Content

This unit will explore the history and impact of councils in the life of the Catholic Church from Nicaea (325) to Vatican II (1962-65). The unit will give an overview of the historical and theological contexts of councils against wider social, cultural and political forces operative at the time. The councils determined much of what the Church believes and how it articulates and lives its rich and diverse theological heritage across history. Various council texts will be examined in order to highlight the development of key theological ideas throughout the Christian tradition.

Unit code: CH2183C

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 2

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate a critical understanding of the key primary texts of the councils and their wider significance in Church history

2.

Formulate a coherent historical argument for the distinctive place of councils in the life of the Church

3.

Evaluate the principal achievements of these councils in shaping what the Church believes and how this is articulated in Christian history

Unit sequence

36 points of Church History

Pedagogy

Lectures and seminar discussion

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bellitto, Christopher. The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2002.
  • Burns, J H. and Thomas M. Izbicki., eds. Conciliarism and Papalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
  • Hughes, Philip. The Church in Crisis: A History of the Twenty Great Councils. London: Burns & Oates, 1961.
  • Kelly, Joseph. The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009.
  • O’Malley, John. Vatican I: The Council and the Making of the Ultramontane Church. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2018.
  • Oakley, Francis. The Conciliarist Tradition: Constitutionalism in the Catholic Church, 1300-1870. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  • Tanner, Norman., ed. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. 2 vols. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1990.
  • ________ _. The Church in Council: Conciliar Movements, Religious Practice and the Papacy from Nicaea to Vatican II. London: I.B. Taurus & Co Ltd., 2011.
  • Valliere, Paul. Conciliarism: A History of Decision-making in the Church. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

Tutorial paper

500 10.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

Tutorial paper

1000 20.0
Essay

Essay

3000 70.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 20 Jul, 2019

Unit record last updated: 2019-09-06 10:21:50 +1000