Historical Courses for the 2009 Fall Session

Geographical expansion of the Church; its relation to surrounding culture; its development of doctrinal and ethical positions; its various forms of life and worship. Lectures, discussions, minor paper, mid-term paper, final exam.

From the subapostolic age to the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" in the East and the Carolingian revival and Treaty of Verdun in the West. Geographical expansion of the church; the relation of Christian faith to cultural settings and other religions; the development of doctrinal and ethical positions; forms of Christian life and worship; the rise of Islam. Lectures, 2 seminars. One synthetic paper, one essay.

A survey of the history of Christianity and an introduction to the study of Christian history. Book review, seminar participation, mid-term exam, final exam. Mandatory seminar.

A general history primarily of the western church from 600 to 1500. Lectures will supplement students' reading of the text by Donald Logan (which students should bring to the first lecture). Students will be expected to have read the relevant chapters of Logan before they are discussed in class. Three short papers based on original reflection on primary material (20% each); short quiz at the beginning of each class based on the prescribed reading (10%); final written exam in December (30%)

An examination of the concept of martyrdom and its literature during the early modern period, its political and theological causes, and its inspirational and polemical role in the consolidation of early modern religious traditions. The course will also discuss methods of approaching martyrology across various denominations and regional settings including England, Reformation Europe, the Americas and the Orthodox Church in various countries. Evaluation: short assignments, participation, short presentation and final exam or research paper.

Sketches 4 major cultural challenges facing the Church, 1900-1960. Explores the official responses from the Magisterium, and a few individual attempts to find living solutions to these problems, leading up to Vatican II. Lectures/Seminar and readings. Class participation, weekly email questions, three short papers and final exam.

Surveys the spirituality of evangelicalism primarily in the Anglican tradition in England in its formative period between c. 1730 and 1833. Short papers (including biographical study), and discussion forums.

This course is a survey of the history of Christianity in Africa from antiquity to the era of African freedom (independence) and the formation of nation states in the 1960s. The regional survey of North Africa, the Horn of Africa, East, Central Africa and Southern Africa, and West Africa will be punctuated in episodes, with the following rough divisions of dates: AD62 to c.1500, c.1500

Although from the very beginning, Christianity appeared especially connected to the particular geography, it will only be with the Fourth century, that the “Holy Places” arose as such, becoming essential part of an emerging culture of pilgrimage. Jerusalem and the Holy Land gradually evolve into the epicenter of the Christian world. Liturgical practices of the Holy City and the Holy Land will develop into standard and normative as pilgrims from throughout the world return to their countries and establish there the usages of the “Holy Places”. This course explores the interaction of pilgrimage, liturgical, and spiritual life in Holy Land and their impact in the development of Early Christianity. Discussions, presentations. One essay.

In the period between 200 AD and the end of the sixth century, Christian art emerged and evolved as a particular manifestation of the mystery of Christian faith. Sacred (but also secular) architecture witnesses this new cultural phenomenon. Churches following various patterns, baptisteries, and monasteries alongside wall paintings and mosaics, sarcophagi and small-scale pieces of art reveal and interact with a particular comprehension of the mystery of Christ and the Church. In this course, early Christian art is set against its theological, cultural, socio-economical, and political background. This onsite course places their study in addition to this in their geographical milieu, by visiting the main extant places for Early Christian Art in Italy (Rome, Ravenna, Venice, Tuscany, Assisi, among others). Meetings & Readings before the trip.

The course will tell the various aspects of the creation of the Crusader phenomenon. The Conquest of the country and the conflicts with the neighbouring countries. Who were the people who lived beyond the borders of the kingdom. Did they accept at least for a while the Christian presence in the Middle East, the organization of the Kingdom, the wars the Crusaders had to conduct, the legal system of the Kingdom, and many other aspects of the phenomenon. Teaching Method: Lectures & Reading. Means of Evaluation: One Essay 80%/Participation 20% Class Attendance.

A study of the life and works of major patristic authors who shaped and influenced the Eastern Christian tradition, including Ignatius, Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, the Cappadocians, Maximus the Confessor, Simeon the New Theologian, Nicholas Cabasilas, Gregory Palamas. Lectures-seminar, reflection papers, major paper.

Is beauty simply "in the eye of the beholder," or is it something more? Is it a way to God, a moral precept, or the specific locus for a unique kind of pleasure? This course examines a variety of subjective and objective views of beauty in the history of Western philosophy and theology from antiquity to the present (e.g. in the thought of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Weil, Barth, and Balthasar). It will also consider the implications of these views of beauty for the production of the visual arts, music, and literary culture in Western religion and society.

The course will examine various theories which have been proposed recently to explain changes which have occurred in recent years in the church in Western society. The theories will include secularization, rational choice, the Kelley thesis, and other theories found in the work of Callum Brown, Grace Davie and other. The course will involve both understanding the theories and critiquing them, with particular reference to the situation within the Canadian church. Evaluation: Seminar presentation; major paper. (Prerequisite: Introductory Church History Course)

Studies in the theory of history and methods of historical study and writing, approached via the analysis of the works of historians and theorists drawn from several fields. Required of all AD students in Historical Dept. Discussion of common readings, presentations, 2 mid-length papers.

Mani, an inhabitant of 3rd century Iraq/Iran believed himself to be the Paraclete promised by Jesus. From that belief grew a church which reached from North Africa to China and lasted over a thousand years, including among its sympathizers the young St. Augustine. This course will use the writings of Manichaeans and their opponents, including Augustine, to address the criteria of Christian identity, and use a theological system not based on the incarnation to explore the meaning of creation, revelation, and redemption in more conventional contexts.

In light of recent renewed interest in the meanings and mechanisms of empathy in such areas as ethics, visual studies, and the philosophy of the mind, this course examines the place and role of compassion in the development of the Western aesthetics tradition. Considering a range of art theoretical texts, literature, and images for which the theme of compassion has been thought able to account for certain of the emotional and cognitive links that exist between artwork and its audience.

Although from the very beginning, Christianity appeared especially connected to the particular geography, it will only be with the Fourth century, that the “Holy Places” arose as such, becoming essential part of an emerging culture of pilgrimage. Jerusalem and the Holy Land gradually evolve into the epicenter of the Christian world. Liturgical practices of the Holy City and the Holy Land will develop into standard and normative as pilgrims from throughout the world return to their countries and establish there the usages of the “Holy Places”. This course explores the interaction of pilgrimage, liturgical, and spiritual life in Holy Land and their impact in the development of Early Christianity. Discussions, presentations. One essay.

A study of the articulation within the church of what remains the normative understanding of Christology, focusing on the period framed by the Council of Ephesus (431) and the Council of Constantinople (553). Attention is paid to dynamics of this process, including personalities and politics, but focusing on interplay of religious/experiential and intellectual/theological factors. Reading notes, research essay, presentation (graduate students).

The course will tell the various aspects of the creation of the Crusader phenomenon. The Conquest of the country and the conflicts with the neighbouring countries. Who were the people who lived beyond the borders of the kingdom. Did they accept at least for a while the Christian presence in the Middle East, the organization of the Kingdom, the wars the Crusaders had to conduct, the legal system of the Kingdom, and many other aspects of the phenomenon. Teaching Method: Lectures & Reading. Means of Evaluation: One Essay 80%/Participation 20% Class Attendance.

A study of the life and works of major patristic authors who shaped and influenced the Eastern Christian tradition, including Ignatius, Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, the Cappadocians, Maximus the Confessor, Simeon the New Theologian, Nicholas Cabasilas, Gregory Palamas. Lectures-seminar, reflection papers, major paper.

Is beauty simply "in the eye of the beholder," or is it something more? Is it a way to God, a moral precept, or the specific locus for a unique kind of pleasure? This course examines a variety of subjective and objective views of beauty in the history of Western philosophy and theology from antiquity to the present (e.g. in the thought of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Weil, Barth, and Balthasar). It will also consider the implications of these views of beauty for the production of the visual arts, music, and literary culture in Western religion and society.

Beginning with a quick review of English grammar, the course will introduce the grammar and syntax of the Latin language and provide practice in their use in order to lead students to a reading knowledge of Ecclesiastical Latin: the Vulgate, Canon Law, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Aquinas, hymns and other documents. Evaluation will be based on course assignments, weekly class participation, periodic tests and a final exam. Please note: the second hour of each class is a mandatory tutorial.

Introductory study of the Anglican communion as a worldwide form of Christianity; its history, key theological issues, worship, schools of thought, approaches to spirituality. 3 short papers. Interdisciplinary History and Theology.

A study of Anglican Theology, principally through the reading of texts from Anglican thinkers of the 16th and 17th centuries. Study and discussion of the foundational themes of the English Reformation, as well as the 17th century development. The two great renewal movements of the 18th and 19th centuries: the evangelical movement and the Anglo-Catholic movement. The modern criticisms of the Anglican tradition. The question of Anglican identity and authority.

This course of lectures will examine Luther's writings on the theology of the cross and on human freedom; and Calvin's writings on Scripture and the Christian life. Weekly readings; a final examination (oral or written).

This course focuses on Aquinas' Summa Theologiae and its systematic theology of the Christian life: faith, hope and love are the foundational principles that ground the concrete living out of the imitatio Christi in a life of prayer, service, preaching and leadership in the Church. Importance of philosophical, rhetorical and historical tools for reading the text. Weekly reading, weekly papers, term paper, participation in class discussion.

Studies the documents and teachings of Vatican II. Brief overview of the historical background to the Council and to Councils in the life of the church. Seminars guide discussions based on close readings of the 16 documents with emphasis on the historical context and ecclesiological significance of each document. Seminar presentations; participation in analysis of the documents; integration paper.