Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology · Courses
RELG
22 courses with the subject RELG, 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.
RELG 1175Discovering Christ in the Scriptures3
This course focuses on the identity of Jesus, the Christ, according to the New Testament writings and other early Christian testimonies. It will give particular attention to how the New Testament writings draw themes, quotations, and typologies from the Old Testament Scripture in their depictions of Christ and the salvation of humankind through Him. In addition, we will study the historical setting of the early Church within the religious-cultural contexts of Second Temple Judaism. The Person of Christ will be our primary subject (both for the ancient Church and for us today); the Scripture will be the chief means of our inquiry; seeing the patterns of continuity between the Old Testament Scriptures and earliest Christianity will be one of the course's most memorable outcomes.
With the aid of the professor, students will confront questions such as the following: What were the great theories about religion formulated by Freud, Marx, Durkheim. Mircea, Geertz, and others? What impact have these theories had upon the intellectual development and cultural appreciation of religion during the last two hundred years? How do we maintain religious faith in the light of these scientific accounts of religion's origin, meaning, and purpose? How has science itself developed and changed in the last 150 years?
RELG 2175Doctrine and Devotion: The Mother of God3
This is a course on the Mother of God in the Orthodox tradition. Through the study of theological writings, homilies, hymns, and iconography, the historical development and theological significance of the Church's devotion to the Theotokos will emerge in all its richness and complexity. Also under consideration are apocryphal sources, and the monumental Life of the Virgin by John Geometres, a Byzantine writer of the tenth century.
RELG 2252St. John Chrysostom: His Life, Ministry, and Thought3
Centering on the life and theology of St. John Chrysostom, this course explores Chrysostom's education, ministry, preaching, the activities, the issues of faith and society to which he responded, the political pressures under which he labored, and his lasting contributions. The course examines the fourth century church father's historical context, exegetical method, social ethic, and theological outlook.
A survey of major religious traditions of the world, from the religions of India and the Far East, to the more familiar religions of the West. Students are introduced to the origins, history, scriptures, and fundamental tenets of each faith, as well as the modern transformations and manifestations that currently characterize them. The course is designed to enable students to begin the journey of their own personal study of religions in greater depth.
RELG 3014The Old Testament in the Orthodox Church3
This course introduces students to the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) and its influence on Christian theology and worship. The course includes an overview of the Old Testament narrative and its place in Christian self- understanding. It also examines the patristic interpretation of the text and its influence on a variety of theological concepts including sacrifice, worship, covenant, and salvation.
RELG 3015The New Testament in the Orthodox Church3
This course introduces the student to the gospel in the early Church (first and second centuries). It stresses the message of the gospel, rather than the books that contain this message. The course also looks at the development of these writing into a canonical collection of writings that became useful in worship and daily life just as the scripture we now call the Old Testament. The student will be introduced to many of the terms and ideas that are used in the study of the characteristics, history of interpretation (including patristic writings), hermeneutics, and canonical use of the lectionary within the Orthodox Church. The course will encourage close reading and interpretation of the weekly assigned scriptural readings. This course is not writing‐intensive, but stresses the acquisition of concepts in biblical studies, early Christian theology, and the practice of reading of scripture. 81
All Christians are called upon to appropriate the gospel for themselves and their generation. This course examines Christian thought from its origins to the present and acquaints students with the most significant personalities in the long history of Christian ideas, both Eastern and Western. Prerequisite: Introduction to Orthodoxy
This course introduces students to Orthodox Christianity’s central theological tenets and its most critical historical developments. The course will survey topics such as Orthodox theology, liturgy and ritual, art and culture, the veneration of saints, asceticism and monasticism, prayer and spirituality, as well as issues confronted today by contemporary Orthodoxy.
This course is centered on a close reading and examination of Aristotle's Rhetoric; specifically, we will be using the George A. Kennedy English translation. Also studied will be classic speeches from across history which advanced the struggle for a more just social order.
What is the meaning of the hymns, chants, and prayers we hear on Sunday? In this course, students will learn the world of the Sunday liturgical hymns of the Orthodox Church, with a focus on the works of St. John of Damascus found in the Octoechos. As we unpack the rich theology expressed in these hymns, students will develop skills for analyzing, interpreting, and imagining the world these texts create, and learn about their history and use in the Church’s worship.
The Missiology of Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) of Albania and Practical Evangelism in Albania will study in depth the life, missiology, and writings of the greatest contemporary Orthodox missionary, Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) of Albania. We will examine how he has practically lived out his missiology through his 10‐year ministry in East Africa and 25‐year ministry in the Church of Albania. The course will look at the foundation and calling of missions. We will consider the resurrection of the Church of Albania over the past 25 years, examining and analyzing the success of how the church has succeeded in living out the missiology of the Archbishop, and where the church has not yet 82
This course examines the Christological questions that developed primarily among Greek speaking Christians from the first to the eighth centuries. In doing so, it identifies various understandings of Christ’s identity, and the best way to understand the relation between the divine and human in him. Emphasis will be place on the practical implications for the Christian way of life created by such theological thinking. Attention is also given both to creedal statements of Orthodox councils as well as the works of individual saints such as Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory Nazianzus, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo of Rome, Maximus the Confessor, and John Damascene. The class will situate 83
This course is a brief guided tour of some of the spiritual practices (or exercises) developed by early Christians. Such exercises were for them potent technologies, powerful bearers of Christian wisdom, and arguably the primary form of self-care in antiquity. A wide variety of practices will be discussed, but we will pay particular attention to what was done with scripture, prayer, liturgy, food, and community. Rather than emphasizing what early Christians believed, we will examine how they believed what they did and how those beliefs became for them a way of life in the world. Readings will include passages from the Desert Fathers, St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Cassian, Origen of Alexandria, and Evagrius. Special attention will be given to how retrieving such practices can contribute to a robust contemporary Christianity. Prerequisite: Introduction to Orthodoxy
A survey of major religious traditions of the world, from the religions of India and the Far East, to the more familiar religions of the West. Students are introduced to the origins, history, scriptures, and fundamental tenets of each faith, as well as the modern transformations and manifestations that currently characterize them. The course is designed to enable students to begin the journey of their own personal study of religions in greater depth.
RELG 3915Biblical Books of Wisdom and their Heroes3
As wisdom itself, biblical Wisdom Literature tends to escape formal definition, and yet is vividly present in the Old Testament and deuterocanonical books. How do you see God, if He does not manifest Himself? And what is Wisdom but the ability to see God, when He is apparently absent, as in the book of Job? And when is Wisdom more needed than in such circumstances, both tragic and day-to-day? God’s invisible presence, conspicuous absence, and the art of divine discernment on the part of humanity constitute the underlying theme in 84
The Religious Studies Capstone Seminar is designed to demonstrate your accumulated knowledge in Religious Studies through the writing of a single original paper on a topic chosen by the student, subject to the instructor’s approval. The completed capstone paper should bring together one of the Program Learning Outcomes of the Religious Studies program, your research expertise, and your future vocational direction. In this seminar, we will discuss the importance of designing guiding questions and explore the various strategies students can use to write an informative and well-structured paper. The Capstone necessitates multiple drafts of your research that are subjected to heightened peer review and regular feedback from your instructor. Thinkers. 93
Theories & Methods for the Study of Religion; Great Christian
RELG 4331Religious Education3
An introduction to basic theological and practical issues of Orthodox catechesis; the role of the community as educator, and various methodological approaches to catechesis. Where appropriate, materials and programs of Orthodox jurisdictions are examined and evaluated. Field experience is a required aspect of the course. 85
This course will study many of the epistles of St. Paul in their historical contexts, seeking to understand both the life of the saint who wrote these letters and what 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, and preserved as Holy Scripture by the Church. We will endeavor to keep the image of Paul the saint 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 "In Praise of St.
Too many Orthodox Christians don’t understand the importance and central role of missions and evangelism in our Church. The “spirit of missions” is central in our ecclesiology and Orthodox worldview and identity. The need for Christians and churches to continue the work of Christ, welcoming and reaching out to those outside our Christian faith is paramount. We need Churches which instill in its members the spirit to raise up, train and send out missionaries and witnesses locally, nationally and globally. This course will educate and inspire students to understand the central spirit of missions and evangelism in the Church. The first part of the course will focus on the lives, ministries and methods of the greatest Orthodox missionaries - the Apostle Paul and the early Christians, Cyril and Methodios, Innocent Veniaminov of Alaska, Nicholas Kasatkin of Japan - along with exemplar modern figures like St Maria Skobtsova, St Tikhon, and contemporary missionaries like Archbishop Anastasios of Albania and OCMC missionary Lynette Hoppe. The second part of the course will apply the studied missionary methods to evangelism in the contemporary American context. How should the Orthodox Church carry on this spirit of evangelism in its present reality in America? 86
