Instructor Information. Course Identification. Course Description. Office Location: Larkin Building, Office 317

Transcription

1 Course Syllabus TRH2421 The Emerging Christian Church: Church History to 451 Trinity College Toronto School of Theology January to April (Winter/Spring) 2018 Instructor Information Instructor: Miriam DeCock Office Location: Larkin Building, Office Office Hours: By appointment Course Identification Course Number: TRH2421 Course Name: The Emerging Christian Church: Church History to 451 Course Location: Larkin Building, Room 212 Class Times: Wednesdays, 7pm to 9.30pm Prerequisites: None Course Description In this course we will study the key events, figures, controversies, and the development of ideas in the truly formative period of the early Church. We will explore the relationship between the external pressures the Church faced, its internal struggles, and the role of divine revelation in the process of the Church s formation. However, we will also ask questions about whether the stories we tell about our subject, based very much on texts, can be supplemented or even corrected by the record of material culture and archeological discovery. Thus in addition to understanding the intellectual and structural developments of Church history as presented in texts, we will ask whether a different picture emerges from an examination of the material record. Finally, we will place a great deal of emphasis on examining primary sources alongside the secondary literature; we will continually step back to reflect on our own assumptions and on the ways in which Church historians make use of the primary sources they draw on to construct their versions of the story of the early Church. Page 1 of 11

2 Expanded Course Description Any community or institution finds much of its self-definition in the story of its foundation. The Christian Church is no exception. The earliest period of the Church's history has remained a focus of fascination, and the ideas, political structures, and cultural alignments forged in this period continue to exert powerful influence on Christian minds and communities to the present day, certainly including the Orthodox Church. In the first four and a half centuries of its existence, Christianity would grow from a small sect of messianic Jews into the official state religion of the most powerful empire in the world. In the First Century, the Church centered itself around Jewish communities in modern-day Israel, as well as other key cities in the Roman Empire with significant Jewish populations. To the Roman eye, the earliest Christians appeared as an unimportant mystery cult or sect of the Jewish faith. Yet the early Christians, under the leadership of those who had known Jesus, spread their beliefs with remarkable speed and zeal. Through the Second and Third Centuries, Christianity continued to grow across the Roman Empire, attracting more and more non-jewish converts along with the ire of the traditional religious elite. Often persecuted, the Christian Church also drew much from Roman culture and left its influence on every stratum of society. Internally, however, Christianity was already rapidly fragmenting into several groups owing to the death of the apostles and the new questions raised thereby. Some of these groups were more episcopally-minded and rationalistic, and from these roots have grown the Christian churches of our own day, including the Orthodox Church. Other groups, however were devoted to charismatic forms of authority and a highly apocalyptic theology. The encounter of these various viewpoints proved fractious and fruitful at once. The Fourth Century is one of the most dynamic and exciting periods in the history of the Church, marked by the rise of Emperor Constantine who first legalized Christianity across Rome, and his successors who would (under Theodosius) eventually make Christianity the official state religion. Now holding the reigns of religious power in the Empire, the Church of this period was nonetheless more fragmented than ever, and theological disputes such as the Arian Controversy quickly spilled over into political battles that would shake the Empire itself. In response to this problem, the Church under the direction of Emperor Constantine crafted a new strategy designed to establish and enforce doctrinal unity: the Church Council. In places like Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus, the Church would meet across the 4 th and into the 5 th Century in hopes of establishing authoritative doctrinal formulations and creeds that would be enforceable by Imperial law. While never fully successful in its objective of generating complete Christian unity, the conciliar model would become normative among Christians for centuries to come. Partially in response to the problem of Christianity's new-found power and fragmentation, many devout Christians began to withdraw from society into the desert, eventually founding the first monastic communities and giving birth to a new and radical way of being Christian. Meanwhile, groups outside the Empire forged their own Christian identities, and charismatic and gnostic communities continued to thrive across the Mediterranean. From this red-hot crucible of persecution and power, intrigue and doctrine, councils and monasteries, bishops and emperors, came forth the foundation of the Christian Church as we know it today. Join us as we examine some of the most important eye-witness accounts and early documents, along with the best in modern scholarship, in order to tell the story of Christianity's intriguing infancy and tumultuous early adolescence, and ask what the early Church means to Christians today. Page 2 of 11

3 Course Resources Required Texts Primary 1) Access to the Bible, even if online: 2) Bart D. Ehrman, After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity. Oxford: OUP, ) Bart D. Ehrman and Andrew S. Jacobs - Christianity in Late Antiquity : A Reader. Oxford: OUP, 2003 Secondary 1) Henry Chadwick, The Early Church: The Story of Emergent Christianity, Revised Edition. Penguin Publishing Group, ) Ramsay MacMullen, The Second Church: Popular Christianity A.D Atlanta: SBL Press, * Note, some weeks I will post additional online resources for special topics. I will give you advanced notice when this is the case. Course Portal This course will make extensive use of the University of Toronto s Learning Portal also known as Blackboard. The online version will be delivered entirely through Portal. To access the portal, go to the UofT portal login page at and log in using your UTORid and password. Once you have logged in to the portal using your UTORid and password, look for the My Courses module, where you ll find the link to the website for all your Blackboard-based courses. (Your course registration with ROSI gives you access to the course website at Blackboard.) Note also the information at Please ensure that you are familiar with how to access the system and navigate through it. The portal will be used in the following ways: Keeping an updated version of the course syllabus and calendar Providing course readings, bibliographies and other handouts Sharing additional online resources Communicating class notices and updates Issuing assignment guidelines and deadlines Accepting assignment submissions Providing feedback and grades for all assignments and other course requirements Administering and grading quizzes and exams In addition, for the online section, the portal will be used in the following ways: Delivering weekly course lectures and seminars Enabling student participation and interaction in the blogs, discussion forums and other online communications (see course requirements and evaluation below) Page 3 of 11

4 Auditors who do not have a UTORid should speak to the instructor to receive guest access to the course portal. As in the classroom, online communication must be carried out respectfully and civilly at all times. Writing within the online media of blogs, discussion forums is not an excuse for laziness, lack of proper reflection or uncivility. Arguments must be carefully crafted, respectfully presented and grounded in source texts and solid reflection. Students who fail to adhere to these guidelines will not succeed in this course. Course Learning Objectives Students successfully completing this course will be able to: Identify key figures, events and dates in Church history from the period. (Lectures, text-book readings, information quizzes and exams). Recall key primary source materials from the period and their authorship. (Lectures, primary source readings, information quizzes and exams). Communicate more effectively, verbally and in writing, about Church history by making logical arguments about primary materials, engaging relevant secondary sources, and meeting academic standards for writing and annotation. (Primary source readings, writing assignments, directive feedback thereon, class/online discussion). Analyze their own historiographical assumptions, and those of various secondary and primary authors. (Lectures, class/online discussion, text-book readings) Page 4 of 11

5 Programme Outcomes Course Outcomes: Knowledge of the Area of Concentration Course Elements Programme Outcomes Students successfully completing this course will be able to: Identify key figures, events and dates in Church history from the period. This outcome will be achieved through these course elements: Lectures, text-book readings, information quizzes and exams This course outcome corresponds to these aspects of the Basic Degree Learning Outcomes Religious heritage Cultural context Recall key primary source materials from the period and their authorship. Lectures, primary source readings, information quizzes and exams Religious heritage Cultural context Communicate more effectively, verbally and in writing, about Church history by making logical arguments about primary materials, engaging relevant secondary sources, and meeting academic standards for writing and annotation. Analyze their own historiographical assumptions, and those of various secondary authors. Primary source readings, writing assignments, directive feedback thereon, class/online discussion Lectures, class/online discussion, text-book readings Religious heritage Cultural context Formation of Character Leadership Cultural context Formation of Character Page 5 of 11

6 Evaluation Requirements Classroom Section The final grade for the course will be based on the following areas: Regular attendance. If students miss more than 20% of classes, the instructor reserves the right to deduct up to 5% of the student's final mark for each additional class missed. Class participation (20%). Many sessions will include a period of discussion of primary and secondary sources. All students are expected to read all texts thoroughly. Students will be assigned a grade based upon their preparedness for and participation in these sessions. Short response (20%). On the day that they have chosen to lead class discussion, students will turn in a short essay written in response to the primary sources assigned for that day. This response will not exceed 1,000 words. Please note: this is a strict cap. If your paper is longer than 1,000 words, it will be turned back to you with a request to reduce it to the appropriate length. Final paper (30%). Typically, the final essay will constitute an expansion of the student's short response paper, taking the initial observations and impressions from that paper and expanding them through formal research and more extended reading. Students will be expected to find and read further primary source material pertaining to their discussion (for example, some other letters by an author they are examining, or further sections from the minutes of a Council). Students will also incorporate secondary research using relevant scholarly articles (from peerreviewed journals) and books. Take-home final exam (30%). Students will be assigned a take-home exam consisting of data entries, a set of primary source quotations for comment, and essay questions. Primary source quotations will be from texts examined in class. The exam will be open-book. Page 6 of 11

7 Requirements Online Section The final grade for the course will be based on the following areas: Class participation (20%). The online course will involve a substantial discussion component each week using the audio/video blogging utilities on Portal. Students will need to post a short response (five minutes or less) each week, and view the responses of their classmates. They will be evaluated on the preparedness for their responses and on their generous engagement with other students' thoughts. Students will post one written blog entry during the term (as discussed above) to facilitate that week's discussions. Short response (20%). Once during the term, each credit student will compose a short response to the primary source passage or passages for the week. This will not exceed 1000 words [strict] and will not involve research. The instructor will provide a series of critical questions for each primary source designed to help students get started on the essay. After submitting the formal written assignment, online students will present their conclusions to the class by composing a blog entry using the Blackboard/Portal system. Video/audio response discussion for that week will begin with reflections on the blog post. Final paper (30%). By the end of exam week, students will turn in a final paper. This will (typically) expand upon their discussion in the short response (changes in topic are allowed if the instructor has been consulted in advance). The paper will not exceed 3000 words [strict]. The final paper should focus on assessment of the primary source material, but will be expected to delve further into the primary sources in question (thus, reading beyond the passage reviewed for class) and to incorporate academic research (secondary sources). The final paper should be synthetic and argumentative. Final exam (30%). Brief multiple choice, brief matching, short answer on a primary source passage, essay. Taken online; timed; open resource but no collaboration with other students while in progress. The exam will be available online throughout exam week, but is only taken once. Page 7 of 11

8 Grading System Policy on Late Assignments Late work will not be accepted unless arrangements have been made in advance. If circumstances (such as medical or compassionate difficulties) require that work be turned in late, contact the instructor at the earliest possible juncture to agree on a new time-line and other details. The absolute deadline for the course is the examination day scheduled for the course. Students who for exceptional reasons (for instance, a death in the family or a serious illness) are unable to complete work by this date may request an extension (SDF = standing deferred ) beyond the term. An SDF must be requested from the registrar s office in the student s college of registration no later than the last day of classes in which the course is taken. The SDF, when approved, will have a mutually agreed upon deadline that does not extend beyond the conclusion of the following term. If a student has not completed work but has not been granted an SDF, a final mark will be submitted calculating a zero for work not submitted. Page 8 of 11

9 Course Grades Consistently with the policy of the University of Toronto, course grades submitted by an instructor are reviewed by a committee of the instructor s college before being posted. Course grades may be adjusted where they do not comply with University grading policy ( or college grading policy. Policies Accessibility. Students with a disability or health consideration are entitled to accommodation. Students must register at the University of Toronto s Accessibility Services offices; information is available at The sooner a student seeks accommodation, the quicker we can assist. Plagiarism. Students submitting written material in courses are expected to provide full documentation for sources of both words and ideas in footnotes or endnotes. Direct quotations should be placed within quotation marks. (If small changes are made in the quotation, they should be indicated by appropriate punctuation such as brackets and ellipses, but the quotation still counts as a direct quotation.) Failure to document borrowed material constitutes plagiarism, which is a serious breach of academic, professional, and Christian ethics. An instructor who discovers evidence of student plagiarism is not permitted to deal with the situation individually but is required to report it to his or her head of college or delegate according to the TST Basic Degree Handbook (linked from and the University of Toronto Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters A student who plagiarizes in this course. Students will be assumed to have read the document Avoidance of plagiarism in theological writing published by the Graham Library of Trinity and Wycliffe Colleges ( Other academic offences. TST students come under the jurisdiction of the University of Toronto Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters Back-up copies. Please make back-up copies of essays before handing them in. Obligation to check . At times, the course instructor may decide to send out important course information by . To that end, all credit students are required to have a valid utoronto address. Students must have set up a utoronto address which is entered in the ROSI system. Information is available at The course instructor will not be able to help you with this HELP and the Help Desk at the Information Commons can answer questions you may have about your UTORid and password. Students should check utoronto regularly for messages about the course. Forwarding your utoronto.ca to a Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo or other type of account is not advisable. In some cases, messages from utoronto.ca addresses sent to Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo accounts are filtered as junk mail, which means that s from your course instructor may end up in your spam or junk mail folder. communication with the course instructor. The instructor aims to respond to communications from students in a timely manner. All communications from students should be sent from a utoronto address. communications from other addresses are not secure, and also the instructor cannot readily identify them as being legitimate s from students. The instructor is not obliged to respond to from non-utoronto addresses. Page 9 of 11

10 Course Schedule Week 1 Introduction Cultural context first-century Palestine and early Judaism Week 2 Jesus Christ Life and teachings according to the canonical Gospels Alternative and competing accounts Week 3 First Century Jewish Christianity Christianity and Judaism Paul and Pauline Christianity Week 4 First Century: From Jerusalem to Rome the spread of Christianity according to the Book of Acts Week 5 Second Century the birth of Episcopal Authority, Irenaeus and Ignatius Montanists, Marcion, and Gnostics Week 6 Second and Third Centuries Apologetics and growth of the movement, Justin Martyr, Tatian Persecution, and the rise of the cult of the martyrs Christian scholarship, Origen and the cultural takeover bid Christianity beyond the Empire Week 7 Fourth Century Rise of Constantine and changes in the empire, Eusebius, the father of ecclesiastical history Theodosius and the Making of a State Religion Week 8 Fourth Century: Doctrinal Controversies I Disputes over doctrine; Arius and Athanasius Page 10 of 11

11 The Council of Nicaea and its aftermath Week 9 Fourth Century: Doctrinal Controversies II Continuing legacy of Nicaea--the Cappadocians and supporters Disputes over the Holy Spirit Council of Constantinople Week 10 Fourth and Fifth Century: Political and Social Considerations Maturation of Christian political structures Bishops and imperial officials The rise of monasticism Week 11 Fifth Century: Doctrinal Controversies I Cyril and Nestorius The Council of Ephesus Week 12 Fifth Century: Doctrinal Controversies II Aftermath of Ephesus Road to Chalcedon Please note that this syllabus is subject to change in accordance with the regulations in the TST Basic Degree Handbook. Page 11 of 11