Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology · Courses
NEWT
11 courses with the subject NEWT, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
NEWT 4002Introduction to the New Testament3
A survey of the books of the New Testament against the historical and religious background of early Christianity, Judaism, and the Greco- Roman world. Attention is also given to the patristic vision of Scripture, modern biblical criticism, and the New Testament Canon. Course is cross-listed as NEWT 5002.
A required survey of the New Testament books in their historical and religious background with attention to hermeneutics, the patristic exegetical heritage, and modern biblical studies.
This course builds skills for interpreting the Scriptures by studying their linguistic, historical, patristic, liturgical, and iconographical contexts. In addition, it studies the Gospel of Matthew in its historical setting, exegeting select passages from it. The goal of this course is to train students to study the Holy Scriptures for teaching, preaching, and personal spiritual formation. Classes will include lectures and discussions on the theological, literary, and historical aspects of the Gospel of Matthew. The second half of each class session will focus on studying a passage from Matthew to build exegetical skills. The students will have regular opportunities to practice certain skills. Students will participate in the exegesis by sharing their work and engaging in the work of their classmates. Students who have studied Greek should bring both an English and a Greek New Testament to class. 48
This course is an exegesis course on the Gospel of John using the Greek texts and English translations. Students will be accompanied in this course by the writings of St. John Chrysostom, blessed Bishop Gerasimos of Abydos, and select contemporary historical-theological interpreters of the Gospel. Exegesis requirement.
Introduction to New Testament. This course fulfills the New Testament
NEWT 6015Prayer in New Testament and Early Christianity3
The Orthodox Church is known for its beautiful written prayers. Together we pray words that have been spoken by Orthodox Christians for centuries. Some of our most central prayers, such as the “Thrice Holy Hymn” and the “Our Father,” draw from the Scriptures and Second Temple sources. Why do we pray the prayers of our forefathers and mothers? Why do we follow these formal patterns in our worship services? In this course, we will explore the ways that the Orthodox Church turns continually toward the well-tested patterns of prayer; we sing from a common hymnbook. This course will study select New Testament and ancient Christian prayers from the first four centuries, with attention to their scriptural and inter-testamental archetypes. Special focus will be given to prayers with biblical phrases and quotations. The “Our Father” and other prayers in the New Testament will be of special interest, including the commentaries written about them in the early patristic writings. The development of the Christian biblical odes will be also be traced, showing how Old and New Testament archetypes served as the basis for early liturgical prayers. What does this tendency toward “scripturalization” of prayers mean about the Orthodox faith? One of the learning outcomes for this course is that students will gain a greater awareness and appreciation for some of the biblical stories and characters that lie behind many of the prayers of the church, heroes of faith whom God saved through their prayers. We will thus rediscover some prayers that will inspire us today, and give us a greater appreciation for the tradition of Christian prayer and those who have prayed them before us. 49
NEWT 6550St. Paul: His Legacy, Life, and Epistles3
This is course will study the epistles of St. Paul in their historical contexts, seeking to understand both the life of the saint who wrote these letters, as well as the theology they espouse for the life of the Church then and now. The student will become much better acquainted with the Pauline corpus as a result of close reading, exegesis, and group discussion of the legacy St. Paul gave us in his epistles, preserved as Holy Scripture by the Church. We will endeavor to keep the image of St. Paul in our mind’s eye throughout the semester, and will give a privileged position to the preaching about Paul by our Father of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, by reading the seven sermons he preached “On the Praise of St. Paul."
This is a course on Orthodox exegesis methods and hermeneutics focused on the Sunday lectionary readings within their liturgical context. Each class the students will present her or his exegesis orally to the class, 50
This exegetically based course will explore Paul’s varied pastoral responses to the differing circumstances his communities presented to him. Particular attention will be given to (1) the character and work of Paul as a shaper of communities, and (2) the manner in which Paul relies on, but also transforms, ancient patterns of moral formation and ancient styles of rhetoric.
This course will study two of St. Paul’s epistles (Romans and Galatians). These letters distinguish themselves among Paul’s epistles since they both treat the boundaries of Christian identity, including issues concerning continuity with the covenants of Israel and the law given at Sinai. The course will focus closely on the interpretation of the texts from both historical and patristic perspectives. One major topic of the course will be the role of the Torah within early Gentile Christianity, including the rationale for its transformation, and its ethical implications for praxis within the Orthodox Church today. The student will be encouraged to utilize the Greek text. 51
