T7396 – St Clement of Alexandria
Unit Code
T7396
Unit Name
Patristic Profile: St Clement of Alexandria (undergraduate)
Unit Weighting
9 Credit Points
Type of Unit
Specialised
Prerequisites, corequisites or exclusions
9 credit points of a Theology unit (i.e “Introduction to Theology” or “Church Fathers: An Introduction”)
Academic Staff
Very Rev. Dr Doru Costache, BTh (Bucharest 1993), PhD (Bucharest 2000), Senior Lecturer
Curriculum Objectives
This undergraduate course unit advances the study of the patristic phenomenon within a complex framework, theological, spiritual, and exegetical. It enables students to appreciate, by way of a detailed study of the available sources, the personality and legacy of Saint Clement the Alexandrian.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
- Appreciate the personality of Saint Clement within his historical context
- Display a profound knowledge of his writings, together with the relevant scholarship
- Evaluate the place of Saint Clement within the broader patristic tradition
- Critically analyse his writings within the framework of relevant scholarship
- Assess his relevance to contemporary Christian experience
Content:
- Saint Clement in the historical and theological setting of his age
- An overview of his writings
- Apologetic contributions
- Exegetical contributions
- A spiritual master
- Traditional, modern and contemporary reception
Unit Schedule:
Week 1: The man and his time
Week 2: An overview of his writings
Week 3: A philosophical framework: Clement’s curriculum
Assessment task 1
Week 4: A traditional framework: Holy gnosis and the holy gnostic
Week 5: A theological framework: God, creation, salvation, and holiness
Week 6: An apologetic profile
Assessment task 2
Week 7: Ethical outlines
Week 8: Natural contemplation
Week 9: Achieving holiness
Week 10: Clement the exegete
Week 11: Practicum: Live analysis of select Clementine passages
Week 12: Impact and reception
Assessment task 3