Conciliar Texts

This course examines a number of texts that are included in the published Acts of the Ecumenical Councils of the Christian Church, which took place during the Eraly Byzantine period (5th-8th century). Although these texts are significant for the historical, theological, procedural, and ecclesiological information they provide, their analysis in the present course focuses on their literary traits and their successful application of the rules of rhetoric. Usually, in class the instructor provides a general introduction to the historical circumstances that led to the creation of these particular documents and then the class proceeds with the literary-stylistic and factual analysis.

Objectives

1) Get students acquainted with the History of Church Councils, their place in the Academic world and scholarly community and their instrumenta studiorum. 2) Get acquainted with concepts such as, Conciliar Institutions, Conciliar Acts, Dogmatic confrontation, modus argumentandi. 3) Learn to translate into Modern Greek and comment on Conciliar texts written between the 5th and 8th century. 4) Learn the use of particular texts within the processes of Conciliar transactions. 5) Understand the stylistic differences between various conciliar texts in low, middle, and high Byzantine prose style.

Prerequisites

No.

Syllabus

In outline this course examines and analyzes stylistically, historically, and pragmatologically a number of texts (letters, sermons, conciliar decrees) written and used in the course of Church Councils from the Third to the Seventh Ecumenical Council.