Description: The first few centuries of the Christian Church were of crucial significance, as Christians sought to forge the unique identity and celebrate the special gifts of their new religion. In these four class sessions, we will explore together some the of the people, practices and ideas that made the so-called “Patristic Period” (the Age of the Fathers) so centrally important in the history of Christianity.
Monday, March 11th- The Era of Martyrs: The Immediate Post-New Testament Period
Monday, March 18th - The Era of Constantine: Theological Controversies and Church Councils
Monday, March 25th- Desert Fathers and Mothers: The First Christian Monks and Nuns
Monday, April 1st- St. Augustine of Hippo: The Struggles and Triumphs of a Heroic Christian
Instructor is parishioner Joseph Molleur. He received a BA in religious studies from Grinnell College, an MA in historical theology from Episcopal Divinity School, and a PhD in systematic and comparative theology from Boston College. Following a two-year assignment as a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Boston College, he taught religion for 15 years at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, until his retirement as professor emeritus in 2016. He is a member of All Saints Berkshires Episcopal Church, and volunteers regularly at the Council on Aging and the Catholic Charity Center in Adams.