Early Christianity prepares students for academic careers in teaching and research or for other professional work for which strong competence in this field would be important.
Convener: J. Warren Smith
Major Field Requirements
- Course Work
- 3 advanced courses per semester
- Students entering directly from an undergraduate program will normally complete 6 semesters of course work, consisting primarily of doctoral seminars
- Languages
- Demonstration by exam and course work of reading fluency in Greek and Latin. For those intending to work in the fields of Eastern Christianity, a third language will be required and chosen from: Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Arabic, or Ethiopic
- Demonstration by exam of reading competency in German and French (or a substitute modern European language)
- Responsible Conduct of Research Training
- 12 hours of RCR training in first 4 years of study
- Preliminary Examinations
- Written general examination (Christianity from the 2nd to 7th Centuries), with the focus of the examination on the areas of the student's interest
- Written examination on internal minor
- Written examination on external minor
- Written examination on dissertation area
- Oral examination
- Dissertation
Inside Minor Requirements
- 2 courses
Professor of Religious Studies
Professor of Historical Theology
Early Christianity
Aaron Ebert: "The Second Sin: A Study of the Vice of Envy in the Thought of St. Augustine." 2023. Advisor: Dr. J. Warren Smith
Elizabeth Schrader Polczer: “’Those Who Love Me Will Keep My Word’: Narrative Variants in New Testament Gospel Stories.” 2023. Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Knust
Taylor Ross: "Minding the Gap: Gregory of Nyssa, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and the Hermaneutics of Historical Theology." 2022. Advisor: Dr. J. Warren Smith
Nathan Tilley: “Human Perfection in the Thought of Bābai the Great: Tradition and Development in East Syrian Theology." 2022. Advisor: Dr. J. Warren Smith
Brad Boswell: "Cyril Against Julian: Traditions in Conflict." 2020. Advisor: Dr. J. Warren Smith
Erin Galgay Walsh: "Sanctifying Boldness: New Testament Women in Narsai, Jacob of Serugh and Romanos Melodos." 2019. Advisor and Co-chair: Lucas Van Rompay (Co-chair J. Ross Wagner)
Daniel Becerra: "Asceticism and the Other: Angels and Animals in the Egyptian Ascetic Tradition." 2019. Advisor: J. Warren Smith
Jen Benedict: "Truth to Power: The Politics of Theological Free Speech in the Cappadocian Fathers and Augustine of Hippo." 2018. Advisor: J. Warren Smith
Julie Lillis: "Virgin Territory: Configuring Female Virginity in Early Christianity." 2017. Advisor and Co-chair: Elizabeth Clark (Co-chair J. Warren Smith)
Tom McGlothlin: "Raised to Newness of Life: Resurrection and Moral Transformation in Second- and Third-Century Christian Theology." 2015. Advisor: J. Warren Smith