THEO7046 · Theology

Early Christian Ascetical Theology

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

This course concerns various theologies of the ascetical life in Early Christianity. The course will begin by asking just what Christian asceticism is, both in distinction from the asceticism of Jewish and Hellenistic traditions, and on its own terms. The second unit of the course will pursue questions of how Christian ascetics speak, especially insofar as this is shaped by biblical narrative. Here we will treat cenobitic and eremetical traditions, and the theological import of monastic rules. The final unit will concern theologies of grace and union with God, with special interest in the tradition of divinization in Greek Christianity.