T8195 – St Athanasius of Alexandria
Unit Code
T8195
Unit Name
Patristic Profile: St Athanasius of Alexandria (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 postgraduate 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 Athanasius of Alexandria.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
- Appreciate the personality of Saint Athanasius within his historical context
- Display a profound knowledge of his writings, together with the relevant scholarship
- Evaluate the place of Saint Athanasius within the broader patristic tradition
- Critically analyse his writings within the framework of relevant scholarship
- Assess his relevance to contemporary Christian experience
Content:
- Saint Athanasius in the historical and theological setting of his age
- An overview of his writings
- Apologetic and doctrinal contributions
- Exegetical contributions
- A theologian pastor and his spiritual concerns
- Traditional, modern and contemporary reception
Unit Schedule:
Week 1: The man and his time
Week 2: An overview of his writings
Week 3: Doctrinal contributions: Trinity
Assessment task 1
Week 4: Doctrinal contributions: Christ and the Holy Spirit
Week 5: Soteriological outlines
Week 6: Preaching to the unconvinced: Athanasian apologetics
Assessment task 2
Week 7: Athanasian Antony: The saintly sage
Week 8: Natural contemplation
Week 9: Sleep, dreams, and visions
Week 10: Athanasius the exegete
Week 11: His impact upon later theology
Week 12: Reception and contemporary significance
Assessment task 3
