Content

Through a study of the primary texts relating to the early monastic movement in the Late Roman Empire, this unit will give students an overview of the spiritual teachings of some of the monastic fathers, such as Pachomius, Basil of Caesarea and John Cassian concerning spiritual perfection and ascetic paideia.

Unit code: CH8510A

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: St Athanasius College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Identify the primary sources relating to the early monastic movement in the Late Roman Empire,

2.

Explain these sources within their historical context

3.

Demonstrate the characteristics of their particular type or genre

4.

Articulate from the primary sources the various theologies that became prominent in late antiquity and how they impacted and/or challenged monastic circles

5.

Develop a critical framework for reading and interpreting historical events contained in the primary sources

6.

Construct a geography of sacred space from primary sources

Pedagogy

lectures, discussion of select texts, class discussion.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Acts of Thecla (from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1871).
  • Apophthegmata Patrum, in Benedicta Ward, trans. and ed. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection Kalamazoo, 1984. (recommended for purchase)
  • Coptic Life of Saint Macarius of Scetis, in Tim Vivian, trans. and ed. St. Macarius the Spiritbearer. Coptic Texts Relating to Saint Macarius the Great. New York, 2004.
  • Emmel, Stephen, Shenoute’s Literary Corpus 2 vols., CSCO 599, 600, Leuven, 2004.
  • Historia Monachorum in Aegypto, in Norman Russell, The Lives of the Desert Fathers. The History of the Monks of Egypt. Kalamazoo, 1981. (recommended for purchase)
  • Institutes and Conferences, by John Cassian (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Ser. II vol. VI.)
  • John of Shmun, “Encomium on Antony”, (trans.) Tim Vivian and A. N. Athanassakis, Athanasius of Alexandria, The Life of Antony: The Coptic Life and the Greek Life. Kalamazoo, 2003. (recommended for purchase)
  • Lausiac History, by Palladius, in Robert Meyer, trans. and ed. Palladius: The Lausiac History, New York, 1965.
  • Life of Hilaria, in J. Drescher, trans and ed., Three Coptic Legends: Hilaria, Archellites, and the Seven Sleepers. Cairo, 1947.
  • Life of Onnophrius, in E. A. W. Budge, Coptic Martyrdoms etc. in the Dialect of Upper Egypt, London, 1914.
  • Life of Pachomius, in Armand Veilleux, trans. and ed. Pachomian Koinonia, 3 vols., Kalamazoo, 1981-1982. (recommended for purchase)
  • Life of Shenoute, by Besa, in David Bell, trans. and ed. Besa, the Life of Shenoute. Kalamazoo, 1983.
  • Ward, Benedicta, Harlots of the Desert, (Kalamazoo, 1987). (recommended for purchase)

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

3000 words Essay

0 50.0
Essay

2500 words Essay

0 40.0
Essay

Practical Assessment equivalent to 500 words

0 10.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 3 Aug, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2019-10-03 11:34:40 +1000