Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christianity

From the time Jesus of Nazareth preached in the rural countryside of Judea, his followers interpreted his words differently and wrote varied accounts of what he said and did. As time passed, and Jesus' movement grew into a world religion, Christianity, disagreement among Christians only continued to increase, leading to the need to define and enforce correct beliefs and practices, a Christian orthodoxy embodied in the now-familiar institutions of creed, canon, and clergy. Yet in the process of creating an orthodoxy, what was left out? Whose voices were suppressed? Through careful study of ancient texts, including those deemed heretical and virtually lost until the twentieth century, this course examines the wide varieties of Christianity in its first 400 years and how the framers of orthodoxy defined themselves against these alternatives.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; BU Eth; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM

Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christianity

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 3051

Section 01