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Bexley-Specific
Courses Offered In addition to the courses taught by Bexley faculty
listed below, you are welcome to register for courses at our partner
institution Trinity Lutheran Seminary or our
consortium partners Methodist Theological School in Ohio
and The
Pontifical College Josephinum. The course information listed below is extracted from the Catalog of Trinity Lutheran Seminary and Bexley Hall. Information about courses taught by Trinity faculty can be found on their website. HISTORY-THEOLOGY-SOCIETY CORE COURSES (Required for the M.Div.) HTS2041BH Anglican Formation Anglican students will meet weekly with faculty members to pray the Daily Office, followed by an extended period of silent meditation, presentation of discussion questions on a chapter from a current book of Christian spirituality, and conversation in regard to that chapter. Six semester hours required. One semester hour, to be taken for six semesters total. Autumn and Spring. HTS 2035BH History of English Christianity. Survey of English Christianity (1) Celtic origins to the Synod of Whitby (667), into the period of Anglo-Saxon hegemony (667 - 1066), onward into the Norman reshaping of the English Church during the high middle ages (1066-1215), and finally into developments during the late middle ages (1215 - 1485); (2) The reformations that occurred in English Christianity during the 16th and 17th centuries (1485 - 1714); (3) The emergence of a world-wide Anglican Communion concomitant with the development of British and American Empires. Attention is paid to mutually intertwined issues of liturgy, polity, and doctrine as well as the ethnic confrontations of every period that affect the life and mission of English Christianity. Four semester hours. HTS2103BH The Episcopal Church USA: History, Doctrine, and Polity Concentrates on the ways in which the transplanting of the Church of England in North America was transformed by the American Revolution, the establishment of the United States, and the general context of American religious experience, particularly in the colonial and Federal periods. Attention is paid to the contributions of the Episcopal Church to the subsequent development of Anglicanism during the national and global periods. Specific foci include controversies in doctrine and worship, the development of various mission strategies, and the Episcopal Church's engagement of social and ecumenical issues. Consideration of basic documents, including the Constitution of ECUSA and canon law, will serve to ground students in the ethos and practice of American Anglicanism. Four semester hours. ELECTIVE COURSES JANUARY TERM 2009 – Eastern Orthodoxy/Russian study trip This “primer” course in Eastern Orthodoxy will include both classroom work in Columbus and a trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Classroom lectures and reading will concentrate on the Eastern doctrine of theosis (divinization), the role of the 7th Ecumenical Council, icons, the history of the spread of Orthodoxy, and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil. A visit to Russia will concentrate on the Russian Orthodox Church, its liturgy, architecture, and current evangelization and social work. Tentative dates: January 12 – 16 (classroom); January 18 – 28 – Moscow and St. Petersburg. Four semester hours. HTS2101BH Reformations in Old and New England, 1485-1714 Investigation of the impetus for the several reformations occurring in doctrine, liturgy, and polity first in England and then in her nascent overseas empire; and the forces which make for continuity in ecclesial life and mission even in the face of the establishment of an English-speaking Christianity divided into denominations by the end of the period. Attention is paid to the place of art as it relates to the subject of ecclesial reformation, to issues related to the role and position of women in church and society, and to initial encounters of various traditions with Native American populations, peoples of the Indian sub-continent, and cultures of Africa during the 17th century. Four semester hours. HTS2102BH History of the Anglican Communion from 1714-Present An ecclesial study of more or less resolved fusions and fissions between representatives of various ethnicities and religious perspectives as they encounter representatives of the Gospel and each other as Christians. Analyzes the English Church's division into Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist, and Methodist traditions; challenges presented by the rise of historical consciousness, with its concomitant pluralish and nascent secularism; and the formation and development of the Anglican Communion as English-speaking Christian culture impinges upon a larger world and ecumenical opportunities during the 19th and 20th centuries. Four semester hours. HTS 2104 BH Topics in Anglican Theology Anglican theology is a particular development of Christian theology, with particular emphases. To uncover these particularities, the course will focus on a specific theme or area (e.g., authority, the use of Scripture, the church's moral teaching, liturgical renewal) where Anglicanism is distinguishable from other Christian traditions, and where Anglican theology and practice are challenged by these churches. Four semester hours. HTS 2207 Historical Spirituality: Dante’s Divine Comedy This course rests upon two assumptions: that the journey into God is a journey into reality, and that the discipline of ascetical theology (spirituality) provides the practical integrator of the biblical, historical, theological, ethical, pastoral, and liturgical elements of the theological curriculum. Through the medium of Dante’s classic poem—translation and critical commentary by Dorothy L. Sayers and Barbara Reynolds—the community of seminar participants will take the soul’s journey down into the tightening rings of hell, up the sharp ascent of purgatory’s cornices, arriving again at Eden, but now prepared to “leap up” to the stars of paradise. Four semester hours. HTS2311BH Anglican Divines Against the background of English thought and culture from the so-called Elizabethan Settlement (1559) through the Enlightenment and Age of Revolution to the present, this course focuses on readings in those theologians of the church of England who may be said to have shaped Anglicanism, played a significant part in the globalization of Christianity or in the advancement of Christian spirituality, or have made singular contribution to modern theological restatement, liturgical renewal, and/or ecumenical rapprochement. Attention will be paid to understanding why typical Anglican theology has been called "occasional" rather than "systematic". Four semester hours. HTS2391BH Introduction to Patristic and Mediaeval Theology Surveys the various kinds of literature from the earliest centuries of the Church's existence, examining a variety of poems, epistles, liturgical texts, theological treatises, and heresiologies. The course will acquaint students with some of the basic bibliographical resources that have been foundational in the Anglican Church’s understanding of its continuity with the Church of undivided Christendom. Four semester hours. HTS3205 The Ecumenical Movement An investigation into the significance of the Protestant Reformation, a reappraisal of crucial confessional writings, and an assessment of the growing sense of ecumenical unity. Prerequisite: HTS2022 completed or concurrent. Four quarter hours. HTS 3217S The Spirituality of J.R.R. Tolkien Focuses on spiritual values in Tolkien's trilogy The Lord of the Rings. In addition to the classic cycle of Christian doctrine (creation, fall, redemption) themes such as community, quest, formation, love, and friendship will be considered. No area of human experience will be foreign to the discussion as centered in the literature and juxtaposed with Christian doctrine. Prerequistes: one theology course, prior reading of the trilogy. Two semester hours. MINISTRY CORE COURSES (Required for the M.Div.) MN2051 Pastoral Care and Counseling An introduction to the theology and practice of pastoral care in the church, with special attention to the ministering person, listening skills, and pastoral care as a context for counseling. Prerequisites: BL1021, BL1022, BL1041, HTS1041, HTS1042, ID1001, MN1001. Four semester hours. MN2301BH Seeking God: the Way of the Spirit Designed to help students (re)discover the sources of their own spirituality, especially in terms of significant life experiences that may provide core images for spiritual healing and direction; to acquaint them with a variety of spiritual resources from such Christian traditions as Catholic monasticism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglican and Protestant spirituality, and the spiritual tradition of the Black Church; to help students experience the relational and communal nature of Christian spirituality; and to help students acquire a sense of the vital connection between spirituality and ministry, whether that ministry takes for form of social action, preaching, teaching, or pastoral care. Four semester hours. MN2311BH Liturgics I: Introduction to Prayer Book and Hymnal Serves to introduce seminarians to the principles and practice of ECUSA’s Book of Common Prayer 1979 and the Hymnal 1982 along with occasional and supplementary liturgical materials. Emphasis is placed upon gaining a working knowledge of the contents of these works, their sustaining rationale and the process of planning, conducting, and evaluating edifying worship. Students will learn basic ceremonial alternatives for various ministries within Daily Office and Eucharist as well as the rudiments of choral recitation. Four semester hours. MN2312BH Liturgics II: History of Liturgical Worship Examines both the nature of worship and the history of its evolution, with a special emphasis on the Eucharist and its meanings. Other sacraments and rites will also be considered, including Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Ordination, Anointing, Matrimony, etc. Finally, liturgical divergences from the Reformations of the 16th century to the present-day reconvergences of the Liturgical Renewal Movement will be examined. Four semester hours. MN2313BH Liturgics III: Drama of Worship-Liturgical Theology and Preaching Christian worship is rooted in the principle lex orandi, lex credendi, lex agendi. This principle claims that the manner in which we pray (worship) determines both the shape of our belief (doctrine) and the pattern of Christian living (discipline). Involves a study of liturgical theology as it is incarnated in the arts associated with worship and features the preparation and critique of sermons in the context of the eucharistic lectionary and worship. Four semester hours. MN 2601BH, MN2602BH. Field Education I, II Field Education is an experience in which seminarians may discover, test, and develop their gifts for ministry, with the guidance of qualified mentors and the support of regular theological reflection. It also provides an opportunity for ordinands to gain self-knowledge, deepening their capacity to recognize and be formed by God within relationships in community. Finally, it assists seminarians in learning how to help Christian communities and individuals grow in faith. Two terms, four semester hours each term. MN 3061BH Life & Mission of Contemporary Anglican Parishes Intended for senior seminarians, this course occurs yearly in the spring quarter after the General Ordination Examination and before graduation or ordination. It focuses on the integration of prior theological education and formation with a view toward application of learnings in the first years of ordained ministry in a parish context. The characteristics of various sized parishes are examined and consideration is given to differences of approach to and practice of ordained ministry in these contexts. Expertise and experience of adjunct local clergy and diocesan or national church leaders is drawn upon for about two-thirds of the course sessions. Four semester hours. ELECTIVE MN2302 Group Spiritual Direction The relevance of group spiritual direction to ministry in the parish and local congregation, as well as institutional settings, is becoming increasingly evident. Not only is individual spiritual direction time consuming but it also exposes the priest or pastor to more psychological transference and interpersonal boundary problems than group spiritual direction does. Group spiritual direction has the potential of renewing the prayer life of the faithful, helping them with their spiritual journeys, grounding them in their faith and giving them a greater sense of Christian community. Four semester hours. This listing of the M.Div. curriculum is not official. The official curriculum is published by Bexley Hall separately. Please contact Bexley Hall for further information. Courses For more information about the M.Div. curriculum, click here. To learn about our faculty, click here. Check out our excellent libraries. |