Following the success of the "After the New Testament", the School of Ministry is pleased to offer the second section of this course titled "Church Fathers and Councils". Mr. Jim McGill, full time instructor of the School of Ministry Catholic Biblical School, will teach the course in the fall of 2009.

This 30 week program is a review of the significant issues of the early Church in the fourth and fifth centuries based on the writings of the principal authors of the period. This course will survey the literature of the period hearing first hand from those who were there what concerns held their attention and how they formulated a response. A broad spectrum of issues emerges including the first church history, Christological and Trinitarian controversies, the development of biblical canons, doctrinal and creedal formulations, the rise of monasticism and much more. Authors include Eusebius, Augustine, Jerome, Athanasius, and many others.

"Church Fathers and Councils" is a non-credit course open to all adults, but may be of particular interest to graduates of the Catholic Biblical School, students who completed "After the New Testament," and others with a background in Scripture, history or ministry.

Unit I: Christian Initiation and Catechesis, Church/State relationship, Pastoral Leadership, Christological and Trinitarian theologies.

Unit II: Nature of Humanity, Early Creeds and Canons, Theology of the Church, Ascetical and Monastic Practices.

Unit III: Relics and Holy Places, Lives of the Saints, Canonical and Apocryphal Texts, Biblical Interpretation, Christian Art and Architecture.

Text book: Christianity in Late Antiquity by Bart D. Ehrman and Andrew S. Jacobs; Oxford University Press, 2004.



Classes will be offered at the University of Dallas Irving campus on the following days and times:

On Tuesday mornings from 9:30 - 11:30 in Carpenter Hall, room #TBA

On Wednesday evenings from 7:00 - 9:00 in Carpenter Hall, room # TBA.

To view a class calendar, please click here.