Church Polity: Primacy, Authority and Decision Making

In the Acts of the Apostles the early forms of church government were documented. Since then church polity has been a decisive part of the development of Christianity. Church polity is the operational structure for governance of the Church. It involves the ministerial structure of the Church, as well as the impact and influence of the laity, and how authority and human resources are used within the community, with particular regard to how decisions are reached in the church. In this course, students will identify various forms of church governance, and how the concepts of democracy, sustainability and gender can be applied to structures of authority and governance in the church, particularly in regard to the laity. An important aspect of the course is the role of the bishop in the Church, and the impact church polity exerts on international relations.By the end of the course the student is expected to be able to: - demonstrate an in-depth understanding of various expressions and theories of church polity - display advanced insight into how various theological thinkers have perceived the exercise of power within operational structures of governance - demonstrate the ability to connect theological theories to polity - critically reflect on church polity from the perspective of democracy, sustainability and gender.