Course Closed
Preparing to Read the Fathers
This course is an introduction to reading the Fathers of the Church.
We will first consider the ways in which early Christians articulated their faith by reworking doctrines, imagery, and exegetical, ascetical, and liturgical practices inherited from the rich and complex matrix of Second Temple Judaism. We will then look at the creative adoption and adaptation of the Greco-Roman cultural idiom, and the forging of an increasingly precise glossary of theological concepts to define doctrinal orthodoxy. The third and fourth sessions explore two of the most important avenues for understanding “the mind of the Fathers”: the patristic approach to the Scriptures and the Christology of Byzantine hymns.
The Rev. Dr Bogdan G. Bucur (Ph.D. Marquette University, 2007) is Associate Professor of Patristics at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of two books—Angelomorphic Pneumatology: Clement of Alexandria and Other Early Christian Witnesses (Brill, 2009) and Scripture Re-envisioned: Christophanic Exegesis and the Making of a Christian Bible (Brill, 2019)—and of a number of articles in the areas of biblical reception, history, and patristics. Father Bogdan is a priest in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese.
Course Information
Each course is four weeks long and will take place via Zoom every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). Each of the four sessions is 1 hour and 15 minutes (including Q&A). These courses include optional readings and a Google form “exit ticket” that will be given out at the end of each class session to get feedback on the session. Participants will be invited to offer an optional written reflection near the conclusion of the course. Instructors will also send out at least one weekly blast email to course participants. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from and work with the dynamic faculty of St Vladimir’s Seminary. Each course is $200; if participants sign up for both, their total will be $350.
Preparing to Read the Fathers
Lecture 1: Christ, “The Glory of Israel”: The Jewish Apocalyptic Inheritance
June 6 · 8–9:15 p.m. (EDT)
Readings are assigned upon registration.
Lecture 2: Christ, “The Light to Illumine the Gentiles”: Christianity as True Philosophy
June 13 · 8–9:15 p.m. (EDT)
Readings are assigned upon registration.
Lecture 3: Opening and Entering the Scriptures with the Fathers
June 20 · 8–9:15 p.m. (EDT)
Readings are assigned upon registration.
Lecture 4: A Distillate of Patristic Thought: The Hymns of the Church
June 27 · 8–9:15 p.m. (EDT)
Readings are assigned upon registration.