments: Living with Jesus Now |
Leader: Sr. Magdalene Eitenmiller, O.P.
Cost: £200
Dates: 4 October to 22 November 2022; 8 weeks
Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm London time
Method: Onsite at MBIT in Cambridge OR online by Zoom
To register, email apply@mbit.cam.ac.uk. This course requires a short application form to be completed by the student.
Let My People Go: Reading the Book of Exodus A Gateway to the Old Testament
This exciting 8 week course offers participants a dual opportunity – to read in its entirety a significant book of the Bible and to be involved in a ground-breaking research project.
The Book of Exodus with its emphasis on the liberation of God’s people is a major key to understanding both the Old and New Testaments. Familiar stories include the birth of Moses, the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, manna in the desert, the giving of the Ten Commandments… You may have encountered these accounts in childhood and through readings at Sunday or weekday Mass. But are you aware that Sunday Mass readings draw on only twelve of the forty chapters of the book? Is it time to examine these stories from a mature faith perspective rather than through the eyes of a child? Now is the chance to read, discuss, and understand Exodus in full.
At the same you can benefit from the fruits of a MBIT research project which is examining the reasons why many Catholic women are reluctant to read the Old Testament. Drawing on the findings from this research the course on Exodus will address some of the OT aspects which provoke this hesitation including an ambivalent depiction of God, patriarchal attitudes, multiplicity of genres, and strange codes and customs. Your feedback will help shape future biblical programmes and initiatives, while it may open for you a whole new perspective on the Old Testament, the Scriptures that Jesus knew.
Leader: Dr Rosalie Moloney
Cost: £200
Dates: 17 January 2023 to 7 March 2023 ; 8 weeks
Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm London time
Method: Onsite at MBIT in Cambridge OR online by Zoom
To register, email apply@mbit.cam.ac.uk. For those new to the Catholic Theology and Practice series, this course requires a short application form to be completed by the student.
Women as Icons and Subversive Habits
This course will be offered in a reflective study format based on selected chapters of two books, Women: Icons of Christ, and Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle. Each session includes one chapter and one additional source to be read/watched in advance, followed by chaired discussions among the participants and a course leader. This course provides an ample opportunity for further conversations started during the course Women Who Changed the Church, introduced at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Spring 2022.
Primary source reading:
Women: Icons of Christ is a groundbreaking book in which Dr Phyllis Zagano documented the history of the ministries of women deacons and the needs for them today in a changing world. The deacon is called to an ordained, non-priestly ministry of the Word, the liturgy, and charity. The hoped outcome of this course is that it will help women participate more fully in the Church’s ongoing discussions about women in the diaconate. Shannen Dee Williams’ book Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle provides insight into the history of Black Catholic nuns in the United States, “hailing them as the forgotten prophets of Catholicism and democracy.” “For Black Catholic women and girls, embracing the celibate religious state constituted a radical act of resistance to white supremacy and the sexual terrorism built into chattel slavery and segregation. Williams shows how Black sisters—such as Sister Mary Antona Ebo, who was the only Black member of the inaugural delegation of Catholic sisters to travel to Selma, Alabama, and join the Black voting rights marches of 1965—were pioneering religious leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, desegregation foot soldiers, Black Power activists, and womanist theologians. In the process, Williams calls attention to Catholic women’s religious life as a stronghold of white supremacy and racial segregation.” (book description at https://www.dukeupress.edu/subversive-habits).
Course Leader: Dr Pavlína Kasparova OP
Dates: Eight Tuesdays 25th April – 13th June,
Time: 5.30-7.00pm
Where: MBIT and online