Archive

The course is designed to cover the growth of the Church in the United States from its origins to the Second Vatican Council. Beginning with its earliest migrations and explorations, and continuing with its colonization by the Spanish and French Empires, the course continues with a study of the growth of Catholicism in the English Colonies and then in our newly established American Republic. We will focus on the critical variables, persons, and issues that helped shape the Catholic Church in the United States.

The early Church Fathers addressed fundamental questions about the Church in their writings. Included are texts on Christology, the Trinity, the sacraments and other topics. Writings from the Eastern and Western Fathers will be read so as to understand better how the Church currently “breathes with both lungs.”

This survey course in the history of the Church investigates theological, political, and social developments from the apostolic age through the Second Vatican Council. This range of topics in the course is organized according to the ‘six ages’ of the Church as divided by the historian Christopher Dawson. “A Survey of the History of the Church” is designed to provide an overview of the life of the Church up to the modern era for those serving as permanent deacons in the Catholic dioceses of the United States. It places events and controversies of history in a context that will foster a mature understanding of the Church’s mission and legacy.