TH 409: Survey of the Latin Fathers (2025)

TH 409: Survey of the Latin Church Father

• Syllabus
• Zoom Link
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Term: Fall 2025 (Virtual)

Instructor: “Bede” Clay Carpenter, PhD

Email: clay.t.carpenter@gmail.com

Office Hours: By Appointment Only (Contact Instructor via Email)

Course Description:

This course serves as an introductory survey of the Latin Church Fathers in the first millennium of Christianity prior to the Great Schism in A.D.1054. In this course, students will explore the lives and writings of some of the major Latin Church Fathers from across the first millennium of Christianity. Students will be granted the opportunity to acquire a general chronological framework of the Latin Church Fathers, examine some of the most influential writings of the Latin Fathers, understand the historical setting of the Latin Fathers, as well as discover the continuity of the Latin Church Fathers within the Apostolic Tradition of the Orthodox Church. Students will engage with a combination of primary and secondary sources of varying genres including theology, history, and hagiography.

Course Objectives:

• Students will acquire a general chronological and historical framework of the Latin Church Fathers in the 1^st millennium of Christianity.
• Students will examine influential and significant writings of select Latin Church Fathers and acquire a fundamental understanding of those writings.
• Students will explore the continuity of the Latin Church Fathers with the Apostolic Tradition of the Christian faith.

Learning Outcomes:

• Students will demonstrate their comprehension of and critical engagement

with the material through active participation in class discussions.

• Students will further demonstrate their comprehension of and critical

engagement with the course material through completion of written

assignments.

Required Course Materials:

• The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millenniumby John Strickland. ISBN-13: ‎978-1944967567

• The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000(Tenth Anniversary Revised Edition) by Peter Brown. ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1118301265

• Primary Source Readings will be provided by the instructor through open-source links or through PDF experts.

Class Format (Synchronous Online):

• Introduction to class (10 min)
• Discuss Primary Readings (60 min)
• Break (15 min)
• Discuss Primary Readings (60 min)
• Break (30 min)
• Present Portfolios or Book Review (45min)

Assignments:

• Biographical Portfolios
  • Students will be required to complete the following assignment for Four Modules: Students will create biographical portfolios of a Latin Father or Saint from the century (or centuries) under exploration in that current module as well as present that Latin Father or Saint during class. Each portfolio will count as 10% of the student’s grade for a total of 40%. Specific details for this assignment will be provided by the instructor on the first day of class.

• Book Review
  • At the end of the course, students will have read one major writing (not read in class) from a Latin Church Father during the Five Week period. Students will be expected to write a five-page (minimum) book review of that major writing and present their review in class on the final day of the course. This book review will constitute 60% of the student’s overall grade. Instructions and a template for the book review can be found online under Module 1.

Grading:

            Module 1 Portfolio: 10%

            Module 2 Portfolio: 10%

            Module 3 Portfolio: 10%

            Module 4 Portfolio: 10%

            Final Book Review: 60%

            TOTAL GRADE: 100%

Attendance Policy:

As participation is a key component of this course, students are allowed up to one unexcused absence. Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, and religious holy days. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness. Please send an email to the instructor concerning the reason for your absence within three days of the absence so that you are not accidentally penalized.

Participation:

Students are expected to have read all required readings and to come prepared to class with prepared notes for discussion. Every student is expected to contribute to discussions over primary source texts and to present their portfolios and book reviews. Failure to be prepared for class or to participate in class discussions and lectures may result in up to a 10-15% reduction in the overall grade of the course.

Late Assignment Policy:

All assignment grades will be deducted 20% per day the assignment is submitted late unless excused. Please send an email to the instructor if you are unable to submit your assignment on time with a proper excuse. No excuses or exceptions will be considered after the due date/time.

Religious Holidays Policy:

St. Athanasius College will provide reasonable accommodations to students who request to be excused from class to observe a religious holy day of their faith. Students will make the request in writing to their instructor, preferably upon receipt of the course syllabus, but not later than two weeks before the holy observance. Note that such an accommodation may not be possible when the religious holy day conflicts with group work or experiential learning projects that cannot reasonably be rescheduled; therefore, students should avoid potential conflicts when scheduling courses. While excused students will be held responsible for the material covered in their absence, they shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the work missed. Instructors and administrators shall not penalize students who are absent from academic activities because of excused religious holy day observance. This policy applies to all St. Athanasius College courses, regardless of location or mode of delivery.

Academic Honor Policy

Anyone caught plagiarizing or abetting plagiarism will receive a zero for the assignment and may result in expulsion from St. Athanasius College. There are no exceptions to this rule. Plagiarism includes claiming as your own work that which is not yours.

Student Disability Accommodations:

St. Athanasius College provides reasonable accommodations or modifications in adherence with local, state, and federal law. To receive accommodations through St. Athanasius College, students must self-elect to disclose their disability to the Office of the Dean and follow the steps to receive accommodations. Accommodations are not retroactive. Approved accommodation requests submitted after courses have begun will be effective as of the date the completed request was received by the Office of the Dean. The Accommodation Request Form can be found on the St. Athanasius College LearnDash site. If the student has an issue accessing the form for any reason please contact the Office of the Dean. In addition to the Accommodation Request, students should email appropriate documentation to the Office of the Dean.

Syllabus Change Policy

Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.

Course Modules and Schedule:

• October 7, 2025 – Module 1: Clement of Rome and Justin Martyr
  • Primary Source Readings:
    • First Clement
    • Second Clement
    • Justin Martyr First Apology
    • Justin Martyr Second Apology
  • Secondary Source Readings:
    • The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millenniumby John Strickland (pg. 9-87)
  • Assignments:
    • Biographical Portfolio of a Latin Church Father or Saint from the 1^st-2^nd centuries AD not surveyed in Module 1. Students will present this portfolio in class. Due on Oct. 7^th
    • Choose and begin reading a work (not read in class) from a Latin Church Father. Notify your instructor in Module 2 on the work you have selected. Five-page review is due in Module 5.

• October 14, 2025 – Module 2: Irenaeus of Lyon and Cyprian of Carthage
  • Primary Source Readings:
    • Against Heresies (selections from Books I, III, and V) by Irenaeus of Lyon
    • Selections from Cyprian of Carthage
      • Unity of the Catholic Church
      • Letter 69
      • Letter 73
    • Secondary Source Readings:
      • The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millenniumby John Strickland (continue pg. 9-87)
      • The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000 (Tenth Anniversary Revised Edition) by Peter Brown (pg. 1-34; OPTIONAL)
    • Assignments:
      • Biographical Portfolio of a Latin Church Father or Saint from the 3^rd-4^th centuries AD not surveyed in Module 2. Students will present this portfolio in class. Due on Oct. 14^th
      • Continuing working on your book review. Five-page review is due in Module 5.

• October 21, 2025 – Module 3: Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, and John Cassian
  • Primary Source Readings:
    • Ambrose of Milan
      • Letter 10: The Council of Aquileia
      • Letter 51: Massacre at Thessalonica
      • Letter 63: Episcopal Election at Vercellae
    • Jerome
      • Letter 14: To Heliodorus
      • Letter 107: To Laeta
    • John Cassian
      • Conferences (Selections)
    • Secondary Source Readings:
      • The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millenniumby John Strickland (pg. 88-177)
    • Assignments:
      • Biographical Portfolio of a Latin Church Father or Saint from the 4^th – 5^th centuries AD not surveyed in Module 3. Students will present this portfolio in class. Due on Oct. 21^th
      • Continuing working on your book review. Five-page review is due in Module 5.

• October 28, 2025 – Module 4: Benedict of Nursia and Gregory the Dialogist
  • Primary Source Readings:
    • Rule of St Benedict
    • Dialogues by Gregory the Dialogist
      • Dialogue Three (113-120 in the SAGOM Press)
      • Dialogue Four (194-207 in the SAGOM Press)
    • Secondary Source Readings:
      • The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millenniumby John Strickland (continue pg. 179-224)
      • The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000 (Tenth Anniversary Revised Edition) by Peter Brown (pg. 190-215)
    • Assignments:
      • Biographical Portfolio of a Latin Church Father or Saint from the 6^th-8th centuries AD not surveyed in Module 2. Students will present this portfolio in class. Due on Oct. 28^h
      • Continuing working on your book review. Five-page review is due in Module 5.

• November 4, 2025 – Module 5: Gregory of Tours, the Venerable Bede, and St Cuthbert
  • Primary Source Readings:
    • The Life of St Cuthbert by the Venerable Bede
    • Selections from The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede
    • Selections from The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours
  • Secondary Source Readings:
    • The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millenniumby John Strickland (continue pg. 225-281)
    • The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000 (Tenth Anniversary Revised Edition) by Peter Brown (pg.321-379)
  • Assignments:
    • Five-page book review is due.