T8192 – Saint Cyril of Alexandria
Unit Code
T8192
Unit Name
Issues in Saint Cyril of Alexandria: Theology, Spirituality, Exegesis (postgraduate)
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 graduate 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 Cyril of Alexandria.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
1. Appreciate the personality of Saint Cyril within his historical context
2. Display a profound knowledge of his writings, together with the relevant scholarship
3. Evaluate the place of Saint Cyril within the broader patristic tradition
4. Critically analyse his writings within the framework of relevant scholarship
5. Assess his relevance to contemporary Christian experience
Content:
1. Saint Cyril in the historical and theological setting of his age
2. Traditional, modern and contemporary reception
3. An overview of his writings
4. His Christological contributions
5. His exegetical contributions
6. A theologian pastor and his spiritual concerns
7. A theologian for the future
Unit Schedule:
| Lecture 1 | Saint Cyril in the historical and theological setting of his age. Part One: Early Christianity in Alexandria and Egypt |
| Lecture 2 | Saint Cyril in the historical and theological setting of his age. Part Two: Biographical outlines and the sources of his thinking |
| Lecture 3 | An overview of his writings |
| Lecture 4 | Theological contributions. Part One: Before the Nestorian crisis |
| Lecture 5 | Theological contributions. Part Two: The Nestorian crisis and its aftermaths |
| Lecture 6 | Exegetical contributions |
| Lecture 7 | Practicum: Live analysis of select Cyrilline passages |
| Lecture 8 | Further contributions: Theotokology, soteriology, deification |
| Lecture 9 | Practicum: Live analysis of select Cyrilline passages |
| Lecture 10 | A theologian pastor and his spiritual concerns |
| Lecture 11 | Traditional, modern and contemporary reception. Part One: Saint Cyril within the tradition |
| Lecture 12 | Traditional, modern and contemporary reception. Part Two: Modern and contemporary perceptions |
