黑料不打烊

(Dr. Kevin Clarke, PhD, STL)

This course will introduce the history, theology, and spirituality of post-Nicene Fathers, from St. Athanasius to St. Gregory Palamas (d. 1357). This course will provide an overview of both the theological thought of the Fathers of the Church (patristics in the strict sense) and their life and writings (patrology). The rich ethnic and cultural diversity of Christian thought will be highlighted through study of primary sources. Students will learn the following:

• Exegesis of primary texts from patristic authors representing a variety of themes, not to coincide with primary texts read in DT 100, 103, & 104.
• An account of key patristic figures in the Byzantine tradition from 325 AD until 1357 AD, describing their historical situation, particular achievements, key works, and distinctive theological style.
• Modes of interpreting patristic authors (especially with sensitivity to the original Greek texts, when possible) for contemporary purposes and within their own historical context.
• A range of patristic concerns, from Biblical exegesis, hymnody, and liturgical compositions, with a special focus on liturgical honors to the Theotokos.
• A range of important considerations from the relation between apophatic and cataphatic theology, the monastic and married life, the theology of icons, to patristic teachings on the Theotokos and approaches to hagiography.
• Familiarity with representative authors of the Greek Church, or Latin and Syriac authors in Greek translation who exercised influence on the Byzantine Church.
• Criteria for defining an author as a Father of the Church.

(2 hours, 1 semester)

(Dr. Alexander S. Harb, STL, SEOD)

Pioneers, adventurers of the Spirit, eccentric and radically orthodox, the Desert Monastics continue to hold popular and scholarly imagination because of their lives, wise sayings, and living legacy. In the sayings and stories collected, copied, and preserved, we find passionate devotion to God and a revolutionary answer to the call of the Gospel to leave all and follow Christ. These monastics lived in a time of great transition for the Roman Empire and the Christian Church. This course relies heavily upon both primary and secondary reading with lecture and discussion to allow students to enter a world that is stark, foreign and unforgiving and yet rich and relevant even today.

(3 hours; 1 semester)

(Very Rev. Dr. Stelyios Muksuris, PhD, ThD (c.))

This intensive two-semester course will immerse the student into the Hellenistic Greek language, the longest evolutionary phase of the most ancient language in the world still spoken today. Theology students will initially be introduced to the basics of the Biblical Greek language, such as the alphabet, grammar, syntax, and proper non-Erasmian pronunciation. Gradually, they will gain insights into the morphology of Koin膿 through exposure to simple and more complex vocabulary as studied in New Testament, liturgical, and patristic texts. A major emphasis in the course will be the development of proficient reading skills, as well as the capability to translate simple sentences and later, more complex structures and pericopes in ancient texts. The contextual history of the language and the linguistic mindset of the philosophically and theologically minded Greeks will likewise be studied in careful detail. A major objective of this course is to produce knowledgeable and well-rounded theologians and people of faith, all of whom will not only be conversant with relevant ancient texts of the Hellenistic era, but also capable of engaging in intelligible and fruitful dialogue with others.

(3 hours; 2 semesters)

(TBA)

This course examines, in a holistic manner, the basic elements of the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage and sexuality. The Biblical foundations, historical and theological development of the Catholic tradition of marriage and sexuality will be presented with special attention to Church documents on these subjects. In addition, questions pertaining to sexuality will be considered as related to particular contemporary bioethical topics such as abortion, fertility technologies, and the ethics of genetic modification technologies. The pastoral dimensions of premarital counseling and evaluation will also be considered. The student will engage:

• Primary source material on marriage, chastity, and sexual morals in Biblical texts and in Byzantine patristic tradition.
• Primary sources on marriage and sexuality: Humanae Vitae, Familiaris Consortio, Evangelium Vitae, Donum Vitae, and Dignitatis personae.
• The philosophical underpinnings for the definitions, goods, and obligations of marriage and sexual ethics, as foundations for moral reasoning on the topics found in revelation.
• Magisterial understanding of marriage, the family, and natural sexual acts.
• The components of Natural Family Planning and reproductive technologies. In doing this, particular care will be given to showing the connection of contraception with other contemporary bioethical issues, whether at the beginning or the end of life. These topics will be considered primarily from the perspective of individual morality.
• Magisterial teachings and contemporary theories on homosexuality.
• In the contextualization of medical questions and their resolutions with pastoral sensitivity while retaining respect for human life from natural conception to natural death.

(2 hours; 1 semester)

(Helenanne Hochendoner, MAT)

This introductory course examines the foundations for the study of the Bible. It will introduce methodologies like the historical-critical method as well as typology, allegory and other interpretive methods as well as a thoroughgoing introduction to the various genres of Scripture. The building blocks of Biblical work (academic as well as homiletic) will be achieved through a word study. Students of this course will develop the following skills:

• Read the Bible spiritually and historically as well as critically.
• Understand and explain the role of Scripture as witness to God's revelation for both Old and New Testament communities.
• Identify important issues in contemporary Eastern Christian Biblical study.
• Begin to articulate the Catholic view of revelation, inspiration and canonicity.

(3 hours; 1 semester)