Take your Eastern Orthodoxy course online today!
Home / FAQs / Online Degrees / Certificate Courses / Admission Policies / Class Rooms / Request Info.

Canyon College

online Eastern Orthodoxy course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: Eastern Orthodoxy

Course Title: DV615 - Eastern Orthodoxy
Department: Master of Divinity
Instructor: Gerald FitzGerald, BD, MDiv, DMin, Phd Theology CandidateE-Mail -- Vita
Prerequisites: None

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the early church fathers and how their beliefs molded modern day Eastern Orthodoxy. This course will also discuss issues that led to the separation of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

DOCTRINAL STATEMENT

Canyon College is a non-sectarian, non-denominational school committed to the study of God in all the richness and diversity of God's revelations to humanity and an exploration of what those revelations mean to the everyday lives of finite human beings. Canyon College does not advocate any particular belief, creed, doctrine or idea other than the reality of God and does not require that its students and faculty subscribe to any particular belief, creed, doctrine or idea other than a willingness to be challenged and a commitment to an investigation into truth and the pursuit of academic honesty and excellence.

INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

Students should strive to use inclusive language in their writings. By inclusive language is meant language that is not gender specific and which attempts to include as many people as possible. For instance, instead of writing that "God wills that every man obeys His will," inclusive language would require us to write, "God wills that everyone obeys God's will."

REQUIREMENTS
  1. Readings. The required texts are:    Online Bookstore
-The Orthodox Church, by Timothy Ware. Penguin Books (Penguin Group), Edition 2, 1993. ISBN-13: 9780140146561   ISBN: 0140146563

-The Story of Christianity: Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, by Justo L. Gonzalez. Harper Collins, 1984. ISBN-13: 9780060633158   ISBN: 0060633158

Textbooks should be ordered from the Canyon College Online Bookstore to insure that the correct volume and edition is obtained.
  1. Conferences. Students may schedule no more than two Internet conferences between the student and the professor. These should be scheduled as necessary by the student. Of course, students may ask questions of the professor at any time by sending an E-mail to the address at the link above or by posting them to the message board.
  1. Exams. TThere will be a midterm exam. The exam will cover the assigned readings. The midterm exam should be taken prior to the end of the week indicated below.
  1. Papers. There will be weekly papers of at least two but no more than four double- spaced pages written in response to the questions listed below. The papers are to be e-mailed to the professor. Papers should conform to the form and style outlined in Kate L. Turabian's "A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations," 6th ed. Students should use end notes instead of footnotes. Finally, the papers are intended to be reflection papers and not research or the "author said" papers. Students should indicate their understanding of the texts and this cannot be done merely by quoting the authors.
  1. Grades. Course work will be weighted as follows:
Papers   75%
Midterm Exam   25%
TOTAL 100%
  1. Grading Scale
90-100% A - Excellent
80-89% B - Above Average
70-79% C - Average
60-69% D - Below Average
59% or below F - Failing Grade

A = Clearly stands out as excellent performance. Has unusually sharp insight into material and initiates thoughtful questions. Sees many sides of an issue. Articulates well and writes logically and clearly. Integrates ideas previously learned from this and other disciplines. Anticipates next steps in progression of ideas.

B = Grasps subject matter at a level considered to be good to very good. Is an active listener and participant in chats, message boards, e-mails and conferences. Speaks and writes well. Accomplishes more than the minimum requirements. Work is of high quality.

C = Demonstrates a satisfactory comprehension of the subject matter. Accomplishes only the minimum requirements, and displays little or no initiative. Communicates at an acceptable level for a college student. Has a generally acceptable understanding of all basic concepts.

D = Quality and quantity of work is below average and barely acceptable.

F = Quality and quantity of work is unacceptable.

WEEK 1 (The early church)

Reading: Gonzalez pages 2-111

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. What effect did the Pagan culture and Gnosticism have upon the early church fathers?
  2. What similarities and differences did the teachers of the early church have?
  3. What were the social origins of the early Christians?

WEEK 2 (The imperial church)

Reading: Gonzalez chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 27

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
  1. What impact did the Cappadocians have on the Eastern Church?
  2. How did Athanasius impact the church?
  3. Why did Gonzalez believe the east and the west split?
  4. If the Eastern Church is a church of councils, what are the Catholic and Protestant Churches?

WEEK 3 (Orthodox Church History)

Reading: Ware pages 1-101

Topics to consider for the Mid-Term
  1. What did each of the seven councils accomplish?
  2. What were some of the factors in the Great Schism?
  3. What occurred to the Orthodox Church under Islam, how was this different from what occurred to Western Christianity?
  4. How many original Patriarchs (Popes) were there according to the Eastern tradition and why?
PLEASE COMPLETE THE MID-TERM EXAMINATION BEFORE THE END OF THIS WEEK.


WEEK 4 (Orthodox History Cont.)

Reading: Ware pages 102-194

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  1. How was Russia introduced to Christianity by the Orthodox Church and why was it important?
  2. How is the Orthodox Church presently evangelizing its faith?
  3. Does the Orthodox Church believe that it will be influential with reunifying Christianity?

WEEK 5 (Orthodox Theology)

Reading: Ware pages 195-306

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  1. What is the Orthodox View of Church and State and how does it contrast American ideology?
  2. What is the Sainthood of Believers?
  3. What is Nestorianism, do you agree or disagree with it?
  4. Why are Icons so important in worship to the Orthodox Church?
  5. What role has Filioque played in the theology of the east and west?