The Lives of the Saints (CH1745Z)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

This unit aims to introduce students to the theological basis of sainthood, the history of the cult of the saints and the development of hagiographical literature and artifacts. Students will explore the interrelationship between representative Vitae of the saints, liturgical texts, iconography, relics, and pilgrimage in establishing the cult of a saint. Drawing on the early martyrologies and the Menaion, the unit will follow the veneration of the saints from the start of the Christian era through to the present day. The main foci will be Byzantine hagiography, the emergence of monastic saints, the cult of the saints in the Slavic world, and Orthodox saints of the twentieth century. Consideration will be given to how the veneration of the saints both shapes and is shaped by the liturgical practice of the Church, and to the impact of popular expressions of piety.

Unit code: CH1745Z

Unit status: Approved (Minor revision)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Church History

Proposing College: Uniting College for Leadership and Theology

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Learning outcomes

1.

Understand the theological, liturgical and pastoral concepts that support the veneration of the saints.
2.

Analyse varying expressions of sainthood, the history of ecclesiastical veneration of the saints, and the formal process for the glorification (‘canonisation’) of a saint.
3.

Investigate the nature of hagiography, its relationship to other literary genres, to iconography and pilgrimage, and critically evaluate its function in the promotion of the cult of a saint.
4.

Identify the various social and religious motives and liturgical and pastoral implications framing the composition of a hagiographic text.

Unit sequence

A Level 1 unit in undergraduate theology and ministry awards.

Pedagogy

Primary source documents, articles and lecture notes, online synchronous lectures and discussion, survey and report.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Brock, Sebastian P., and Susan Ashbrook Harvey (trans). Holy Women of the Syrian Orient. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 1987.
  • Brown Peter. The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
  • Carey, John, M. Herbert, and Páidrig Ó Riain (eds). Saints and Scholars: Studies in Irish Hagiography. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001.
  • Chrysostom, St. John. The Cult of the Saints. Popular Patristic Series; trans. Wendy Mayer with Bronwen Neil. New York: SVS Press, 2006.
  • Delehaye, Hippolyte, and V. M. Crawford. The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography. 1905. Numerous reprints available.
  • Hackel, Sergei (ed.). The Byzantine Saint. Crestwood, N.Y: SVS Press, 2001.
  • Kontzevitch, I. M. The Acquisition of the Holy Spirit in Ancient Russia. Platina, CA: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1988.
  • Ouspensky, Leonid, and Vladimir Lossky, The Meaning of Icons. Crestwood, N.Y: SVS Press, 1982.
  • Papaconstantinou, Arietta, “The Cult of Saints: A Haven of Continuity in a Changing World?” in Roger Bagnall (Ed.), Egypt in the Byzantine World, 300-700, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, 350-67.
  • Talbot, Alice-Mary, “Pilgrimage to Healing Shrines: The Evidence of Miracle Accounts,” in Dumbarton Oaks Papers 56 (2002): 153-73.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Oral Presentation - Oral Presentation of written paper

An analytical and critically reflective study of the Vita of a selected saint. A draft of the written paper is presented orally in class.

 1000 30.0
Investigation - Investigate the veneration of saints

Students to work collaboratively to design questions to investigate contemporary understandings, motives, practices and pastoral implications in the veneration of identified saints, research published studies, interview one another, and report together on their findings.

1000 30.0
Essay - A critical analysis of a set topic 2000 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 28 Mar, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-03-28 15:25:30 +1100