This document provides the course description, objectives, requirements and schedule for HT 501: Early Christian History taught by Steven J. Beardsley in June 2013. The course is an introduction to the establishment and development of Christianity from its origins to 451CE, paying attention to trends, personalities and events. Primary sources and secondary texts will be used. Requirements include online discussion, two papers on primary sources, a timeline chart and a take-home final exam. The course will meet Monday through Wednesday for lectures and discussion.

1. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Course Description
An introduction to the establishment, spread and development of the Christian faith up to and
including the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, paying particular attention to major
trends, personalities, and events influencing the life of the church during the first five centuries
as it took shape in the Jewish culture and the Greco-Roman world. Primary sources in translation
and secondary church history sources will be used.
Course Objectives
After successfully completing this course, the student will be able to understand the importance
of early Christian history and competently employ this knowledge in reading, research, and
ministry. This knowledge will also inform and contribute to a greater facility in dealing with the
New Testament, which is firmly rooted in the context of these earliest centuries.
finalsite, LiveText & Google+
This class will employ finalsite, LiveText & Google Plus to furnish online components to the
learning experience.
At the finalsite web site you will find copies of the syllabus and any other class materials in
Adobe Acrobat format, which you can view online and download. Also, you can utilize email
and threaded discussions to stay in contact with both the instructor and your fellow students. In
addition, announcements will be posted and a class calendar will be kept. You can reach the
course by going to Urshan Graduate School of Theology’s web site at http://www.ugst.edu. You
will need to click on the “Students” button and sign in using your username and password that
can be obtained from UGST when you sign up for the course.
The LiveText website will be used exclusively to receive all written assignments (with the
exception of the online postings). I will not receive the papers for this course via email. You
must use LiveText. You can reach the LiveText website at https://www.livetext.com. If you do
not have a LiveText account, please contact Carolyn Simoneaux, Registrar. Please note that all
submission times are based on Eastern Standard Time.
Finally, it is essential for you to utilize a feature of your UGST email, namely Google+. It is
through the hangout function of Google+ that the class will live connect when not in session on
campus. The instructions for setting up your Google+ can be found by clicking this link. At the
times stipulated either in the syllabus or via further communication, you need to log-in online to
your UGST email account from a computer with functioning webcam/microphone. Please do so
5 minutes before the stipulated time. You will then receive an invitation to join a “Hangout.”
If you need any assistance or if you would like to attempt a trial run, please contact Marjorie
Truman (314-921-9290 ext. 7110).
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2. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Required Reading/Viewing (see reading/viewing requirements below)
* Also available in a Kindle Edition
John Philip Jenkins. Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors
Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years. New York, NY:
HarperCollins, 2011.*
In this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, Philip Jenkins describes how
political maneuvers by a handful of powerful characters shaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these
battles, today’s church could be teaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy
as we know it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profound implications of what
amounts to an accident of history: that one faction of Roman emperors and militia-wielding bishops
defeated another.
Thomas F. Matthews. The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Between the third and sixth centuries, the ancient gods, goddesses, and heroes who had populated the
imagination of humankind for a millennium were replaced by a new imagery of Christ and his saints.
Thomas Mathews explores the many different, often surprising, artistic images and religious interpretations
of Christ during this period. He challenges the accepted theory of the "Emperor Mystique," which,
interpreting Christ as king, derives the vocabulary of Christian art from the propagandistic imagery of the
Roman emperor. This revised edition contains a new preface by the author and a new chapter on the origin
and development of icons in private domestic cult.
Richard A. Norris. The Christological Controversy (Sources of Early Christian Thought).
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1980.*
This book is a collection of texts designed to illustrate the development of Christian thought about the
person of Christ in the patristic era. The earliest text translated comes from the latter half of the second
century, when the ideas and problems, which were to dominate Christological thought in this period, were
first crystallized. The latest is the well-known "Definition of the Faith" of the Council of Chalcedon, which
generally has been accepted as defining the limits of Christological orthodoxy.
Cyril Richardson. Early Christian Fathers (Library of Christian Classics). New York, NY:
Touchstone, 1995.*
Richard E. Rubenstein. When Jesus Became God: The Epic Fight over Christ’s Divinity in the
Last Days of Rome. New York, NY: Mariner Books, 2000.*
The life of Jesus, and the subsequent persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire, have come to
define what many of us know about early Christianity. The fervent debate, civil strife, and bloody riots
within the Christian community as it was forming, however, is a story that is rarely told. Richard E.
Rubenstein takes readers to the streets of the Roman Empire during the fourth century, where a divisive
argument over the divinity of Jesus Christ was underway. Ruled by a Christian emperor, followers of Jesus
no longer feared for the survival of their monotheistic faith, but they found themselves in different camps—
led by two charismatic men—on the topic of Christian theology. Arius, an Alexandrian priest and poet,
preached that Jesus, though holy, is less than God, while Athanasius, a brilliant and violent bishop, saw any
diminution of Jesus' godhead as the work of the devil. Between them stood Alexander, the powerful Bishop
of Alexandria, in search of a solution that would keep the empire united and the Christian faith alive.
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3. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Everett Ferguson. Church History, Volume 1: From Christ to Pre-Reformation. Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2005.*
Church History offers a unique contextual view of how the Christian church spread and developed. It did
so not in a vacuum, but in a setting of times, cultures, and events that both influenced and were influenced
by the church. Church History looks closely at the integral link between the history of the world and that of
the church.
Volume one explores the development of the church from the days of Jesus to the years prior to the
Reformation. Filled with maps, charts, and illustrations, it offers overviews of the Roman, Greek, and
Jewish worlds; insights into the church’s relationship to the Roman empire, with glimpses into pagan
attitudes toward Christians; the place of art and architecture, literature and philosophy, both sacred and
secular; and much more, spanning the time from the first through the thirteenth centuries.
Empires – Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites. DVD. 2003.
Empires – The Roman Empire in the First Century. DVD. 2002.
Reading/Viewing Requirements (see required reading/viewing above)
The spine of the course is Everett Ferguson’s Church History, Volume 1: From Christ to Pre-
Reformation. We will be using the first 14 chapters (through Augustine, Pelagius, and
Semipelagianism).
Cyril Richardson’s Early Christian Fathers and Richard Norris’ The Christological Controversy
are collections of early Christian texts from the first five centuries, along with introductory
surveys of the period and the texts. It is from these books that you are to choose two primary
source texts to compare in your comparison paper and one additional primary source text for
your response paper. You are responsible for your exposure to this material, as well as the
introductions to each text.
Richard Rubenstein’s When Jesus Became God, John Philip Jenkin’s Jesus Wars, and Thomas
Matthews’ The Clash of Gods are to be read in their entirety.
You are also to view both DVDs in their entirety before classes commence. This represents over
7 hours of important information, which should not be shortchanged and is considered class time.
If you are totally unfamiliar with the story of the Roman Empire, it is suggested that you also
watch Rome – Power & Glory. DVD. 1998.
Course Requirements
Your performance in the class will be evaluated by the following items and grading schedule:
1) Online posting and class participation – 10%.
2) Primary Sources Papers (2)
a. Comparison Paper – 15%
b. Response Paper – 15%
3) Chronological Timeline Chart (to be submitted with the Final/Take Home Exam) – 10%.
4) A Final/Take Home Exam (1) – 50%.
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4. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
This course by its very structure requires class attendance. It also requires that all reading be
completed before we begin class at UGST on Monday, June 24th. All Primary Sources Papers
must also be completed and submitted to the instructor two weeks before class begins.
TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:
First, all work must be completed and turned in on time. If it is late, it will not be graded and
thus the student will receive no credit for that work. Again, online posting (due: June 3), primary
source papers (due: June 10), chronological timeline and final/take home exam (due: July 29)
must be completed and turned in on time in order to be graded and receive credit. Late is the
same as if you did not do it. All work should be done according to academic integrity and
avoiding all forms of cheating and plagiarism.
Second, all work must be edited. Good writers find a way to edit their writing. Utilize the
Writing Center at Urshan College for learning the rules of grammar, crafting a thesis statement,
or going about the task of writing up your research. For help with editing, find a fellow
classmate that knows how to edit. If you turn in unedited work, it will cost you. Examples of a
lack of editing are run-on sentences, sentence fragments, inconsistent use of tense, spelling
errors, and obvious misuse or absence of punctuation. Unedited writing having greater than 3 of
these errors per page will receive a grade no higher than a 2.5 (B-). Unedited writing having
greater than 5 errors per page will receive no credit. This is not about how well you express
yourself. This is about a fundamental level of competence and excellence required in all written
materials.
Online Posting
You are required to complete a posting on the discussion board of the Early Christian History
class. This can be found on the class website.
Under the discussion entitled “Who Am I?”, you are to compose an introduction of yourself
including the following information—name, where you are from, educational background, status
at UGST (on-campus vs. distance learning vs. auditor; M.T.S. vs. MDiv. vs. MACM; first-year,
second year, third year, etc.), why you are taking Early Christian History and what you hope to
get out of it. Feel free to add other details to the introduction and please read everyone else’s
introduction.
This posting must be completed the first Monday in June (June 3). The posting should be a
separate posting within the “Who Am I?” discussion board. Please follow the example of the
professor.
Class Participation
Your vocal participation and interaction are essential to the success of the class and the
achievement of the course objectives. You must think, refine, question, articulate, and interact
with both your fellow students and the professor.
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5. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Primary Source Papers
The purpose of these short papers is to facilitate your knowledge of and interaction with some of
the key primary historical sources (the foundation of all modern forms of history) in early
Christian history. Without the primary sources, there is no history. The class sessions
themselves will be a sort of secondary source in which these (and other) primary sources are
discussed. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with all of these primary sources in
advance of the class, though no more than three of these may be used for the papers.
Comparison Paper
The primary source comparison paper should contain the following elements:
• no more than 4 and no less than 3 double-spaced typed pages (12 point font, 1” margins
all around and footnotes with consistent style);
• a comparison of two primary sources from early Christian history;
• the development and execution of an argument that explains how the two works under
consideration illustrate an aspect of the development of early Christian history;
• the argument must be based on the primary text and not on secondary sources. (For
example, one might argue that Paul was a radical Jew and cite passages from his letters.
An incorrect method for this paper would be to merely cite Daniel Boyarin’s book by that
name to make that argument.)
Response Paper
The primary source response paper should contain the following elements:
• 3 double-spaced typed pages (12 point font, 1” margins all around and footnotes with
consistent style);
• an in-depth examination of one primary source from early Christian history (not already
used in comparison paper);
• some supporting secondary sources may be briefly employed, but the argument must be
clearly your own;
• begin with historical context for the author and the text (approximately 1.5 pages);
• end with analysis and opinion concerning the significance and contribution of the text to
our understanding of church history (approximately 1.5 pages).
The student is to read the primary source(s), consult any secondary sources (see recommended
resources below and any others found in research) necessary for filling in the gaps in historical
context (whether for the student or for the paper), and then write each paper according to the
above-specified elements.
Chronological Timeline Chart
The chronological timeline chart—to be turned in with the final/take home exam—should be a
class-long project. The purpose is to allow you to gain a sense of time and connectedness
concerning the major trends, personalities, and events influencing the life of the church during
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6. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
the first five centuries. As you read in preparation for the class and write papers on the primary
sources, you should spend time plugging in people, places, events, writings, and any other items
which have struck you as having significance for the study of church history. There are no right
or wrong answers; however, time spent in organization and design will greatly influence both the
functionality of the chart and the value of your grade, though the timeline is more of a learning
aid than a measurement of learning or aptitude. The Chronological Timeline Chart will be due,
along with the Final/Take Home Exam, on Monday, July 29th.
Final/Take Home Exam
The final exam will be a take-home assignment that will be distributed at the conclusion of
classes. It will be comprehensive and will require the student to draw upon all of the work done
in the class to date. The Final/Take Home Exam will be due on Monday, July 29th.
Inclusive Language Policy
This class will follow Urshan Graduate School of Theology’s inclusive language policy: “All
faculty are expected to bring Christian sensitivity to gender issues in all relationships at the
graduate school, remembering our historic commitment to women in ministry. Appropriately
inclusive language should be used in the classroom and in written communications. In addition
to setting a good example, faculty should train students in their verbal and written expressions to
employ inclusive language.”
Contact Information and Office Hours
If you have any further questions or do not fully understand any part of the syllabus or the
structure of the class, please contact the Instructor.
Steven J. Beardsley Mobile: 302-709-1905
12 Balanger Road Church: 302-738-7899
Chapel Hill Email: sbeardsley@ugst.edu
Newark, DE 19711-3806
UGST Office: By appointment only
Home Office: By phone between the hours of 9 am and 9 pm EST
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7. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Class Schedule
Monday: 2-6 pm
Tuesday: 9-1 pm & 2-6 pm
Wednesday: 9-1 pm & 2-6 pm
Thursday: 9-1 pm & 2-6 pm
Friday: 9-12 pm & 1-3 pm
Class Timeline, Schedule, and Dates
April 1-June 24
Required Reading/Viewing
Reading primary sources and writing Primary Source Papers
Developing Chronological Timeline Chart
June 3
Online Postings due
June 10
All Primary Source Papers due
June 24-28
Classes on the campus of UGST
June 29-July 29
Completing Chronological Timeline Chart
Completing Final/Take Home Exam
July 29
Chronological Timeline Chart due
Final/Take Home Exam due
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8. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Course Recommended Resources
Marilyn McCord Adams. What Sort of Human Nature? Medieval Philosophy and the
Systematics of Christology. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1999.
Henry Chadwick. The Early Church. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1967.
F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone, Eds. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd
Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Everett Ferguson, Ed. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. New York, NY: Garland Publishing,
Inc., 1990.
Robin Lane Fox. Pagans and Christians. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1986.
W.H.C. Frend. The Rise of Christianity. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1984.
Edward R. Hardy. Christology of the Later Fathers. Louisville and London: Westminster
John Knox Press, 1954.
Timothy Paul Jones. Christian History Made Easy. Torrance, CA: Rose Publishing, 1999.
J.N.D. Kelly. Early Christian Doctrines. Revised Edition. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1978.
__________. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press,
1986.
Joseph H. Lynch. The Medieval Church: A Brief History. London and New York:
Longman, 1992.
Colin McEvedy. The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. New York: Penguin,
1992.
John Meyendorff. Christ in Eastern Christian Thought. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s
Seminary Press, 1975.
Susan Lynn Peterson. Timeline Charts of the Western Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1999.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Cox, Eds. Ante-Nicene Fathers. 10
Vols. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Cox, Eds. Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers. First Series. 14 Vols. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Cox, Eds. Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers. Second Series. 14 Vols. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994.
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9. Steven J. Beardsley June, 2013
Adjunct Associate Professor of Biblical Studies HT 501: Early Christian History
Robert C. Walton. Chronological and Background Charts of Church History. Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986.
Robert L. Wilken. The Christians as the Romans Saw Them. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1984.
Frances M. Young. From Nicaea to Chalcedon; A Guide to the Literature and its
Background. London: SCM Press, 1983.
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