Lecture 1: The Historical Study of Christianity
o Our richest literary (and material) evidence comes from within
the Roman Empire and uses Greek and Latin. But Christian
literature also encompasses Syriac, Ethiopic, Coptic, Georgian,
and Slavic literature.• Our sources are also uneven in terms of their perspective.
o With some few exceptions, the majority of evidence comes
from insider rather than outsider sources.o Insider sources themselves must be distinguished in terms
of their orthodox (“right-thinking”) and heterodox (“other-
thinking”) perspectives; by far, the greatest number of sources
comes from orthodox authors.Organization of the Course
• The first section of this course, entitled “The Beginnings,” covers
the first three centuries of Christianity.
o After a rapid survey of Greco-Roman and Jewish culture pertinent
to the understanding of Christianity, the lectures consider the
birth and first expansion of the religion in the 1st century.o Over the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Christianity experienced crises
from without (persecution) and within (heresy) that forced
institutional and intellectual development.• The second section, entitled “The Imperial Religion,” covers
roughly the 4th to the 8th centuries.
o Special attention is given to the cultural and political
adjustments consequent on becoming the imperial religion as
Christianity expanded into new significance.o During these centuries, positive developments in worship and
piety were offset by severe and divisive conflicts over doctrine.o Of great subsequent importance was the growing cultural
divide between the East (centered in Constantinople) and the