Ancient Christianity

Catalog description

In this course we examine the development of Christianity in the Roman Empire during the first four centuries CE. We will consider both the development of the Church from its beginnings as a religious movement to its becoming one of the dominant institutions in the Roman Empire. We will investigate how the Church gained converts, how it was structured, the relationship between orthodox Christianity and ‘heresies,’ the Church's conflicts with the Roman Empire, and the changes in the Church resulting from the conversion of Constantine in the early fourth century.