Introduction to Church History (Parts I and II)

‘Through history, we shall find out how the gospel judges Christian behaviour in the past and in the present’ - Jean Comby

Introduction

Christianity is a ‘historical’ religion. That is, it is based on belief in a God who at a particular time and place entered history as a human being. For this reason alone, the study of History has an important role for Christians.

This Introductory course is in two parts. Part I covers the time from the birth of the Church up to the end of the Middle Ages. Part II covers the time from the Reformation to the 20th Century.

Course Objectives

The course aims to help participants:

become familiar with some of the major issues, movements and people in the 2000 year history of the church

consider the reasons behind the high and low points in the story of the Church

reflect on the implications of the past for the present and future of the Church

Assessment

A postal tutor comments on written exercises for those doing the course for credit.

Delivery Method

A Study Guide for each theme and a textbook are posted to each participant and a set of tapes containing input for each meeting are posted to the group facilitator.

The group decides on the interval between meetings – 1 month, 6 weeks, 2 months

Course Content

The themes covered by the course are:

Part One	Part Two
Birth of the Church	Background to the Reformation
The Persecutions	The Reformation
Constantine and the Christian Empire	The Catholic Renewal
The formation of the Creed	The Missions
The Middle Ages - Decadence / Renewal	Enlightenment and Revolution
Christendom - Expansion, Challenge, defence	The Church's Social Teachings Aspects of the Chruch in the 20th Century

 

Readings

The basic text for each Part is the relevant volume of How to Read Church History by Jean Comby (Professor in the Catholic Faculty at the University of Lyon).

Forming a Group

If you would like to form a group, please contact NCRS for an Enrolment Form.

The National Centre for Religious Studies