History of Christianity I

Course Description

This survey course invites students to encounter the story of Christianity from the end of the New Testament era to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the eve of the Reformation. It follows the spread of Christian communities across Asia, Africa and Europe.  It highlights the theological, ecclesiastical, ethical, and missional responses developed by these major centers in the form of ideas, practices and institutions, which contributed to the “Great Tradition” of the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic” church amidst serious internal conflicts and external pressures that sometimes threatened its very existence.
 
This multi-centered approach to the history of Christianity as a worldwide movement from the earliest times will acknowledge both the crucial role of Western Christianity to the emergence of European Christendom during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages as well as the often-overlooked theological, liturgical and missionary achievements of the Christian communities of Africa and Asia during the same period.