PUBLICATION PROCESS

Manthano: Journal of Christian Education follows a structured editorial process designed to ensure the quality, integrity, and timeliness of all published articles. The following stages apply to all submitted manuscripts.

Stage 1: Submission

Authors submit their manuscript via the OJS platform at jurnalpak.id/index.php/manthano. A blinded version of the manuscript and a full unblinded version must be submitted simultaneously. The editorial office will send an acknowledgement of receipt within three working days.

Stage 2: Initial Editorial Check

Upon receipt, the editorial office conducts an initial check to assess whether the manuscript falls within the journal's focus and scope, meets the minimum formatting and structural requirements, includes all compulsory supplementary files such as the similarity report, reporting guideline checklist, and ethics documentation, and does not exceed the maximum similarity threshold of 20 percent. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements will be returned to the authors for revision before proceeding to review. This stage is completed within two weeks of submission.

Stage 3: Double-Blind Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass the initial check are assigned to a minimum of two independent reviewers with relevant expertise. The identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review process. Reviewers are asked to provide a recommendation within four weeks of accepting the review invitation. Based on the reviewers' reports, the editor will communicate one of the following decisions to the authors: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject. This stage typically takes four to six weeks.

Manuscripts submitted as empirical field research are placed in a fast-track review stream and will receive an initial editorial decision within four weeks of a completed submission.

Stage 4: Revision

Authors who receive a revision decision must submit a revised manuscript together with a point-by-point response letter addressing each reviewer comment. Minor revisions are expected to be returned within two weeks. Major revisions are expected to be returned within four weeks. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for re-evaluation.

Stage 5: Final Decision and Acceptance

Once the revised manuscript has been assessed and approved by the editor, a formal acceptance letter will be issued. Authors will be notified of the expected publication issue at this stage. The APC invoice will also be issued upon acceptance.

Stage 6: Copyediting and Proofreading

Accepted manuscripts undergo copyediting for language, formatting, and consistency with the journal's style requirements. A proof will be sent to the corresponding author for final approval. Authors must return the approved proof within three working days. Changes at this stage are limited to the correction of typographical errors and factual inaccuracies. Substantial revisions to the content will not be permitted after acceptance.

Stage 7: Publication

Following proof approval and receipt of the APC payment, the article will be assigned a DOI, formatted for online publication, and published in the current issue of the journal. All published articles are immediately available open-access at jurnalpak.id/index.php/manthano.

The entire publication process, from initial submission to final publication, takes a minimum of three months. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts well in advance of the target publication issue.