THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
School of Theology and Religious Studies
TRS 620: Introduction to Patristic Theology
Spring 2009
Credit Hours: 3
Time and Location: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:35PM - 4:50PM; MCCT 114
Instructor contact information:
Tarmo Toom, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Patristic Theology
Caldwell 434; e-mail: toom@cua.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, 5.00PM-6.00PM
Course Description:
This course is an investigation of the main theological issues, theologians,
theological controversies, and religious movements in the early church. It covers
the period from the second to the fifth century, from Apostolic Fathers to
Augustine, form Gnosticism to Pelagianism.
Instructional Methods: Lecture, in-class readings, discussions of primary texts
Required Texts:
McGuckin, J. A. The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2004.
Wilken, R. L. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
NB! The selected primary sources are available either at Blackboard or at a given internet
site.
Goals for Student Learning:
At the conclusion of the course, students are expected to know patristic theology
in its broad features.
Course Requirements and Assessment:
 Two exams (each 20% of the grade)


Class participation/discussions (20% of the grade)
Research paper (40% of the grade)
o The paper should be no less than 15 pages and no more than 16 pages,
point 12, double-space, formatted according to Turabian, A Manual for
Writers, 7th ed., 2007 (I mean this!), with a correctly formatted coverpage, footnotes, and bibliography.
o As a Research Paper, it is supposed to demonstrate your skill in finding
good and relevant books/articles (at least five, dictionary articles will not
count), and to show that you know the current research developments in
the particular area.
o Have a thesis! And please make a case for your thesis!
o Tardiness in submitting the paper will result in a lower grade (A  B,
etc.).
Topics for Research Papers:
1. Origen, Peri Archōn, Book IV, Chs. 1-3 (biblical interpretation)
2. Augustine, Ad Simplicianum, Book I (soteriology)
3. Gregory of Nazianzus, Theological Orations 29-31 (Trinitarian Theology)
4. Cyril of Alexandria, Explanation of the Twelve Chapters (Christology)
5. Gregory of Nyssa, Life of Moses (spirituality)
6. Evagrius Ponticus, The Monk: The Treatise on the Practical Life (monasticism)


The University grading system for graduates is available at
http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii
Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on
http://cardinalstation.cua.edu
Expectations and policies:
 Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students.
 Attendance: more than three excused absences result in a lower class participation
grade
 Policy on Making Up: in the case of an excused absence, students can take their
exams on a time negotiated with the instructor.
Course Outline and Readings:
Throughout the class, READ the articles about the given topic (e.g., Apostolic
Fathers, Apologists, baptism, heresies, etc.) and whatever else you need from
McGuckin’s Handbook to Patristic Theology.
Jan. 13: Introduction: “Why study Patristic Theology?”; Explanation of Syllabus
Jan. 15: Patristic Literature; The Earliest Christianity
Jan. 20: No class. Inauguration Day
Jan. 22: Apostolic Fathers; READ: Wilken, Introduction and Ch 1; Didachē
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm]
Jan. 27: Apologists; Apocrypha; READ: Justin, First Apology 1-17
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm]; Letter to Diognetus
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0101.htm]; The Protevangelium of James
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm]
Jan. 29: Baptism; READ: Wilken, Ch 2; Hippolytus(?), The Apostolic Tradition 17-21
[http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus.html]
Feb. 3: Baptism; READ: Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 3
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310103.htm]
Feb. 5: “Heresies” (Marcionism); READ: Marcion, Antithesis [Blackboard]
Feb. 10: “Heresies” (Montanism, Gnosticism); READ: Gospel of Thomas
[http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html]
Feb. 12: Authority Controversy; READ: Irenaeus, Haer. 3.1-9, 24
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103.htm]
Feb. 17: Alexandrian Theology (mystical theology); READ: Origen, Com. Cant.
Prologue [Blackboard]
Feb. 19: Alexandrian Theology (systematic theology)—READ: Origen, Peri Archōn
Preface [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0412.htm]
Feb. 24: Alexandrian Theology and Interpretation of the Scriptures; READ: Wilken, Ch
3; Origen, Peri Archōn IV.2 [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0412.htm]
Feb. 26: Interpretation of the Scriptures; READ: Theodore of Mopsuestia, Comm. Zech.
and Comm. Gal. [Blackboard]; Paper topics due
March 3: No class. Spring recess.
March 5: No class. Spring recess.
March 10: MIDTERM
March 12: Ecclesiological Controversy; READ: Tertullian, Flight in Persecution
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0409.htm]
March 17: Ecclesiological Controversy (Donatism); READ: Wilken, Ch 8; The Acts of
Abitinian Martyrs [Blackboard]; Augustine, Ep. 185
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102185.htm]
March 19: Trinitarian Controversy (Monarchianism, Arianism); READ: Wilken, Ch 4;
Appendix 2: Credal Documents in R. Williams, Arius: Heresy and Tradition, rev.
ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 269-279 [Blackboard]
March 24: Trinitarian Controversy (Heteroousians, Cappadocian Fathers, Western
Trinitarian Theology); READ: Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 29 (Third Theological
Oration) [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3102.htm]; Augustine, Trin. 9
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1301.htm]
March 26: Christological Controversy (Apollinarianism; Antiochean Christology);
READ: Cyril of Alexandria, Third Letter to Nestorius
[http://www.monachos.net/content/patristics/patristictexts/135-cyril-ofalexandria-third-epistle-to-nestorius-including-the-twelve-anathemas]; Theodoret
of Cyr, Against Cyril’s 12 Anathemas
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2701.htm]
March 31: Christological Controversy (Cyril of Alexandria, Monophysitism,
Monothelitism)—READ: Wilken, Ch 5; Maximus the Confessor, Opuscule 3
[Blackboard]
April 2: Christological Controversy (Iconoclastic Controversy); READ: Wilken, Ch 10;
Theodore of Studite, On the Holy Icons Book I [Blackboard]
April 7: The Seven Ecumenical Councils (Nicaea, Constantinople)—READ: the Nicene
Creed and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed [Handout]
April 9: No class. Holy Thursday
April 14: The Seven Ecumenical Councils (from Ephesus to Nicaea II)—READ:
The Definition of Faith of the Council of Chalcedon [Handout]
April 16: Monasticism—READ: Wilken, Chs 11-12
April 21: Monastic Spirituality—READ: Athanasius, Life of Anthony
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2811.htm]; Evagrius, The Foundations of the
Monastic Life [Blackboard]
April 23: Pelagianism and Augustinianism (grace, free will); READ: Wilken, Ch 7;
Augustine On Nature and Grace 1-39
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1503.htm]
April 28: Pelagianism and Augustinianism (original sin); Augustine, On the Merits and
Forgiveness of Sins and on Infant Baptism 1.1-28
[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/15011.htm]
April 30: Augustinianism (foreknowledge and predestination)
May 5-9: FINAL EXAM; PAPERS DUE
A Few Recommended Reference Works:
Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, eds. S. Döpp and W. Geerlings. Trans. M. O’Connell. New York:
Herder and Herder, 2000.
Drobner, H. R. The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction. Trans. S. S. Schatzmann.
Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2007.
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, ed. A. Di Bernardino. Trans. A. Walford. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1992.
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 2d ed., ed. E. Fergusson. New York: Garland, 1999.
Moreschini, C. and Norelli, E. Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature: A Literary History, 2 vols.
Trans. M. O’Connell. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2005.
The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature, ed. e. Young et al. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004.
The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. Ed. S. Ashbrook Harvey and D. G. Hunter. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2008.
A Few Recommended Collections of Primary Texts:
A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337, ed. J. Stevenson, rev. ed. W.
H. C. Frend. London: SPCK, 1987; reprint, 1999.
Creeds, Councils and Controversies: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church, AD 337-461, ed. J.
Stevenson, rev. ed. W. H. C. Frend. London: SPCK, 1989; reprint, 2000.
Documents in Early Christian Thought, ed. M. Wiles and M. Santer. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1975; reprint, 2004.
The Teachings of the Church Fathers, ed. J. R. Willis. New York: Herder and Herder, 1966; reprint, San
Francisco: Ignatius, 2002.
A Few Recommended Secondary Texts for Further Study:
Chadwick, H. The Church in Ancient Society: From Galilee to Gregory the Great. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2001.
Di Bernardino, A. and Studer, B. (eds.), History of Theology I: The Patristic Period. Trans. M. J.
O’Connell. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1996.
Evans, G. R. (ed.), The First Theologians: An Introduction to Theology in the Early Church. London,
Blackwell, 2004.
Ferguson, E. Church History Volume One: From Christ to Pre-Reformation: The Rise and Growth of the
Church in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
Frend, W. H. C. The Early Church: From the Beginnings to 461, 4th rev. ed. London: SCM, 2003.
Guy, L. Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs & Practices. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity, 2004.
Hall, S. Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991; new ed. London:
SPCK, 2005.
Harmless, W. Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2004.
Mitchell, M. M. and Young, F. M. (eds.), Origins to Constantine. In The Cambridge History of
Christianity, vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Osborn, E. The Emergence of Christian Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Rousseau, P. The Early Christian Centuries. London: Longman, 2002.
Studer, B. Trinity and Incarnation: The Faith of the Early Church. Trans. M. Westerhoff. Collegeville,
MN: The Liturgical Press, 1993.
F. Young et al. (eds.), The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004.
A Few Recommended Websites:
http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/fathers.htm
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook2.html#fathers2
http://www.monachos.net/patristics/sources.shtml.
http://www.myriobiblos.gr/library%20home_en.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/
http://www.synaxis.org/ecf/ecf.html
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/
http://www.voskrese.info/spl/index.html
http://www2.evansville.edu/ecoleweb/