Course Content

• Historical development of the Christian East from Late Antiquity to the modern era
• Main trajectories of ecclesiastical, theological, and institutional developments
• Key representatives and writings of the Eastern Church Fathers (Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, Arabic, among others)
• The relationship between Church, Empire, and Society across various epochs
• Methodological approaches in church historical and patristic research
• Working with primary sources, critical editions, translations, and digital research tools

Learning Objectives and Competences

Upon completion of this module, students will:

• Possess in-depth knowledge of the historical development of Christianity in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Byzantine Empire, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe.
• Understand the central epochs, theological currents, and ecclesiastical institutions that have shaped Eastern Christianity.
• Be familiar with key representatives, writings, and theological themes of Eastern patristic literature and explain their significance for theology, liturgy, and spirituality.
• Be able to critically analyze, contextualize, and interpret the content of historical and patristic sources.
• Proficiently apply historical methods and competently utilize scholarly tools, such as translations and digital resources.
• Comprehend and critically evaluate diverse interpretative approaches in current research and develop their own research questions.
• Clearly and precisely present complex church-historical and theological-historical interrelations in an academically rigorous manner.
• Reflect on the influence of cultural, linguistic, and confessional diversity on the history of theology and the church in the Christian East.
• Work independently and purposefully with complex primary sources and scholarly texts.
• Contribute their findings in church history and patristics to contemporary theological and interdisciplinary discourses.