History of Christianity

Catalog description

This course offers an introduction of Christianity from the apostle Paul through the seventeenth century, with an emphasis on the diversity of Christian traditions, beliefs, and practices. We explore the origins of Christianity within Judaism in the eastern Mediterranean world, the spread of Christianity, the development of ecclesiastical institutions, the rise and establishment of monasticism, and the various controversies that occupied the church throughout its history. The course draws on primary literary sources (from biblical literature to council proceedings, monastic rules, sermons, theological treatises, and biographies) as well as Christian art, inscriptions, music, and manuscripts.