Content

Too often the history of the Early Church is presented as though it only concerned expansion into the western Roman Empire. Equally important was the growth of Christianity in the east, into Syria beyond the Roman Empire, and into Egypt. Students in this unit will learn how Christianity developed in its first seven centuries, from imperial Rome to Late Antiquity. Students will engage with this Christian history not only within the Roman Empire, but also at how the new religion emerged in the East in Syria and Persia. While the Roman Empire eventually became Christian and reshaped the Christian Church in its borders, beyond the empire Christian churches continued to live under an intermittently hostile regime. Students will also spend class time analysing significant primary and secondary sources.

Unit code: CH9050Z

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Proposing College: Wollaston Theological College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Analyse ways in which Christianity has been influenced and shaped by wider religious, social, economic, and political forces at various points during this period of its history

2.

Outline the dimensions of the Christian faith that were fundamental to different Christian communities over these initial centuries.

3.

Develop an awareness of the variety of scholarly interpretations of one period of early Christian history

4.

Critically analyse a primary source from this initial period of Christian history

Unit sequence

This is an elective postgraduate unit

Pedagogy

Lectures and seminars, or similar

Indicative Bibliography

Chadwick, Henry. *The Early Church. London: Penguin, 1993. Chadwick, Henry. *The Church in Ancient Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Heather, Peter. *Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion. London: Allen Lane, 2022. Kelly, J.N.D. *Early Christian Doctrines. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Hall, Stuart. *Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011. Ludlow, Morwenna. *The Early Church. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009. Harvey, Susan Ashbrook. *The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Moffet, Samuel Hugh. *A History of Christianity in Asia vol 1. New York: Orbis Books, 1998.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Source Analysis - Assessment 1: Source Analysis 2000 30.0
Literature Survey - Assessment 2: Literature Review 2000 30.0
Essay - Assessment 3: Essay 3000 40.0
Approvals

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

Unit record last updated: 2023-04-28 15:30:02 +1000