Class 1: Introduction
Church History
Dr. Ann T. Orlando
Sept. 1, 2015
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Introduction to Church History
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Introductory remarks
Importance of Church History
Review Syllabus
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Primary sources
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Structure of course
Requirements
Course Web Site
Where are they?
How to read them
Periods or eras in histiography
Assignments
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Importance of Church History
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An appreciation for importance of Catholic Church in Western
civilization
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Witness (testimony) of holy men and women
Context for the theological answers that have been developed
and taught by the Church
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Papacy is oldest continually functioning institution in the world
Often, can’t appreciate the answer without knowing the question
Example: Jesus Christ whom we confess as one person with two
natures
God’s plan of salvation unfolds in history
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History is an aspect of theology, Providence
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Pilgrim Church
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The Pilgrim Church is moving toward her celestial home
at the end of time
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The Pilgrim Church is in the world but not of the world
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Martyrs
Political entanglements
The Pilgrim Church is not a church of the pure
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Individual members as members of the society of the
Church
Sinful members
Political entanglements
History helps us to understand where the Church has
been so far on her pilgrimage
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Structure for Course
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Course covers Church History from Pentecost
through late Middle Ages
Divide semester into four parts
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Antiquity, especially late antiquity (100 – 604)
Rise of Islam and Charlemagne (612 – 900)
Early Middle Ages (900 – 1225)
Late Middle Ages (1225 – 1415)
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Requirements
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Class attendance and active participation.
Papers and discussion on primary source readings three times during semester at
conclusion of each Part
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Two Exams:
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Papers should be 1-2 pages
Theme of thesis statement
FOCUS ON PRIMARY SOURCES
Midterm will cover first half of semester (closed book)
Final will cover second half of semester (closed book)
Both midterm and final will include matching quotes to primary source authors; identification of
terms and people; geography identification (midterm only)
Grade:
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1/3 papers and discussion
1/3 midterm
1/3 final
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Texts for Class
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1. Modern text (secondary source) recommended
text from list in syllabus
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James Hitchcock, History of the Catholic Church: From the
Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium is strongly
recommended.
2. Augustine, City of God, available at
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm or
Dyson translation (Cambridge University Press,
1998); or New City Press translation, 2013
3. Many primary sources available on web, see
syllabus for details
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Web Site for Class
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http://web.mit.edu/aorlando/www/SaintJohn
CHI/
Several files
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Word file of syllabus
Web file (html) with links to web primary
readings; other background resources of interest;
Basic map of key historical regions (large pdf file)
Lecture slides; posted day after each lecture, in a
folder called Lectures; PowerPoint format
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Sources
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Primary Source: original works from the historical period under study
Secondary Source: later works written about earlier historical periods or works
Primary Source readings are FOCUS in class
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Different, multiple sources each week; should be focus of papers and presentations
Reference ancient works using Book/Chapter/Paragraph numbering (e.g., Luke 1:1-4)
Most are available on the web; URL provided in syllabus and web site
Read everything critically (includes secondary sources)
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What is author’s perspective
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Bokenkotter: late 20th C American Catholic
Hitchcock: early 21st C American Jesuit
Orlando: early 21st C American Catholic
What issues is the author addressing;
How important is the historical circumstance to those issues
Who is the audience
What is genre of the work (homily, thesis, poem, letter, Biblical commentary,
histiography)
Caution using Web Resources
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Anybody can put anything on the web and claim that it is ‘authoritative’
Many ancient works, especially early Church Fathers, are available, but in older
translations
Maintenance of a web resource is still on an individual basis; no guarantee that
information will be well maintained
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Difficulty of Primary Source
Readings
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I know that this is a lot of material
I know that it is often very difficult to read
Therefore
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At the end of each class I will strongly suggest what should
be read carefully, and what should be skimmed
I will try to point out key themes
It will serve you well to bring the next weeks’ readings with
you
Remember when referring to primary source use
Book.Chapter.Paragraph; NOT page number
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Would you refer to a Biblical passage by page number??
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Marking Sacred and Secular
Time: B.C. and A.D.
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Almost all journals and books in the last
20 years have gone to BCE and CE
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BCE = Before the Common Era
CE = Common Era
I stubbornly hold on to B.C. and A.D.
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Historical Eras or Periods…
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Are arbitrary fictions of later historians
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But are convenient ways to arrange historical material.
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All historians have an agenda (e.g., Dark Ages)
Periods usually marked by some dramatic change causing a
disruption in the ‘old’ order
But even dramatic changes do not change all of society all at once
Commonly referred to eras:
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Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Reformation
Early Modernity
Enlightenment
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Important Concepts in
Antiquity
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Actually concepts that will be unchallenged
until the Enlightenment
There is no separation of Religion and State
Limited concept of individual rights –
emphasis on individual duties
The antiquity of something was a direct
measure of its value
Prophecy is not predicting the future like
magic; it is more like cause and effect
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Assignment
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Recommended
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Hitchcock, Introduction
Review rubric for essay papers
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