Module THEO3741: Faith and the Experience of War: Byzantium and Eastern Orthodoxy

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3741: Faith and the Experience of War: Byzantium and Eastern Orthodoxy

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to assess the critical interplay between Christian concepts of Divine providence and the historical reality of military conflict;
• To enable students to assess the ways the Bible and the churches have been used (or have chosen) to justify and condemn conflict, and to console those caught up within it;
• To offer students the opportunity to engage in an informed and critical manner with the major voices on war and peace in Orthodox theology.

Content

• "In disarming Peter, Christ unbelted every soldier," so wrote Tertullian of Carthage (160-225 AD), the first Latin writer of Christian theology. Despite the Gospel-like simplicity of his directive, however, theologians since the earliest days of recorded church history have continued to debate what the appropriate attitude of a believer should be to the questions of war and peace. In this module, students will be able to engage first hand with the thinking on faith and the experience of war from the earliest times of recorded Christian history, right down to the modern day.
• To approach to this longstanding tradition will be selective and the module will adopt an explicit historical perspective. The focus will be on the study of primary sources, which may include: acts of military martyrs and other records of Christian participation in the Roman army before the 4th century; archaeological evidence from Hadrian’s Wall; the Life of Constantine by Eusebius and other relevant fourth- and fifth-century sources (including Ambrose and Augustine). With the help of these sources we will uncover the roots of the nuanced approach which will become characteristic of the later Christian tradition which will evolve to articulate a doctrine of ‘just war’ in the West, but not in the East.
• To demonstrate how such a nuanced development took place, and what its consequences for the modern world are, the course will typically review the following topics: Early Christians and the Roman army; the life and afterlife of military saints in Byzantium; war and peace in Eastern Orthodoxy from the 19th to the 21st century.

Learning Outcomes

• In-depth knowledge of a series of selected key primary texts and of their contexts;
• Critical understanding of the debates on war and peace in the Byzantine and later Orthodox tradition.

• An ability to engage key texts, historical, theological, biblical, and philosophical with critical depth;
• Advanced skills in the application of historical methods.

• Skills in structuring and presenting evidence-based arguments in concise form, both orally and in writing.
• Skills in analysis and concise, contextualised comment on selected texts.
• Skills in independent researching, thinking and working.
• Skills in public presentation.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures convey information and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter, enabling students to develop a clear understanding of the subject and to improve their skills in listening and in evaluating information.
• Examinations assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the structured presentation of information in written form under time constraints.
• Summative essays assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form.
• Oral presentations assess students’ skill in research and public presentation.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

No formative assessment.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University