Schools & Courses · Fol. i
Most church learning never leads to a degree. This standard is for that.
Church education standards·Non-degree programmes
Sunday School and courseshave a standard too.
Church Standards for Sunday Schools and Specialized Courses set minimum requirements for parish, diocesan and centre-based programmes that do not lead to a degree: five age levels, five course classes by volume, five kinds of certificate, and one rule above them all. A certificate must never look like a degree.
Draft 1.0 was published for consultation on 20 September 2026 and awaits approval by the competent ecclesiastical authority. It shares the principles of CHEQF but is not part of the higher education system.
Credentials issued under this Standard are not academic degrees and shall not be designated as Bachelor, Master, Doctor, PhD, or their equivalents.
Fol. ii
Three fives and a count. The count is the only number we made ourselves.
Section 3
Participation is not competence. The certificate says which one it is.
01 Types of educational credentials
Five certificates,and none of them is a degree.
- 01
Certificate of Participation
Confirms participation. It may be issued without final assessment. It does not certify competence.
- 02
Certificate of Completion
Confirms completion of the prescribed programme and fulfilment of minimum attendance and assessment requirements.
- 03
Certificate of Competence
Certifies demonstrated practical or professional ecclesiastical competence within the scope of a specific course.
- 04
Sunday School Annual Certificate
Confirms completion of a particular academic year or Sunday School level.
- 05
Sunday School Graduation Certificate
Confirms completion of the full approved Sunday School cycle. It is not a credential of general or higher education.
Sections 5–9
Move the age. The level, its focus, its outcome and the way it may be assessed follow.
02 Sunday School
Five levels by age,from four to adult.
Sunday School provides systematic formation in the Christian faith and the life of the Church, develops the ability to understand Holy Scripture, worship, prayer, moral teaching, and Church history, and encourages conscious participation in the life of the Christian community.
The age ranges are indicative: a parish may combine levels if the required outcomes and pedagogical appropriateness are kept. Religious conviction, frequency of confession, or other elements of a person’s inner spiritual life shall not be graded.
- Recommended academic year: no fewer than 28 instructional sessions.
- Typical duration of one session: 45–90 minutes depending on age.
- For levels SS-1–SS-3, at least 30 academic hours of organised instruction per year are recommended.
- Intensive sessions, camps, pilgrimages, liturgical practice, and project days may form part of the programme if properly documented.
Level by age
Introduction to God, prayer, the church, biblical stories, and church feasts through images, storytelling, play, and participation.
Basic biblical narratives, prayers, the structure of worship, major feasts, saints, and Christian virtues.
Integrated understanding of the Bible, the Creed, the Sacraments, Church history, moral responsibility, and church life.
Reflective theological and moral reasoning, work with sources, questions of faith and contemporary life, service, and personal responsibility.
Adult catechesis, preparation for church life, and systematic presentation of faith and practice.
Required content areas (Section 7)
Holy Scripture
Biblical events, the structure of the Bible, key texts, and the understanding of Scripture within Church tradition.
Doctrine
Core teachings of the Christian faith, the Creed, Christology, and teaching on the Church and salvation at an age-appropriate level.
Worship and Prayer
The liturgical year, the arrangement of the church, principal services, the Sacraments, and personal and communal prayer.
Church History and Saints
Major periods of Church history, local tradition, and the lives of saints as examples of Christian life.
Christian Ethics
Conscience, freedom, responsibility, family, mercy, honesty, respect for the human person, digital conduct, and social responsibility.
Community Life and Service
Parish life, service to one’s neighbour, participation in charitable activity, and age-appropriate church service.
Sections 12–17
Six hours make a short course. Three hundred and sixty make a specialisation. Nothing makes a degree.
03 Specialized courses
Five classes by volume,from six hours to three hundred and sixty.
Specialized Courses are intended for the study of a specific subject or the development of a defined competence without the award of an academic degree. They may be theological, catechetical, pastoral, liturgical, musical, social, administrative, missionary, media-related, artistic, or practical.
Academic hour: 45 minutes is recommended for the calculation of organised instruction. Independent study shall be stated separately in the programme description where it materially contributes to the learning outcomes.
Class by volume
- Certificate
- Approval
- Review
Examples of fields (Section 15)
Catechesis
Foundations of faith; formation of catechists; work with adults and adolescents.
Liturgical Practice
Altar service; liturgical reading; typikon; church singing; choir direction; formation of singers.
Pastoral Ministry
Foundations of pastoral care; visiting the sick; family support; ethics of pastoral communication.
Social Ministry
Organisation of charitable work; work with vulnerable groups; volunteer coordination.
Administration
Parish administration; nonprofit finance; records management; data protection; project management.
Mission and Media
Missiology; church journalism; social media; public communication.
Arts and Heritage
Iconography; church architecture; conservation culture; history of Christian art.
Learning outcomes are actions (Section 16)
Learning outcomes shall be expressed through observable actions. Formulations such as “become familiar with”, “attend”, or “gain an overview of” are insufficient on their own.
| Weak Formulation | Preferred Formulation |
|---|---|
| Know the basics of canon law | Explain the principal sources of canon law and apply basic norms to typical parish situations. |
| Understand the liturgy | Describe the structure of the liturgy, the purpose of its principal parts, and the actions of ministers. |
| Learn to manage social media | Develop a safe and ethically appropriate content plan for a church social-media page and assess publication risks. |
| Study church singing | Perform the prescribed repertoire in the designated chant tradition in accordance with musical and liturgical requirements. |
Section 11
The shortest section of the Standard and the one that admits no exception.
04 Safeguarding and child protection
Written policies are mandatory.These things are prohibited.
Work with children and vulnerable persons shall comply with safeguarding requirements, personal data protection, and the prohibition of violence, humiliation, and abuse of authority. Teachers act only with the authorisation of the parish rector, school director, or another competent ecclesiastical authority, after mandatory training in child-protection rules.
- Written safeguarding and complaints-response policies are mandatory for organisations working with minors.
- Corporal punishment, humiliation, public shaming, threats of religious punishment as a disciplinary method, sexualised conduct, and any form of violence are prohibited.
- Rules shall be established for photography and video recording, communication between teachers and children, transportation, overnight activities, and one-to-one meetings.
- The organisation shall comply with local requirements concerning parental consent, data protection, first aid, and mandatory reporting of risks of abuse or violence.
Sections 10 and 18
Good standing and knowledge of the subject come first. Everything else is preferred, not required, until SS-2.
05 Who teaches
Sunday School teachersand course instructors.
Sunday School teachers (Section 10)
| Area | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Basic Requirement | Demonstrated good standing within the Church and knowledge of the subject taught. |
| Theological Formation | For SS-2 and SS-3, completed theological or catechetical formation, or internal ecclesiastical authorisation, is preferred. |
| Pedagogical Preparation | Knowledge of age-appropriate pedagogy and methods of working with children. |
| Safeguarding | Mandatory training in child-protection rules; background screening to the extent required by local law. |
| Ecclesiastical Authorisation | The teacher shall act with the authorisation of the parish rector, school director, or another competent ecclesiastical authority. |
Course instructors (Section 18)
- Theological and canonical disciplines: the instructor shall hold a recognised ecclesiastical or academic qualification at a level appropriate to the programme taught, or specific ecclesiastical authorisation based on demonstrated competence.
- Practical disciplines: a practitioner-instructor with documented experience and recognised professional or ecclesiastical competence may teach.
- SC-4 and SC-5 courses shall have an academic or programme director responsible for the coherence of the content and the final assessment.
- Conflicts of interest in final assessment shall be minimised; an independent second examiner is recommended for longer programmes.
Sections 20–24
Three-year cycles instead of five. A register recommended instead of required. The scale is the parish’s.
06 Quality, integrity and the register
Reviewed every three years.Registered where it matters.
Minimum quality cycle (Section 21)
| Programme | Minimum Quality Cycle |
|---|---|
| Sunday School | Annual internal review of attendance, feedback, safety, and achievement of objectives; substantive programme review at least once every three years. |
| SC-1 / SC-2 | Review upon substantial change of content or at least once every three years. |
| SC-3 | Formal review at least once every three years, including analysis of results and feedback. |
| SC-4 / SC-5 | Annual monitoring and full review at least once every three years; an external reviewer is recommended. |
Integrity (Section 22)
- Plagiarism, falsification of results, fictitious attendance records, and issuance of a certificate without fulfilment of the requirements are prohibited.
- The use of AI and other assistive tools shall be governed by programme policy; a learner shall not present machine-generated output as evidence of his or her own verified competence.
- A financial contribution, donation, church office, or personal relationship may not substitute for fulfilment of programme requirements.
- A certificate may be revoked in cases of proven falsification, erroneous issuance, or material breach of the conditions for award.
Register and verifiability (Section 23)
A centralised or local register is recommended for the Certificate of Completion, Certificate of Competence, and Sunday School Graduation Certificate. The minimum record shall include the certificate number, graduate’s name, programme title, volume of study, date of issue, issuing organisation, and status of the credential. Public verification shall comply with personal data protection requirements.
Minimum information on a certificate (Section 24)
| Category | Content |
|---|---|
| Required | Recipient’s name; exact programme title; certificate type; date; issuing organisation; signature or digital authentication; unique identifier. |
| For Completion / Competence | Volume of study; where applicable, course level SC-1–SC-5; final result or confirmation that requirements have been fulfilled. |
| Recommended Disclaimer | This certificate is an ecclesiastical non-degree qualification and does not constitute a state-awarded academic degree or professional licence unless separately recognised. |
| For Sunday School | Level SS-0–SS-3/SS-A or identification of the completed cycle; academic degrees and titles shall not be used on such a credential. |
Profile
Same principles, different house. A course certificate does not open a door in the degree ladder.
07 Relationship to CHEQF
Shared principles.Not part of higher education.
| Version | 1.0 (Draft) |
| Scope | Sunday Schools; catechetical, pastoral, liturgical, social, administrative, and other specialized church courses |
| Nature of Qualifications | Non-degree ecclesiastical educational credentials: Certificate / Certificate of Completion / Certificate of Competence |
| Relationship to CHEQF | Uses common principles of quality, learning outcomes, academic integrity, and transparency, but does not form part of the higher education system |