Content

This unit is a foundation for further study in Christian Thought and History. It offers historical study of the first five centuries of Christianity with an emphasis on the practice and belief of the community, focussing especially on monastic sources. It examines the formal clarification of doctrine through key primary texts in the light of the wider life of the church, offering an introduction to Christian traditions of theological reflection.

Unit code: CH1010P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Outline a chronology of key events within the Christian community c.70–500 CE and describe their significance

2.

Articulate key principles of historical interpretation of ancient Christian texts.

3.

Identify key features of the context and method of at least one writer in the early Christian church

4.

Interpret a range of historical sources with an array of historical tools.

5.

Discuss the implications of historical understanding for ministry in the contemporary Christian church

Pedagogy

8 days intensive, lecture/seminar style

Indicative Bibliography

  • Athanasius, The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus. New York: Paulist Press, 1980.
  • Brown, Peter. The Body and Society: Men, Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (New York: Columbia, 1988).
  • Burton-Christie, D. The Word in the Desert: Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993).
  • Dunn, Marilyn, The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages. (Blackwell Publishing: Oxford, 2003).
  • Elm, S. Virgins of God: The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
  • Evagrius Ponticus: The Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer. (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981).
  • Harmless, W. Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). (Recommednded for purchase)
  • John Cassian: The Conferences. Trans. O.P. Boniface Ramsey. Ancient Christian Writers. (New York: Newman Press, 1999).
  • John Cassian: The Institutes. Trans. O.P. Boniface Ramsey. Ancient Christian Writers. )New York: Newman Press, 2000).
  • Ward, Benedicta, (trans.). Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Vol. 59. (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1984).

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Topic Essay x 1500 words

0 40.0
Essay

Research Essay x 2500 words

0 60.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-27 12:36:50 +1100