History of the Church I: The Beginnings through Medieval Period

Fee: $60
Five Weeks

ENROLL NOW

featuring text by Dr. Kevin Hughes and videos of faculty for Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Church history tells the stories that are woven into the fiber of the Church as people of God and as institution.  The Church's beliefs, practices, and relationships have been formed by believers of every generation as they endeavored to live lives of faith in their own time and place. In this course we explore the people and events that shaped culture and society as well as the Church across the centuries.  We look at both the epoch forming events as well as the people behind them.

This course has a required text:  Kevin L Hughes, Church History: Faith Handed On. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2002. (Loyola Press) (Amazon)

Topics

Week 1:  Why Study Church History  

Week 2: In the Beginning

Week 3: Establishing Faith in the Context of Culture

Week 4: Faith through the Early and High Middle Ages

Week 5: Faith in the Late Middle Ages

Special Features

This course includes:

• Weekly introductions to each new topic;
  
• Links to a different published commentary or review of the book each week;
  
• Weekly questions for reflection and discussion; and
• A regularly updated Resources page for further study of topics discussed in this course.

All Crossroads courses include these features:

• Participants have access 24 hours/ 7 days a week to the course's password-protected web site. 
  
• Each participant belongs to a small Community for Conversation and faith sharing guided by a facilitator.
  
• Site is usually available to participants at least three months after the course.
  
• An orientation in how to navigate the web site is always available.
  
• Technical assistance is easy to contact and prompt in returning a message.
  
• A Certificate of Active Participation is awarded to those who post at least three messages of substance for each week of content.

Additional Materials:

Kevin L Hughes, Church History: Faith Handed On. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2002.

Time Commitment:

A participant can expect to spend approximately 4 hours each week.  This commitment includes both preparation and interaction online.

Certificate Requirement Categories: Themes from Our Christian Tradition

Content Scholars: Kevin L. Hughes, Ph.D. (book) Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Villanova University; Francine Cardman, Ph.D. (video) Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry; Catherine M. Mooney, Ph.D. (video) Associate Professor of Church History at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.