Course Code
RELI 0060
Course Type
Tutorials
Subject Credit
Course Availability

This course explores the Greek-speaking church based in and around the eastern Roman Empire, in the period between the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and the so-called Triumph of Orthodoxy in 843.  It also considers relations with the Latin church, and Christian groups in the east that broke from imperial-sponsored orthodoxy.  During this period Ecumenical (or universal) Councils, along with numerous emperors, patriarchs, theologians and others strove to define the self-understanding of the Church.  It engages with primary sources in translation and a fine corpus of modern scholarly writing.

Sample Topics

  • The Late Roman Context
  • Church Councils, the Trinity and the Person of Christ
  • Church-State Relations
  • Spiritual and Liturgical Life
  • Monasticism
  • Missionary activity
  • Iconoclasts and Iconodules