Dr. Robert Norris Ancient & Medieval Church History Course Description This course is a study of Christianity from the Early Church to the dawn of the Reformation with readings in source materials. It places an emphasis on the uses and applications of church history to life and ministry, and helps the student to understand the development of Christian thought and the formulation of doctrine. Course Objectives To gain knowledge of the main events and persons in the course of church history from the early church to the dawn of the Reformation Understanding of the development of Christian thought and the formulation of doctrine Development of the skill of applying church history to contemporary ideas and issues Lecture Schedule Lecture 1 The Background to the history of the Early Church Lecture 2 The Growth of the Christian Church Lecture 3 The Persecutions Lecture 4 The Apologists Lecture 5 Orthodoxy and Heresy Lecture 6 The Donatist Challenge Lecture 7 The Development of Canon, Creeds and Episcopacy Lecture 8 The Church in the Fourth Century Lecture 9 Heresies in the Early Church Lecture 10 The Beginnings of Monasticism Lecture 11 Athenasius Lecture 12 The Council of Nicea Lecture 13 The Cappadocians Lecture 14 Significant Church Leaders - Ambrose, Jerome, and Chrysostom Lecture 15 The Confessions of St. Augustine Lecture 16 St. Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy Lecture 17 The City of God: St. Augustine s Theology of History 1
Lecture 18 Lecture 19 Lecture 20 Lecture 21 Lecture 22 Lecture 23 Lecture 24 Lecture 25 Lecture 26 Lecture 27 Lecture 28 Lecture 29 Lecture 30 Lecture 31 Lecture 32 Lecture 33 Lecture 34 Lecture 35 The Council of Chalcedon An Introduction to the Early Middle Ages Christian Advance British Christianinty Learning and Theology The Church of the Seven Councils: Eastern Orthodoxy An Introduction to the Late Middle Ages Monastic Growth Crusades or Missions _ St. Bernard Medieval Heresy Scholastic Theology Life and thought of Thomas Aquinas The Sacramental System Church and State Wycliffe and Hus Reform in Italy Mysticism and the Devotio Moderna The end of an age. Required Reading The Early Church Henry Chadwick (p.300) 2000 Years of Christ s Power (Vols.1 &2) Nick Needham ( p. 900) Augustine of Hippo Peter Brown (p.430) The Middle Ages R.W. Southern (p.360) The Harvest of Medieval Theology H. Oberman (p.490) 2
Original Sources Creeds Councils and Controversies Ed. W.H.C. Frend (various documents) A New Eusebius Ed. W.H.C. Frend (various documents) Against Heresy Tertullian Selections from The Incarnation The Confessions The City of God The Love of God The Summa Theologica Athanasius St. Augustine St. Augustine St. Bernard St. Thomas Evaluation The students will meet each Thursday evening from 7.00pm 10.00am for 13 weeks. They will be expected each week to examine original source material. The students will be expected to write four 2000 word essays and will be expected to sit two 2 hour final examinations, one on the Early Church and one on the Medieval Church. The final grade will be determined by the essays and examinations. 3
Bibliography Atiya, Aziz Suryal. A History of Eastern Christianity. Rev. ed. Kraus Reprint Co., 1980.(Graham Library has the 1968 ed.) *Bettenson, Henry, ed. Documents of the Christian Church. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1963. Bornstein, Daniel E. (ed.) Medieval Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009. *Brown, Peter. The World of Late Antiquity, A. D. 150-750. London: Thames and London,1971. *Brown. Peter. The rise of Western Christendom: triumph and diversity, A.D. 200-1000. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishers, 2003. Cantor, Norman F. Medieval History: the life and death of a civilization. 2nd ed. London: Collier- Macmillan Limited, 1969. *Cook, William R. The Medieval World View: an introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. *Drobner Hubertus R. The fathers of the church: a comprehensive introduction. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2007. Evans. G.R. Faith in the medieval world. Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 2002. Evans. G.R. The church in the early Middle Ages. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. Freeman, Charles. A new history of early Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. *Frend, W. H. C. The Rise of Christianity. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1984. Hamilton, Bernard. The Christian world of the Middle Ages. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Pub., 2003. Jenkins, Philip. The lost history of Christianity: the thousand-year golden age of the church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia- and how it died. New York: HarperOne, 2008. *Keen, Maurice. The Pelican History of Medieval Europe. New York: Viking Penguin, 1968. Logan F. Donald. A history of the church in the Middle Ages. London : Routledge, 2002. Mango, Cyril. Byzantium: the empire of New Rome. New York: Scribner's, 1980. MacCulloch., Diarmaid. A history of Christianity: the first three thousand years. London; New York: Allen Lane/Penguin Books, 2009. *Mullen. Roderic L. The expansion of Christianity: a gazetteer of its first three centuries. Leiden ; Boston, Mass. : Brill, 2004. *Noble, Thomas F. X. and Julia M. H. Smith (ed.) Early medieval Christianities, c.600--c.1100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 4
*Oakley, F. The Western Church in the Later Middle Ages. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979. *Robinson, Thomas A. The Early Church: an annotated bibliography of literature in English. Metuchen: ATLA & The Scarecrow Press, 1993. *Rousseau. Philip. The early Christian centuries. London ; New York : Longman, 2002. *Rubin,Miri and Walter Simons (ed.). Christianity in Western Europe, c.1100-c.1500. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Thompson, Bard. Humanists and Reformers: a history of the Renaissance and Reformation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996. Wedderburn Alexander J. M. A history of the first Christians. London : T&T Clark International, 2004.. 5
Reformed Theological Seminary History of Christianity Course 06HT502/01 Professor: Robert M. Norris Campus: Washington Date: July 5.2018 Fall 2018 M. Div* Student Learning Outcomes In order to measure the success of the M. Div. curriculum, RTS has defined the following as the intended outcomes of the student learning process. Each course contributes to these overall outcomes. This rubric shows the contribution of this course to the M. Div. outcomes. *As the MDiv is the core degree at RTS, the M.Div. rubric will be used in this syllabus. Articulation (oral & written) Scripture Reformed Theology Broadly understands and articulates knowledge, both oral and written, of theological, historical, and cultural/global information, including details, concepts, and frameworks. Significant knowledge of the use of Scripture in the history of the church, integrating theological, historical, and cultural/global perspectives.) Significant knowledge of the history of the church as it forms the background of Reformed theology and practice. Moderate Moderate Rubric Moderate Minimal None Mini-Justification Theological essay; essay exams Biblical interpretation Historic basis of doctrine. Sanctification Desire for Worldview Winsomely Reformed Preach Worship Demonstrates a love for the Triune God and shows how His providence has directed the life of His church that aids the student s love and service to the church. Burning desire to conform all of life to the Word of God understanding that this has always been the desire of the invisible church. While affirming a Reformed ethos it encourages an appropriate ecumenical spirit with other Christians of differing traditions as emerging from the same foundations. Ability to preach and teach the meaning of Scripture understanding the historical contexts that have given rise to our understandings Knowledgeable of historic and modern Christian-worship forms; and the ability to conform praxis with principle. Minimal Minimal Minimal doctrine leads to worship. Church History provides a guide to the creation of a worldview. Reformation emphasis is on loving God and humanity. No actual preaching but understanding its place and impact in the history of worship. Basic to all worship, but no practical training in leading worship. Shepherd Church/World Ability to shepherd the local congregation in the light of the past and so appreciate the uniqueness of the reformed tradition and its emphasis upon proclamation and sacraments. At the same time maintaining a vision for world outreach. Ability to interact within a denominational context, within the broader worldwide church, and with significant public issues. Moderate The development of Christian doctrine in the history of the church brings Reformation emphasis is on loving God and neighbor. 6