Christian Life and Thought in the Early Church

In this course, participants will have the opportunity to gain and understanding of how Christian belief and practice developed from the post-biblical period to the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD). You will be introduced to: how theologians refined their understanding of God in response to the life death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ; how Christians negotiated the boundaries of their belief and worship; and the abiding influence of key thinkers for the contemporary Church.

Session 1: Why Study the Early Church? (7pm, 6 October 2021)

This session will ask what we mean by ‘the Early Church’, discuss its origins in Judaism, and describe its general history in both East and West until the fifth century. We will look at such fundamental issues as the fixing of the biblical canon, the emergence of ministry, and the development of the Church’s basic structures. We will also consider how far its various traditions should be considered normative for the Church of later centuries and discuss how insights from early theology may foster creative renewal in every era of the Church’s life.

Reading: The Early Church, Henry Chadwick, 1993; Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church, Stuart Hall, 2005; The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, ed. Susan Ashbrook Harvey and David G Hunter, 2008.

Session 2: How to Handle Heresies (7pm, 13 October 2021)

We will look at the Christian heresies which emerged from the second to the fifth centuries and ask why the ‘Great Church’ felt obliged to reject them as inadequate articulations of the Christian Gospel. With special focus on the problems of Arianism, Nestorianism, and Monophysitism, we will ask how far they were real movements and discuss what their rejection meant for later understandings of Jesus, the Trinity, and the Church.

Reading: Heresies and How to Avoid Them, ed. Ben Quash and Michael Ward, 2007; The Early Church: From the Beginnings to 461, WHC Frend and Carol Harrison, 2003; The First Christian Theologians: An Introduction to Theology in the Early Church, ed. GR Evans, 2004.

Session 3: The Great Writers, East and West (7pm, 20 October 2021)

In this session we will examine the notion of ‘Fathers’ and ‘Mothers of the Church’ and their ongoing importance in Christian theology and life. Focusing on the earlier period we will discuss how Irenaeus (c130-c202 AD) defended Christian belief against contemporary ideologies (e.g., Gnosticism) that threatened to undermine the reality and uniqueness of Christ, and how Origen (c184-c253 AD), articulated the first Christian systematic theology and opened the door to a positive appreciation of philosophical wisdom outside explicit Christian revelation.

Reading: When the Church was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers, Marcellino d’Ambrosio, 2014; The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers, Mike Aquilina, 2013; Great Christian Thinkers: from the Early Church, Through the Middle Ages, Benedict XVI, 2011.

Session 4: The Importance of Monasticism (7pm, 27 October 2021)

The monastic movements in the Early Church were massively important and remained so for the entire western Christian tradition until the Reformation and until today in the Christian East. In this session we will discuss the origin of monasticism in Syria and Egypt and its later development in the west. By examining some of the great founding figures (e.g., Saints Anthony and Pachomius, the Desert Fathers and Mothers, and a little beyond the period, St Benedict), we will ask how monasticism contributed – positively and negatively to Christian faith and spirituality.

Reading: The Desert Movement: Fresh Perspectives on the Spirituality of the Desert, Alexander Ryrie, 2011; Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism, William Harmless, 2004; The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks, trans. Benedicta Ward, 2003.

Session 5: Liturgy and Worship in the Fourth Century (7pm, 17 November 2021)

This session will look at the development of Christian worship in the vitally important fourth century. We will consider baptism and the emergence of the catechumenate, the classic forms of the Eucharist, Daily Prayer, and the architectural settings of worship (baptistries and basilicas). In particular, drawing on some aspects of the Church of England’s Common Worship, we will examine how the Early Church’s theology of liturgy, especially the notion of ‘The Mystery’, has profoundly influenced Christian worship both up to and in our era.

Reading: Early Christian Worship: An Introduction to Ideas and Practice, Paul Bradshaw, 2011; Ancient Christian Worship: Early Christian Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective, Andrew B. McGowan, 2014; The Mystery of Christian Worship, Odo Casel OSB, 1999.

Session 6: The Long Shadow of Augustine (7pm, 24 November 2021)

Western theology, both Catholic and Protestant, might well be called, ‘a footnote to St. Augustine’ (354AD-430AD), the great Bishop of Hippo in N. Africa. Drawing on his famous Confessions and later works, we will consider his life and work with particular reference to three areas: the sacraments, the problem of grace and predestination, and the centrality of the Holy Trinity in Christian mystical theology and prayer. It will be argued that while he was a massive spiritual leader, contributing enormously to theology, he also cast a massive shadow over later aspects of western Christian thinking.

Reading: Augustine: A Very Short Introduction, Henry Chadwick, 2001; The Confessions, trans. Maria Boulding, 2012; The Theology of Augustine: An Introductory Guide to his Most Important Works, Matthew Levering, 2013

The Rev’d Dr Earl Collins is the Continuing Ministerial Development Officer for the Diocese of Chichester and Vicar of St John’s Hove. Prior to coming to Chichester, he was Vice-Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge.