The school is located in the historic centre within the ancient walls of the old town of Nicosia. It is surrounded by ancient buildings, museums, libraries and churches. It is also close to the shopping centre and entertainment areas. This is an ideal location for students who wish to combine personal, social and spiritual activities. The Student Welfare Office places great emphasis on students’ involvement with various pass-times and creative activities, which offer them the ability to acquire different skills and develop resources, and most importantly to feel connected to the academic community.
Matins and Divine Liturgy
The main pillar of the school’s devotional life consists of the services of Matins and the Divine Liturgy that are held every Thursday in the Archdiocesan Chapel of the Apostle Barnabas, at the Archdiocese of Cyprus. The service starts at 7:00 a.m. with Matins, and ends at around 9:30 a.m., with the completion of the Divine Liturgy. The minister responsible for the Divine Liturgy is usually canon Gregory Ioannidis, lecturer in Liturgical Studies at the T.S.C.C., along with the Director of the School Protopresbyter Kyprianos Kountouris. The choir of the church is made up of students led by the choir master Mr. Dimitrios Ierodiakonou, who teaches the course in Byzantine music. In addition, our students alternately take charge of the ministries of the church service and the readings. When the service ends all teachers and students have breakfast together in the great dining room of the Holy Archdiocese. Through these holy gatherings each Thursday, the Theological School of the Church of Cyprus gathers as one body and one family at the Temple of the Glory of our Lord, around the sacred altar, to worship and to partake in the ineffable mysteries of Holy Communion. The altar, the pulpit of the evangelists, the lectern of the psalmist, all extend into the classroom as representing a living orthodox scientific Theology, functional, transformative, sacred and ecclesiastical.
Most importantly, the courses composing Liturgical Studies, such as the History of the Holy Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomou, Sermonizing, Byzantine Music, Liturgical Year, Theology of Worship, Pastoral Ministry, Daily Services and Observances, are completed, acknowledged, illuminated, informed and promoted through these weekly gatherings.
Byzantine Choir
Students who wish to do so can participate in the Byzantine choir of the School, which takes place from 13:45 until 14:45 on the days stated on the timetable, under the guidance of the director of the choir Mr. Dimitriou Ierodiakonou. Also, Byzantine choir students who distinguish themselves are eligible for a Byzantine music scholarship. The Byzantine choir of the school takes part in various religious gatherings and public events and activities, such as the celebration of the Three Hierarchs and the Greek Scribes, which are co-organized annually by T.S.C.C, the Archdiocese of Cyprus and the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. The Byzantine Choir also plays a dynamic part in other school activities, such as visits to various monasteries, during which the students of T.S.C.C. always sing the psalms. With a history spanning more than 2000 years, the psaltic art is inseparably linked with the spiritual life of the church and with religious worship, therefore the possibility of participation in the Byzantine choir forms an important and essential aspect of the life of the students of the T.S.C.C. Apart from the course in Byzantine Music that the students have the opportunity to attend as part of the curriculum, through the Byzantine Choir the students of T.S.C.C also have the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge while participating in an entirely pleasant and significant gathering during midday hours, when university lectures are not held. The services of Matins and Divine Liturgy, that are held every Thursday in the Archdiocesan Chapel of the Apostle Barnabas in the Archdiocese of Cyprus, give the opportunity to students who take part in the Byzantine choir to practice the Psaltic art to an even greater extent.
The Students’ Union
The Students’ Union of the Theological School of the Church of Cyprus is an organized body that represents the students of the School. Every student upon their enrollment in the school automatically becomes a member of the students’ union, acquiring the right to expression and participation in all things concerning their rights and obligations. The students’ union participates in all school councils and committees. The executive body of the Students’ Union is the 5-member Management Council, which is elected every October by its members.
Clubs/Associations
The best way for the successfully engage in real student life is to participate in student clubs. These clubs are founded by the students themselves and consist entirely of students. Participation in any club which is of interest to students, is, among other things, excellent training in organizational skills, teamwork and management.
Cultural Midday Meetings
Within the framework of upgrading its contribution and the activities it offers during the academic year 2018/19, the Theological School of the Church of Cyprus came up with the innovative concept of “Cultural Midday Meetings”, which includes the screening of documentaries and movies, and the hosting of prestigious speakers from Cyprus and abroad. The “Cultural Midday Meetings” aim to enrich the students’ experience with the additional knowledge and skills considered necessary for coherent and multifaceted development. Through selected documentaries the school aims to provide the stimuli to conduct fruitful and productive dialogue on cultural issues, on human frailty and on the greatness of the human soul, on abandonment and desolation, but also on faith in divine Providence. In addition, this gives the opportunity for reflection on issues relating to religious art and creation, tradition, and Christian culture in the past, the present, the future and thereafter. Keeping in mind the foregoing, the founders of the activity have chosen as their motto an excerpt from a sermon of St Vassilios to young students in which they are urged to gather, just like bees, the benefits from every circumstance, and to be like rivers, which in their path gather more and more water and thus grow stronger:
Τοῖς γὰρ ἐπιμελῶς ἐξ ἑκάστου τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἀθροίζουσιν, ὥσπερ τοῖς μεγάλοις τῶν ποταμῶν, πολλαὶ γίνεσθαι πολλαχόθεν αἱ προσθῆκαι πεφύκασι
All lectures and screenings take place between the hours of 13:30 and 14:45 in the ultra-modern screening room at the school, in the building at 23 Patriarchou Grigoriou str. (Formerly The Pallari School). More updated information concerning each Cultural Midday Meeting is posted on the school’s website.