Content

Christians profess belief in a ‘communion of the saints’; believers are united in Christ to the holy ones of all ages and places. This unit investigates how believers have understood the idea of ‘holiness’ through time. How has holiness found expression, how has it been taught and depicted and how is it expressed in contemporary society. Encountering the saints, these models of holiness, is a key focus of the course.

Unit code: DS9216Y

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Spirituality

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Account for the evolving understandings of ‘holiness’ through Christian history.

2.

Critically assess the ways in which modern Christianity give expressions to holiness.

3.

Analyse and make critical use of hagiographical and other texts

4.

Investigate the theological underpinnings to the doctrine of the communion of the saints.

5.

Analyse how contemporary understandings of holiness finds expression in liturgy, prayer and devotion.

Unit sequence

Prerequisite of at least one unit of Church History or Spirituality

Pedagogy

An interactive mode lecture, exploratory workshop, series of pre-prepared materials and online resources will be employed.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bartlett, Robert. Why Can the Dead do Such Great Things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
  • Bingemer, Maria Clara. Saints and Sanctity Today. London: SCM Press, 2013
  • Clarke, Peter, and Tony Claydon (eds). Saints and Sanctity. Woodbridge: Boydell, 2010
  • Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exultate, Apostolic Exhortation, 2018
  • Head, Thomas. Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology. London: Routledge, 2001
  • Le Goff, Jacques. In Search of Sacred Times. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014
  • Methuen, Charlotte and Andrew Spicer (eds), The Church is Sickness and in Health, Cambridge: CUP, 2022
  • Wilson, Stephen. Saints and their Cults. Cambridge: CUP, 1985

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Essay 3500 words

3500 50.0
Essay

Essay 700 words

700 10.0
Essay

Essay 700 words

700 10.0
Essay

Essay 700 words

700 10.0
Essay

Essay 700 words

700 10.0
Essay

Essay 700 words

700 10.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 27 Jun, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-06-27 15:09:30 +1000