HIST 201 — Church History I: Early Church through the Reformation
The history of Christianity is not a single story told from a single perspective. It is a web of stories that stretches from the small Jewish messianic movement that gathered in Jerusalem after the crucifixion to the shattering of Western Christendom in the sixteenth-century Reformation. HIST 201 traces the first sixteen centuries of that web across six modules: the apostolic and sub-apostolic church, the age of the councils, Augustine and the shaping of Western Christianity, monasticism and the Eastern church, the medieval church at its height, and the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The course assumes the student has completed the Discovery sequence (DISC 100-103) and at least one of the Bible surveys (BIBL 201 or BIBL 202). BIBL 202 Module 7 introduced the formation of the New Testament canon; HIST 201 picks up that thread and weaves it into the broader story of how the early church organized itself, defined its beliefs, and spread across the Roman world. The theological developments treated abstractly in THEO 201 and THEO 202 are here set in their historical context, with the political pressures, the personality clashes, and the institutional dynamics that shaped how the church articulated its faith. The course engages primary sources directly. The student reads excerpts from Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Pliny the Younger, the Nicene Creed, Augustine's Confessions and City of God, the Rule of Benedict, Luther's 95 Theses, Calvin's Institutes, and the Council of Trent. Multi-tradition sensitivity is at its most critical in a church history course: the Great Schism of 1054 looks entirely different from Constantinople than from Rome, and the Reformation looks entirely different from Wittenberg than from the Vatican. HIST 201 presents these events from multiple perspectives, names the genuine grievances on each side, and does not sanitize the difficult history.
Learning outcomes
- Trace the development of the early church from the apostolic period through the sub-apostolic era (~30-150 AD), identifying the key figures, writings, and organizational developments that shaped earliest Christianity
- Describe the major theological controversies and ecumenical councils of the patristic period (Nicaea 325, Constantinople 381, Ephesus 431, Chalcedon 451), articulating what was at stake theologically and politically in each
- Describe Augustine's theological contributions and their lasting influence on Western Christianity, engaging his major works (Confessions, City of God) and his roles in the Donatist and Pelagian controversies
- Describe the rise and development of Christian monasticism from the Desert Fathers through the Benedictine tradition and its role in preserving learning through the early medieval period
- Describe the causes and consequences of the Great Schism of 1054, articulating the theological (filioque), ecclesiological (papal primacy), and cultural factors from both Eastern and Western perspectives
- Describe the major developments of the medieval church including scholasticism, the papacy, the Crusades, the mendicant orders, and the Inquisition, engaging primary sources and multiple perspectives
- Describe the pre-Reformation movements (Waldensians, Wycliffe, Hus) and the conditions that made the sixteenth-century Reformation possible
- Describe the major branches of the Reformation (Lutheran, Reformed, Radical, English) and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, engaging primary sources (Luther's 95 Theses, Calvin's Institutes, the Council of Trent) and presenting each tradition's perspective fairly
- Engage primary historical sources in excerpted form (Apostolic Fathers, conciliar texts, Augustine, Benedict, Luther, Calvin, Trent) and follow their arguments in historical context
- Articulate how the historical developments of the first sixteen centuries shaped the theological, institutional, and cultural Christianity that the student encounters today
The Apostolic and Sub-Apostolic Church (30-150 AD)
Module 1 covers the first century and a half of Christian history, from the Jerusalem church after the crucifixion through the generation of leaders who came after the apostles. Three lessons trace the expansion from Jerusalem to the nations, read the sub-apostolic writings (Clement, Ignatius, the Didache, Polycarp) as primary sources for early church life, and examine the church's relationship with Rome through Pliny's letter to Trajan and the Martyrdom of Polycarp.
The Age of the Fathers and the Councils (150-451 AD)
Module 2 covers the three centuries in which the church produced its greatest theologians and defined its core beliefs through ecumenical councils. Lesson 2.1 surveys the major early theologians from Justin Martyr through Origen and the Cappadocians. Lesson 2.2 sets the Arian controversy and the Council of Nicaea (325) in their political context under Constantine. Lesson 2.3 traces the Christological councils from Constantinople (381) through Chalcedon (451), providing the historical narrative that THEO 202 Module 1 treated theologically.
Augustine and the Shaping of Western Christianity (354-600 AD)
Module 3 focuses on Augustine of Hippo, the single most influential figure in Western Christian theology, and on the transformation of the church after the fall of Rome. Lesson 3.1 reads Augustine's life through the Confessions — from the young rhetorician in Carthage through the garden conversion to the bishop of Hippo. Lesson 3.2 treats the Donatist and Pelagian controversies that produced Augustine's theologies of the church and grace, connecting them to the later Reformation debates. Lesson 3.3 reads the City of God as a theological response to political catastrophe and traces the church's emergence as the surviving institution of the collapsed Western Empire.
Monasticism and the Eastern Church (300-1054 AD)
Module 4 covers the rise of monasticism from the Desert Fathers through Benedict, the parallel development of Byzantine Christianity including the iconoclast controversy and the Slavic mission, and the Great Schism of 1054. Lesson 4.1 traces the monastic movement from Anthony of Egypt through Pachomius's cenobitic communities, Basil's Eastern rule, and Benedict of Nursia's Rule that shaped Western monasticism for centuries. Lesson 4.2 examines Byzantine Christianity as a tradition developing in parallel with the West, including the iconoclast controversy and the mission of Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs. Lesson 4.3 treats the Great Schism of 1054, presenting the theological, ecclesiological, and cultural factors from both Eastern and Western perspectives.
The Medieval Church at Its Height (1000-1300 AD)
Module 5 covers the development of the medieval papacy from Gregory VII through Innocent III, scholastic theology (Anselm, Aquinas), the mendicant orders (Francis, Dominic), the Crusades from multiple perspectives (Western Christian, Eastern Christian, Muslim), and the medieval Inquisition.
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation (1300-1600 AD)
Module 6 covers the late medieval crisis (Avignon papacy, Great Western Schism, Wycliffe, Hus, Waldensians), Luther's break with Rome, the Reformed/Radical/English branches of the Reformation, and the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation.