DESCRIPTION: This course will provide (1) an acquaintance with some of the
more important persons, (2) an overview of some of the more significant
movements in the history of the early church, and (3) an introduction to the
debates that contributed to the development of selected Christian doctrines.
Beginning with the New Testament and selected documents from the late first
century and early second century, students will experience the competing claims
to "orthodoxy" made by a variety of early Christian leaders. Students will be
introduced to a number of the leading apologists, theological thinkers,
monastics, and church leaders of the West (Rome and North Africa) and the East
(Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Constantinople) during the first seven
centuries of the church.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: This course should enable students better
to understand and interpret contemporary events and discussions in light of
their historical and social contexts. Students should expect to be both
culturally and ecumenically sensitized.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) This course should enable students to place their own
confessional tradition within the broader framework of early catholic
Christianity. (2) It will help them understand the ways in which the doctrines
and the practices of the church emerged in specific historical contexts. (3)
Students will learn the vocabulary of the Trinitarian, Christological, and
soteriological debates of the first four centuries. (4) Students will increase
their critical skills in reading and writing through the study of primary
source materials.
COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet for two-hour sessions twice weekly in a
lecture/discussion format.
REQUIRED READING: