Patristics and the Great Church Fathers

This course will introduce the great church fathers from East and West: Athanasius the Great, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo and Gregory the Great. The course will provide an overview of both the theological thought of the fathers as well as their history and accomplishments. Their importance for the history of the Church cannot be overestimated. Together they created the horizon of Christian tradition of their time, which since then has been preserved in many ways by various Christian confessions. Selected texts by the fathers will be studied and discussed, and hermeneutical methods will be employed for a more independent reading of these great fathers.By the end of the course the student is expected to be able to: - identify and analyze the positions of these great church fathers; - apply appropriate hermeneutical methods in relation to the great church fathers; - assess the contributions of these great church fathers in relation to contemporary theological problems.