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.

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 and by writing a term paper.

RELEVANCE FOR 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.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet for two-hour sessions, twice a week, in a lecture/discussion format.

REQUIRED READING:

Bettenson, Henry, ed. Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. (Sections on the period through to A.D. 600 only. 343 pp.)

Frend, W. H. C. The Rise of Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. (1022 pp.)

McDonnell, Kilian. The Other Hand of God: The Holy Spirit as the Universal Touch and Goal. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2003.

Meredith, Anthony. The Cappadocians. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1995. (129 pp.)

Robeck, Cecil M. Unpublished Course Notes available from the Bookstore.

Several early Christian documents not found in Bettenson will be placed on reserve in the library.