8th - 13th August 2022
This will be the 10th Residential Latin (and now Greek!) Course organised by the Latin Mass Society.
Online registration is now closed. Please contact the LMS office on 020 7404 7284 to check if places are still available.
Register Now
The venue is Park Place Pastoral Centre, a Catholic retreat centre in Hampshire (Wickham, Fareham, Hampshire PO17 5HA).
Additional information and preparatory material for the Greek course is available here
Additional information and preparatory material for the Latin course is available here
Looking for an online alternative?
The purpose of the Course
Latin
We at the Latin Mass Society, mindful of our Charitable Objects to promote the ancient liturgy of the Catholic Church, and the use of the Latin language in the Church, have established this course to assist clergy who wish to learn or improve their Latin in order to celebrate Mass in Latin, and for all who may be interested in the language from devotional, cultural, or scholarly motives.
Greek
For the first time, in 2022, the Latin Mass Society will be offering New Testament Greek teaching alongside the Latin Course. Interest in this form of Greek from devotional and scholarly motives is closely related to interest in liturgical Latin, and in the larger venue of Park Place it makes sense to add this element to the course.
What kind of Latin and Greek?
Latin
There are different kinds of Latin as there are different kinds of any widely-used language, with specialist vocabulary and characteristic idioms. This course is concerned with the Latin of the traditional Catholic liturgy, and with the help of the Latin Mass Society’s coursebook, Simplicissimus, it makes use of examples, exercises, and reading passages from the Missal. As well as introducing students to the cadences of the liturgy, it makes maximum use of whatever Latin students may have picked up from the liturgy.
Greek
The Greek of the New Testament is called Hellenistic or ‘koine’ Greek, and is different in certain ways from the Classical or Ancient Greek usually taught in schools and at university. Roughly speaking, Classical Greek was current from Homer (8th century BC) to the historians, philosophers, and dramatists of the golden age of Greek culture (5th and 4th centuries BC). Koine Greek was the working language of the Hellenistic and Byzantine world from the late 4th century BC to the 4th century AD, and was used by the Fathers of the Church, the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), and non-Christian authors. The New Testament’s range of styles and vocabulary is somewhat distinct from other examples of koine Greek due to its subject-matter and the cultural and educational background of the writers. Thus the Greek of the New Testament looks a little unfamiliar to students of Classical Greek, but it is generally regarded to be easier to learn koine Greek from scratch than Classical Greek.
What kind of course?
The Latin Mass Society’s Latin Course is unique in providing an intensive introduction to the Latin language in the context of the liturgy and spirituality of the ancient Roman liturgical tradition. The Traditional Mass will be celebrated each day during the course for all participants who wish to attend. A number of students have in the past also said or sung Compline together after the evening meal. Tutors are able to point to connections and insights into Catholic liturgy and theology arising from the course material, which as noted derives from the ancient Missal. Students from all backgrounds are welcome at the course; all students are asked to respect the course’s special ethos. The course is designed for adults, but we do not impose a strict minimum age
What level of prior knowledge?
Latin
We have tutors who will teach two groups of students, more or less advanced in their knowledge. When booking, please assign yourself to one or other group:
(1) Those who are beginners together with those who need to learn or revise from the beginning.
(2) Those who know the basic conjugations and declensions and want to go on from there. If you need to move from one group to the other at any stage this will be possible.
Our Latin tutors will be:
Fr John Hunwicke a priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, won an Open Scholarship to read Litterae Humaniores at Oxford University and subsequently taught Latin for many years at Lancing College in Sussex. He blogs at http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.co.uk/
Nathan J. Freeman is a Ph.D candidate at thre University of Leiden, Netherlands, in Philosophy; he holds an M.A. in Classics (2010) and German Literature (2011) from University of Kentucky. He is also Student Administrator at the International Theological Institute Catholic University in Trumau, Austria.
Greek
We will have just one tutor for Greek, and he will be focused on early-stage learners or those who feel they must return to the basics after some time away from the subject. Students will be expected to have learnt the Greek alphabet in advance, and some other grammatical basics: elements of the language anyone can master at home with a little application: see below. Our tutor is also offering an on-line (Zoom based) course which would serve as an ideal starting point for the course. You will find details on the Latin Mass Society website here.
Our tutor Matthew Spencer read Classics as an undergraduate at Oxford (MA conferred 2007) and later did further
graduate study in ancient Indian languages also at Oxford. He holds Master’s degrees in the History of Christianity and, most recently, in Philosophy. He has published a book on the monastic life of Mount Athos and is working on a second, as well as occasionally publishing on ancient Indo‐European languages.
Matthew says: ‘I am passionate about reading and teaching different forms of ancient language and do not
believe these languages, or the texts written in them, are dead. They speak to modern concerns, needs and faith.’ Matthew’s online courses, sponsored by the Latin Mass Society, have been very successful in intro-
ducing Latin and Greek to new audiences, in a friendly but methodical way.
The Venue
Park Place is a Georgian house in Hampshire, which was converted from a family home first into a school, and then into a pastoral centre. It is run by a community of Roman Catholic Franciscan nuns. Southampton Airport Parkway is the nearest mainline station. Fareham and Botley are the nearest local stations (change at Eastleigh). It is also possible to travel by bus from London Victoria to Fareham.
The address is: The address is Wickham, Fareham, Hampshire PO17 5HA;
The venue telephone number is: 01329 833043.
Public transport: Southampton Airport Parkway is the nearest mainline station. Fareham and Botley are the nearest local stations (change at Eastleigh). It is also possible to travel by bus from London Victoria to Fareham.
The LMS representative on site will be Lucy Shaw: 07968 339031. Please let her know if you are running late for registration.
Length of the Course
The course starts with lunch on Monday and ends with lunch on Saturday. Registration is from 11.30am to 12.30pm on Monday.
For the Greek course, the LMS is not offering special discounts for clergy, and seminarians, but there is still a discount for those in full-time education, which includes seminarians, and those preparing to enter full-time education at university or seminary.
There is also a discount for members of the Latin Mass Society, which is larger than the membership fee, so if you are not a member, be sure to sign up at the same time, even if not based in the UK! The fee includes accommodation and meals. A reduced fee is available for those who wish to make their own arrangements for accommodation (they will still get lunch and dinner at Park Place). Please note that the running of the course is dependent on take-up: it will be confirmed by 8th March 2022.
Testimonials
FROM FEEDBACK FROM A PREVIOUS LMS RESIDENTIAL LATIN COURSE
Online Latin and Greek classes are ongoing with Matthew Spencer
A new version of our popular 3-month Latin course based on The Roman Canon:
JULY to OCTOBER Session (1 month break in August)
PRICE £650 (at a cost of less than £30 per each hour of expert instruction).
80% SUBSIDY for priests, deacons, religious and seminarians from or in England and Wales provided by the Latin Mass Society.
LEARN to read, pronounce and understand the Canon of the Mass in its original language.
EQUIP yourself for continuing your Latin journey.
RECEIVE VALIDATION of your developing Latin skills, if required, through an (optional) examination.
Contact the course director Matthew Spencer: matthewjaspencer@yahoo.com in the first instance