Course Title: Introduction to Dogmatics

Course Number: DT 100

Term: Summer 2017
Instructor: Jared Goff, Ph.D
Email: jaredgoff@gmail.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This introductory course will examine the soteriological foundations of Christian dogma.
The class will explore divine revelation, the mystery of the Triune God, creation and
man, the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the nature and mission of the Church, the
Church’s eschatological dimension, and the Church’s ethos as it encounters our
civilization and relates its doctrinal beliefs to the world.

ENVISIONED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Students will gain a basic knowledge of the nature, scope and mode of dogmatic
theology as distinct but inseparable from other forms of theology (e.g.,
fundamental, liturgical, historical, biblical, spiritual) and philosophy (St.
Bonaventure: “theology begins where philosophy ends”: God and the economy of
salvation, ut boni fiamus) as well as the difference between theology and any area
of specialized focus and/or research that lacks the requisite mode to be properly
termed theology, even if closely linked with and/or a necessary condition for
doing theology (e.g., patristics, liturgics, medieval studies, biblical
studies/criticism, history of dogma);
• Students will be able to discern, order and use for theological research and
reflection the key sources of theology (locis theologicis);
• Students will gain a basic knowledge of the historical development of Christian
dogma and dogmatic theology through study of primary source texts of the
Fathers and Doctors of the Church in the context of doctrinal controversies as
these were worked out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the
Church (in this special attention will be given the first seven ecumenical
councils);
• Students will be able to better interact with the theological method of the Fathers
of the Church in their reception of the Apostolic Faith (depositum fidei) according
to the mind of the living Church (magisterium and analogia fidei, Benedict XVI:
“hermeneutic of continuity, distinguishing in the sources of theology levels of
dogmatic clarity and authority).

Methodological Overview:

This course will be pursued in a spirit of fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church while
at the same time presupposing the basic integrity of the entirety of the Apostolic Faith as
entrusted to the Apostolic Churches and preserved, especially, in common Apostolic
Succession, Worship, Sacraments and Devotion. By this I mean that this course will be
dogmatic, articulating and arguing for doctrinal developments that have occurred in the
Catholic Communion prior and post-1054 (as a general date of estrangement). But this
course will also be ecumenical and irenic, emphasizing the common faith, inclusive of
such developments, that has been obscured and papered over by, for example, historical,
jurisdictional and social concerns that, perhaps and clearly in many cases do, flow out of
theological differences. Thus, this course while recognizing and affirming the lawful and
sacramental reality of the Apostolic Churches (cf., Unitatis Redintegratio n. 16) also
affirms that the Bishop of Rome has a unique and essential place in the historic
communion of Churches, substantially identical in faith and worship, as the locus of
visible communion amongst Christians. Any estrangement between Christians, especially
those graced with the faith and life Jesus gave to his Apostles and their successors to pass
on, is a shame and a scandal and wound to all.

Taking a Byzantine Catholic approach, this course is in a special way ecumenical. While
founded on the common Apostolic life in Christ, Byzantine Catholics are (if not in
reality, should be) prophetic witnesses to Church Unity, affirming the integrity of the
Western Christianity as a valid outworking of the life of the Spirit in the Church, while
seeking to emphasize and live Eastern theology and spirituality. In line with this
conviction this course will seek to provide an integrative introduction to dogmatic
theology in both sources and method. Eastern Fathers and Doctors will received pride of
place, and under each dogmatic heading we will be interacting with primary source texts
of the Fathers in conversation with the teachings as presented in the first seven Councils.
Our overview or systematic outline will follow an exitus-reditus structure, creation
flowing from the Trinity and consummated by the return of creation to the Father through
Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the metaphysical and supernatural
process of recapitulation present especially in the thought of St. Irenaeus and also, though
not as immediately apparent, in St. John Damascene’s De fide orthodoxa. Based upon the
Damascene we will also work through the contemporary Dogmatics of the Orthodox
theologian John Zizioulas. These texts, supplemented weekly by interaction with primary
texts of the Church Fathers and Mothers, should allow us to discern the outline, content
and method of dogmatic theology. Throughout our exposition readings from Western and
Eastern theologians will be juxtaposed with the intention of illuminating the
complementary approaches and common basic theology in the Catholic and Apostolic
Communion. Finally, although this course seek only to provide an introductory and
general overview of dogmatic theology, we will also take up some special topics that now
and, to an extent, historically, undergird our full communion with the Bishop of Rome
and incomplete communion with the historical mother churches of our Byzantine
jurisdictions: the Papacy, the Filioque, the Immaculate Conception and Palamism. Our
approach here will be, in principle, irenic and based upon sound theological method,
carefully considering both sides of the debate remaining sympathetic to our Mother
Churches while affirming and attempting to show why and how it is necessary for the
well being of both our Churches, historically and at present, as well as our Faith to
maintain dogmatic communion with our Holy Father.

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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

IMPORTANT NOTE ON DUE DATES: Discussion board postings and weekly

assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the week under which they are listed
on the course calendar below. Earlier replies will be more beneficial. Late assignments
will be penalized unless prior arrangements have been made or an emergency arises.

Readings and Lectures

• Read the assigned readings listed on the Course Calendar above.
• Read and listen to the Power Point lectures provided for the week.
• All discussion board postings and quizzes will be directly based upon the assigned
readings of the week and any other materials that may be listed in the weekly
assignments.

50% Discussion Board Postings

• Post on the Discussion Board at least three (3) times each week.
• First, post at least one answer to one of the discussion questions or topics provided
by the instructor. Complete answers require a minimum of three sentences and at
least one quotation from or reference to an assigned reading.
• Second, post at least one response to the entries of your classmates. Responses to
classmates can provide brief follow-up questions, make additional points, or
politely offer alternative responses. Responses do not need to be more than one or
two sentences.
• You are invited but not required to continue following the class discussion and to
make further contributions after your three required postings.
• Both your answer(s) and your response(s) must be posted by 11:59 p.m. on the last
day of the Week. It is highly recommended, however, that answers be posted at
least several days before the due date; this provides more opportunity for student
interaction. Late postings will not receive any credit.

50% Research Assignments

The Research Assignment is an extended research project on the topic of your choice
with the final goal of producing a high quality research paper. Below are the distinct
elements of the research assignment:
- Week 3: Post 3 topics of interest that could serve as areas of research for a
research paper
- Week 4: Research sources and begin assembling bibliography for paper topics
- Week 5: Choose a Paper Topic
o Compose and Post a Topic Sentence/Question
- Week 6: Clarify Topic Sentence-Question
- Week 7: Annotated Bibliography
- Week 8: Compose and Post a Thesis Statement
- Week 9: Post Outline of Paper
- Week 10: Post First Paragraph of Research Paper
- Week 13: First Draft of Paper
- Week 14: Final Pape
COURSE SCHEDULE1

WEEK 1: Introduction to the Course

1st Lecture:
Introduction to Dogma: its definition, sources, materials, organization,
subject and end, theological notes.

Review of syllabus and course procedures and requirements;

Introduction to the materials (Zizioulas, John of Damascus and
Bonaventure);
Method of instruction (recapitulation of previous week’s materials,
interaction with readings assignments).

2nd Lecture:
What is Dogma? Areas and types of theology; Sources of theology;
Liturgy and Dogma; Church and Tradition; Mystagogy

Engagement with readings. “Our” theology in relation to philosophy, three

modes of theology (symbolic, proper, contemplative); theology: orthodoxy for the sake of
orthopraxy: in order that we may become Good like God; theology as ecclesial vocation.

Readings:

- Zizioulas (2008), pp. 1-39.

Supplementary:

- “Levels of Assent” (PDF); “Theological Notes” (PDF).

- Ratzinger (1995), pp. 13-29, 101-120 (PDF)
- Robert Taft. “Eastern Catholic Theology: Slow Rebirth After a Long and Difficult
Gestation.” Eastern Churches Journal 8.2: 51-80 (PDF)
- Staniloae (1993), v. 1, pp. 1-78

WEEK 2: Philosophy and Theology; Theological Method; Metaphysics of

Typology

1st Lecture: Philosophy, Natural Theology and Dogmatic Theology

2nd Lecture: Theological Method
3rd Lecture: Christ and Trinity in Old and New Testaments; Typology

1
In the selection of primary texts from the Fathers and bibliography I am indebted to and
have been greatly aided by Paul M. Blowers excellent syllabi accessible at:
https://ecs.academia.edu/PaulBlowers
 Readings: [NB For this week don’t seek mastery of the texts. Just try to
familiarize yourself with the main headings and points of the documents, privileging Dei
Verbum.]

- Dei Verbum
(http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html ) ; Verbum Domini
(http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-
xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-
domini.html ); “Instruction on Scripture and Christology (Pontifical Biblical
Commission, 1985)
(https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resource
s/documents/catholic/pbc_christology.htm )
- Irenaeus of Lyons, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/irenaeus_02_proof.htm)
- Look through documents posted on Populi site
Bibliography: Hilarion Alfayev, Orthodox Christianity, vol. 2, pt. 1; Paul Blowers, “Eastern Orthodox Biblical
Interpretation,” in Duane Watson and Alan Hauser, eds., A History of Biblical Interpretation, vol. 2, 172-200; id., “Eastern Orthodox
Interpretation,” in Steven McKenzie, ed., The Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, vol. 1, 241-9; Bertrand de Margerie, An
Introduction to the History of Exegesis, vol. 1: The Greek Fathers; Eugene Pentiuc, The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox
Tradition; John Meyendorff, Living Tradition: Orthodox Witness in the Contemporary World (assorted essays); John McGuckin, The
Orthodox Church, ch 2; Sergius Bulgakov, The Orthodox Church, ch. 2 (“The Church a Tradition”); idem, “Is Orthodoxy Infallible?”
Eastern Churches Journal 7 (2000): 73-86; Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, “Tradition and Personal Experience in Later Byzantine
Theology,” Eastern Churches Review 3 (1970): 131-141; Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition, vol. 2: The Spirit of Eastern
Christendom, ch. 1; idem, “Council or Father or Scripture: The Concept of Authority in the Theology of Maximus the Confessor,” in
The Heritage of the Early Church: Essays in Honor of Georges Florovsky, 277-288; John Breck, Scripture in Tradition: The Bible and
Its Interpretation in the Orthodox Church; Theodore Stylianopoulos, The New Testament: An Orthodox Perspective; Dumitru
Staniloae, Theology and the Church; John McGuckin, “Eschaton and Kerygma: The Future of the Past in the Present Kairos,” St.
Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 42 (1998): 225-271; Archbishop Chrysostomos and Bishop Auxentius, Scripture and Tradition;
Demetrios Bathrellos, “The Eastern Orthodox Tradition for Today,” in The Bible in Pastoral Practice, ed. Paul Ballard and Stephen
Holmes, 42-58; George Bebawi, “The Bible in Eastern Churches,” in The Oxford Illustrated History of the Bible, 242-55

WEEK 3: On the Trinity of God

1st Lecture: The Trinity: Creeds, Fathers and Dogma.

2nd Lecture: The Trinity: Trinity of Persons and Unity of Essence.
3rd Lecture: The Trinity: Absolute Attributes; Unity in Diversity of Manifestations
and Appropriations.

Readings:
John of Damascus, De fide Orth., Bk 1, pp. 165-202;
Zizioulas, 40-82.

Supplementary:
Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity, q.1 a.1, fund. 1-
29.
Athanasius, Oration 1 Against the Arians, cc. 1-5.
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxi.ii.i.i.html)
Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf208.vii.ii.html, follow links)

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 Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 27 (= First Theological Oration)
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf207.iii.xiii.html

Bibliography: Hilarion Alfayev, Orthodox Christianity, vol. 2, pt. 2; Andrew Louth, Introducing Eastern Orthodox
Theology, ch. 2; John Behr, The Formation of Christian Theology, vol. 2: The Nicene Faith, 2 parts; Lewis Ayres, Nicea and Its
Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology; Boris Bobrinskoy, The Mystery of the Trinity: Trinitarian Experience
and Vision in the Biblical and Patristic Traditions; John McGuckin, The Orthodox Church, ch. 3; Dumitru Staniloae, The Experience
of God, vol. 1; R.P.C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318-381; Kallistos (Timothy)
Ware, The Orthodox Way; Vladimir Lossky, In the Image and Likeness of God, cc. 1, 2, 4; idem, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern
Church, cc. 1-4; idem, Introduction to Orthodox Theology, Prologue and ch. 1; Basil Studer, Trinity and Incarnation: The Faith of the
Early Church; Aristotle Papanikolaou, Being with God: Trinity, Apophaticism, and Divine Human Communion; Stephen Hildebrand,
trans., Basil of Caesarea: On the Holy Spirit; John Meyendorf, “The Holy Spirit, as God,” in The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox
Church, 153-165; Sergius Bulgakov, The Comforter; idem, “Mediations on the Joy of the Resurrection,” in Ultimate Questions: An
Anthology of Modern Russian Religious Thought, 299-309; Boris Bobrinskoy, “The Holy Spirit in the Church,” in The Legacy of St.
Vladimir, ed. J. Breck et al., 197-207

WEEK 4: The Filioque

1st Lecture (1hr. 45 minutes): Meaning of the term; origin of the teaching and
term; purpose of filioque; Greek concerns; Maximus; theological valor; what it is
addressing; tradition; irenic conclusion

Readings:

Manousakkis, For the Unity of All, 15-20

Supplementary:

John of Damascus, DFO, Bk 1, cc. 6-9, 12.

Maximus Confessor, "Letter to Marinus" can be accessed at:

https://bekkos.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/st-maximus-on-the-filioque/

Pelikan, Jaroslav, Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700), pp. 183-198.

Siecienski, A. E., The Filioque: History a Doctrinal Controversy (Oxford, 2010).

WEEK 5: On the Creation of the World: Macrocosm for Microcosm

1st Lecture: Creation: Macrocosm for the sake of and Recapitulated in the
Microcosm

Readings:

John of Damascus, DFO, Bk 2, cc. 1-6, 11-28;

Zizioulas, pp. 83-98

Supplementary:

I would also recommend looking at Maximus' Ad Thalassium, n. 60. This gives an account of
the Logos/logoi distinction in God and creation, specifying the place of the Word eternal in

6
 the creation of all things.

The easiest English translation to access is found in On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ,
trans., Blowers and Wilkens, (Crestwood: St. Vladimir's, 2003 ), pp. 123-129.

Bibliography: Paul Blowers, Drama of the Divine Economy: Creator and Creation in Early Christian Theology and Piety;
Andrew Louth, Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology, cc. 3, 5-6; Hilarion Alfayev, Orthodox Christianity, vol. 2, pts. 3-4; Vladimir
Lossky, Introduction to Orthodox Theology, cc. 2-3; id., The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, ch. 4-6; John McGuckin, The
Orthodox Church, ch 4; Matthew Steenberg, Irenaeus on Creation: The Cosmic Christ and the Saga of Redemption; Verna Harrison,
Grace and Human Freedom in the Theology of St. Gregory of Nyssa; Paul M. Blowers and Robert L. Wilken, eds. and trans., On the
Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ: Selected Writings from St. Maximus the Confessor; George Berthold, trans., Maximus Confessor:
Selected Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality series); Lars Thunberg, Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology
of Maximus the Confessor, 2nd ed.; idem, “The Human Person as Image of God—I. Eastern Christianity,” in Christian Spirituality (I):
Origins to the Twelfth Century, ed. Bernard McGinn, et al. (World Spirituality series, vol. 16), 291-312; Georges Florovsky, Creation
and Redemption, (Collected Works of Georges Florovsky, vol. 3), cc. 3-4; Dumitru Staniloae, The Experience of God, vol. 2

WEEK 6: The Fall and Sin

1st Lecture: Remaining (apparent) disagreements between East and West re

Original Sin; Biblical basics; Catechism of the Catholic Church; Eastern Understanding;
Western Understanding; Convergences and Continuities

Readings:

Zizioulas: pp. 98-101

Bibliography: David Weaver, “From Paul to Augustine: Romans 5:12 in Early Christian Exegesis,” pt. 1, St. Vladimir’s
Theological Quarterly 27 (1983): 187-206; pts. 2-3, “The Exegesis of Romans 5:12 among the Greek Fathers and Its Implication for
the Doctrine of Original Sin: The 5th-12th Centuries,” St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 29 (1985): 133-159, 231-257

WEEK 7: On the Incarnation of the Word in its Marian Mode

1st Lecture: Christology: Introduction and Mode of Speaking of Christ “before the
Incarnation”; Person and Nature; The Two Natures: Continuous and Discontinuous
2nd Lecture: De Fide Orthodoxa Book 3, cc. 9, 11-16; Nature, Subsistence, Will,
Union, Theotokos, Energies
3rd Lecture: De Fide Orthodoxa Book 3, cc. 17-29: Deification of the Flesh of
Christ, Deification: Wills, Minds, Knowledges and Wisdom; Theandric Energy?, Events,
development and growth during Christ’s temporal mission
4th Lecture: De Fide Orthodoxa Book 4, cc. 1-8: Post-resurrection, Nature of
Worship; Why the Son became incarnate;

Readings (NB: Spread over Weeks 7 and 8):

John of Damascus, De fide Orth., Bk 3, pp. 267-334;
Zizioulas, 101-119

Recommended:
Early Disputes:
Athanasius, On the Incarnation, nn. 5-10
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.vii.ii.v.html, follow links)
Ephesus to Chalcedon:

7
 The Tome of St. Leo
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xi.vii.html)
Chalcedon
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xi.xiii.html)

Dean, Maximilian M., A Primer on the Absolute Primacy of Christ: Blessed John
Duns Scotus and the Franciscan Thesis.

Bibliography: Athanasius, On the Incarnation (various editions); Paul M. Blowers and Robert L. Wilken, eds. and trans.,
On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ: Selected Writings from St. Maximus the Confessor; Hilarion Alfayev, Orthodox Christianity,
vol. 2, pt. 4; Andrew Louth, Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology, ch. 4; Alois Grillmeier, Christ in Christian Tradition, vols. 1
and 2.1-2; John McGuckin, St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy: Its History, Theology, and Texts; Demetrios
Bathrellos, The Byzantine Christ: Person, Nature, and Will in the Christology of St. Maximus the Confessor; Paul Gavrilyuk, The
Suffering of the Impassible God: The Dialectics of Patristic Thought; John Meyendorff, “The Role of Christ,” I. Christ as Savior in the
East,” in Christian Spirituality (I): Origins to the Twelfth Century, 231-251; idem, Christ in Eastern Christian Thought; Andreas
Andreopoulos, Metamorphosis: The Transfiguration in Byzantine Theology and Iconography; Romanos the Melodist, Kontakia on the
Life of Christ, trans. Ephrem Lash; Paul Fries and Tiran Nersoyan, eds., Christ in East and West; Paulos Gregorios et al., eds., Does
Chalcedon Divide or Unite? Toward Convergence in Orthodox Christology; Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition, vol. 2: The
Spirit of Eastern Christendom, ch. 2; Vladimir Lossky, Introduction to Orthodox Theology, ch. 4; John McGuckin, The Orthodox
Church, ch 3

WEEK 8: Continuation of Discussion of Incarnation with emphasis upon

Immaculate Mary Theotokos

1st Lecture: Manoussakis: Ecumenical Contours of Mary’s Immaculate

Conception; Mary as common ground; unilateral declarations on Mary; foundations;
implications of the Immaculate Conception; Orthodox difficulties; Prepurified Virgin
Mother; Mary-Eve: Type and Recapitulation; first principle of Mariology; theological
maximalism; Manoussakis and the Cause of Unity
2nd Lecture: The predestination of the Panagia Theotokos; Marian Mode of
theology; Mary and Order of Hypostatic Union; Explanations of the primacy of Christ;
Primacy of Christ and Immaculate Conception: Mutually Implicative Truths

Readings: Manousakkis, For the Unity of All, 5-14

Recommended:

Fehlner, Peter Damian, “The Predestination of the Virgin Mother and the Her
Immaculate Conception,” in Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons,
Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, pp. 213-276
(https://books.google.com/books?id=ez0VRbQi1i4C&pg=PA213&dq=mariology
+fehlner+predestination&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VTBRVYOoDsfFogSY7oFg&ved=0
CCcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=mariology%20fehlner%20predestination&f=false
)

Kappes, Christiaan W, The Immaculate Conception…, Academy of the

Immaculate, 2014.

Goff, J. Isaac, “Mark of Ephesus: Orthodox Defender of Mary Immaculate?”

PDF

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 WEEK 9: The Mission and Grace of the Holy Spirit: Conditions of
Deification-Deiformity

1st Lecture: Councils; Economy of Salvation; Eastern and Western Perspectives;

Bonaventure’s approach; Grace as gift; Grace and Merit; Grace and Sin
2nd Lecture: Grace in the life of the believer; Grace and the virtues; Gifts of the
Holy Spirit; Beatitudes and Fruits of the Spirit; Holy Spirit and the Exercise of Grace;
Holy Spirit and belief, love, and the commands

Readings:

Zizioulas, pp. 104-119

Recommended:

Bonaventure, Breviloquium, p. 5, pp. 169-210;

Bibliography: Nicholas Cabasilas, The Life in Christ (ET, St. Vladimir’s Press); Nicholas Afanasiev, The Church in the
Holy Spirit

WEEK 10: St. Gregory Palamas and Latin Theology: State of the Question
and Nature of the Dispute: Palamism: Impasse of Ground of Union?

1st Lecture: State of the question; What’s the big deal?; Palamism unique the
East?; Thomist conciliations; Anti-Scotist presentations
2nd Lecture: Palamas and the Scholastics: Theology and Metaphysics;
Essence/energies and prayer; implications for theology; metaphysical questions and
categories; theological language; theosis; epektasis

Readings: Kappes, Goff, Giltner, “Palamas Among the Scholastics.”

WEEK 11: The Church

1st Lecture: Manoussakis’ plea for primacy; Order and Person: Primacy; Anti-
papism and anti-primacy; Sacraments and canonical rank; patriarch and primacy; primacy
and union; eastern theologians on primacy
2nd Lecture: Eucharist, Church, Unity and Primacy; Positive vision of primacy
and papacy; background discussion; bishop and church; bishop among bishops; public
persona; college and bishop; excesses in Western theology; problem in Catholicism; a
viable ecclesial model?

Readings:
McPartlan, A Service of Love, entire; Manousakkis, For the Unity of All, chapter
3.

Bibliography: Sergius Bulgakov, The Orthodox Church; idem, “One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” The Christian
East 12 (1951): 90-104; Hilarion Alfayev, Orthodox Christianity, vol. 2, pt. 5; John Zizioulas, Being as Communion: Studies in

9
Personhood and the Church; idem, Communion and Otherness; Dumitru Staniloae, The Experience of God, vol. 5; id., Theology and
the Church; Georges Florovsky, “The Catholicity of the Church,” in Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View, (Collected
Works of G. Florovsky, vol. 1), 37-55; idem, Ecumenism (I): A Doctrinal Approach (Collected Works of G. Florovsky, vol. 13);
Sergius Bulgakov, The Bride of the Lamb; John Meyendorff, ed., The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology and the Early Church;
Thomas Hopko, “The Narrow Way of Orthodoxy,” St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 40 (1996): 3-15; Nikolaos Loudovikos, A
Eucharistic Ontology: Maximus the Confessor’s Eschatological Ontology of Being as Dialogical Reciprocity; John McGuckin, The
Orthodox Church, ch. 5; Andrew Louth, Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology, ch. 7

WEEK 12: The Sacraments: Christ and the Spirit in the Church

1st Lecture: Structure of salvation review; medicine and mystery; sacraments and
economy of salvation; sacrament and covenant; sacrament as sign; celebration and
administration of sacramental mysteries; convergence in the sacramental mysteries
2nd Lecture: Analogy to creation and incarnation; custom, convenience and
signification; sacramental causality; seven sacraments; three-fold divisions of the
sacraments; each sacrament considered; sacrament/s and Eucharist

Readings: John of Damascus, De fide Orth., Bk. 4, cc. 9-13, 343-361;

Bonaventure, Breviloquium, p. 6, “On the Sacramental Remedy”.
Bibliography: Kilian McDonnell, The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan: The Trinitarian and Cosmic Dimension of
Salvation; Alexander Schmemann, Of Water and the Spirit; idem, The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom;

WEEK 13: Eschatology

1st Lecture: Resurrection of the Body

2nd Lecture: The Meaning of Death in Christ
3rd Lecture: Eschatology: Individual and Cosmic

Readings:

DFO Bk. 4, cc. 26-27

Catechism of the Catholic Church para. numbers 988-1065;

Supplementary:

Breviloquium part 7
Dumitru Staniloae, Experience of God, vol. 6.

Bibliography: Colm Luibheid, trans., Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works; Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology,
ch. 9; Vladimir Kharlamov, The Beauty of the Unity and the Harmony of the Whole: The Concept of Theosis in the Theology of
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite; Norman Russell, The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition; Michael Christensen
and Jeffrey Wittung, eds., Partakers of the Divine Nature: The History and Development of Deification in the Christian Traditions;
Vladimir Kharlamov and Stephen Finlin, eds., Theosis in Christian Theology, 2 vols.; Panayiotis Nellas, Deification in Christ:
Orthodox Perspectives on the Nature of the Human Person; Adam Cooper, The Body in St. Maximus the Confessor: Holy Flesh,
Wholly Deified; Vladimir Lossky, “Redemption and Deification,” ch. 5 in In the Image and Likeness of God, 97-110; idem, The Vision
of God; Hilarion Alfayev, Orthodox Christianity, vol. 2, pt. 6; George Mantzaridis, The Deification of Man (a study of “deification” in
Gregory Palamas); Gregory Palamas, Triads, trans. N. Gendle with an intro. by John Meyendorff (Classics of Western Spirituality
series); Ilaria Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena; John
Sachs, “Apocatastasis in Patristic Theology,” Theological Studies 54 (1993): 617-640; Gennadios Limouris, Justice, Peace and the
Integrity of Creation: Insights from Orthdodoxy; Paulos Mar Gregorios, Cosmic Man: The Divine Presence: The Theology of St.
Gregory of Nyssa; id., The Human Presence: Ecology and the Age of the Spirit, new ed.; Alexei Nesteruk, Light from the East:
Theology, Science, and the Eastern Orthodox Tradition; John Chryssavgis, Cosmic Grace, Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of
the Green Patriarch Bartholomew I; John Chryssavgis and Bruce Foltz, eds., Toward an Ecology of Transfiguration: Orthodox
Perspectives on Environment, Nature, and Creation; Sigurd Bergmann, Creation Set Free: The Spirit as Liberator of Nature.

10
 WEEK 14: Why Dogmatic Theology? A Maximiano-Bonaventuriano-
Palamite Summation

1st Lecture: Class Review and Overview

2nd Lecture: Bonaventure and Maximus: Logos Epistemology, Semiotic
Metaphysics and Christ the Teacher
3rd Lecture: Palamas and Scotus: Metaphysics of Infinity and the Nature of
Distinction and Synergy

Readings: Selections from Maximus, Bonaventure and Gregory Palamas.

Bibliography: Paul Blowers, “Theology as Integrative, Visionary, Pastoral: The Legacy of

Maximus the Confessor,” Pro Ecclesia 2 (1993): 216-230; Maximus the Confessor, Maximus Confessor:
Selected Writings, trans. George Berthold, Classics of Western Spirituality series; Maximus the Confessor,
The Ascetic Life, and Four Centuries on Charity, trans. Polycarp Sherwood, Ancient Christian Writers, vol.
21; Paul Blowers, Exegesis and Spiritual Pedagogy in Maximus the Confessor; Paul Blowers and Robert L.
Wilken, eds. and trans., On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ: Selected Writings from St. Maximus the
Confessor; Lars Thunberg, Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the
Confessor, 2nd ed.; idem, Man and the Cosmos: The Vision of St. Maximus the Confessor; Andrew Louth,
Maximus the Confessor; Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, 3 vols. (trans. Alexander
Golitzin); Hilarion Alfeyev, St. Symeon the New Theologian and the Orthodox Tradition; Basil
Krivocheine, St. Symeon the New Theologian: Life–Spirituality–Doctrine; John Meyendorff, St. Gregory
Palamas and Orthodox Spirituality, 44-172; Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern
Church; A Monk of the Eastern Church, Orthodox Spirituality: An Outline of the Orthodox Ascetical and
Mystical Tradition; John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Classics of Western Spirituality series);
Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, “Tradition and Personal Experience in Later Byzantine Theology,” Eastern
Churches Review 3 (1970): 131-141; Gregory Palamas, The Triads, trans. N. Gendle (Classics of Western
Spirituality series); John Meyendorff, “The ‘Defense of the Holy Hesychasts’ by St. Gregory Palamas,” in
The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church, 167-194; idem, A Study of Gregory Palamas; idem,
Byzantine Hesychasm; Philip Sherrard, Mt. Athos: The Mountain of Silence; S. Loch, The Monks of Athos;
A Monk of the Eastern Church, The Jesus Prayer; R. M. French, trans., The Way of a Pilgrim and The Way
of a Pilgrim Continues; John Romanides, “Notes on the Palamite Controversy and Related Topics,” Greek
Orthodox Theological Review 6 (1960/61): 186-205; 9 (1963/64): 225-270; Kallistos Ware, The Power of
the Name: The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality; idem, ed., The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox
Anthology, 88-123; Dirk Krausmüller, “The Rise of Hesychasm,” in The Cambridge History of
Christianity, vol. 5: Eastern Christianity, 101-26

11
REQUIRED TEXTS

John of Damascus. Writings, v. 37 The Fathers of the Church. CUA Press, 1958.

Manoussakis, John Panteleimon. For the Unity of All: Contributions to the Theological
Dialogue between East and West. Wipf & Stock, 2015

McPartlan, Paul. A Service of Love: Papal Primacy, the Eucharist and Church Unity.
CUA Press, 2013.

Zizioulas, John D. Lectures in Christian Dogmatics. T & T Clark, 2008.

[Additional required texts will be provided by instructor in electronic form as a link as

needed.]

SUPPLEMENTARY

John Behr. The Formation of Christian Theology, vol. 1: The Way to Nicaea. Crestwood,
N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001.

Bonaventure. Breviloquium. Franciscan Institute Publication, 2005.

Bonaventure, Itinerarium mentis in Deum. Franciscan Institute, 2003.

Bouteneff, Peter. Sweeter then Honey: Orthodox Thinking on Dogma and Truth. St.
Vladmirs Seminary Press, 2006.

Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church (Pelican History of the Church, vol. 1).
Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1967.

Hienrich Denzinger. Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and Declarations on Matters of

Faith and Morals, 43rd ed., Peter Hünermann. Ignatius Press, 2012.

Florovsky, Georges. Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View. Nordland

Publishing Co., 1972.

Kappes, Christiaan. The Immaculate Conception. New Bedford: Academy of the

Immaculate, 2014

Kelley, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines. Harper One, 1978 [or later editions].

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Christian

Doctrine, vv. 1-3, esp., 1, 2. University of Chicago Press, 1975-80.

Ratzinger, Joseph. The Nature and Mission of Theology: Essays to Orient Theology in
Today’s Debates. Ignatius, 1995.
Staniloae, Dumitru. The Experience of God, vv. 1-6. Holy Cross Orthodox Press.

Wilken, Robert Louis. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought. Yale, 2003.

Wilken, Robert Louis. The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. Yale,
2013.
Frances Young. From Nicaea to Chalcedon: A Guide to the Literature and Its
Background, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010.

[Additional Supplementary Material will be added to this list throughout the course. I will
also provide additional bibliography under each week’s heading as the course progress.]

13
ACADEMIC POLICIES:

EVALUATION
(Basis of evaluation with explanation regarding the nature of the assignment and the
percentage of the grade assigned to each item below).

SPECIAL NEEDS
Any special needs related to learning, testing, or physical disability in this course, require
the student to inform the instructor prior to the onset of classes and to contact the academic
dean so that those needs might be addressed.

ATTENDANCE
Even though you are not required to be logged in at any precise time or day, you are
expected to login several times during each week. Because this class is being taught
entirely in a technology- mediated forum, it is important to actively participate each week
in the course. In a traditional classroom setting for a 3-credit course, students would be
required to be in class 3 Lectures a week and prepare for class discussions 4.5 Lectures a
week. Expect to devote at least 7 quality Lectures a week to this course. A failure on the
student’s part to actively participate in the life of the course may result in a reduction of
the final grade.
NB: An Incomplete may only be awarded to a student who has maintained a passing
grade up to the point of the emergency. Incomplete grades will change to a grade of F
unless the requirements stipulated on the incomplete form are met by the date listed.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

Students at Cyril and Methodius Seminary are expected to practice academic honesty.

Avoiding Plagiarism
In its broadest sense, plagiarism is using someone else's work or ideas, presented or
claimed as your own. At this stage in your academic career, you should be fully
conscious of what it means to plagiarize. This is an inherently unethical activity because
it entails the uncredited use of someone else's expression of ideas for another's personal
advancement; that is, it entails the use of a person merely as a means to another person’s
ends.
Students, where applicable:
• Should identify the title, author, page number/webpage address, and publication
date of works when directly quoting small portions of texts, articles, interviews,
or websites.
• Students should not copy more than two paragraphs from any source as a major
component of papers or projects.
• Should appropriately identify the source of information when paraphrasing
(restating) ideas from texts, interviews, articles, or websites.
Consequences of Academic Dishonesty:
Because of the nature of this class, academic dishonesty is taken very seriously. Students
participating in academic dishonesty may be removed from the course and from the
program.

Freedom of Inquiry
The Byzantine Catholic Seminary acknowledges and respects the freedom of a faculty
professor to investigate issues of theology and pastoral practice and to communicate their
findings to peers and to students in appropriate forums.

Grading
Grades are awarded according to the following scale:

A 4.0 96-100 Student has demonstrated excellent mastery of the

subject matter to exhibit creative adaptation and application of course content.
A- 3.7 91-95 Student is capable of sharing original insight and
creativity in the subject matter, stemming from mastery of the meaning of ideas from the
course.
B+ 3.3 86-90 Student can grasp and articulate the background
assumptions that give the course content its significance, in addition to showing
methodological understanding.
B 3.0 81-85 Student shows a good level of understanding of
course content to be able to represent it correctly, to critique it, and apply it to new
situations.
B- 2.7 76-80 Student demonstrates fundamental competence in
the understanding, presentation, and adaptation of all of the course content.
C+ 2.3 71-75 This grade indicates a basic competence, but with
certain deficiencies of understanding.
C 2.0 65-70 Student can reproduce the basic concepts of the
course, but shows deficiencies
in the understanding and theological/pastoral application of these concepts.
D 1.0 61-65 This grade represents unacceptable work. Student
must repeat a required course until a C is attained.
F 0 60 /below. Student has failed to meet all expectations.
I Incomplete If not resolved in 60 days, automatically becomes a W.
W Withdraw Cannot be changed.
P Pass Used only in selected courses.
NC No Credit
AU Audit

15
ABOUT YOUR PROFESSOR

Jared Goff, a convert, was received with his wife and children into the Ruthenian
Catholic Church in 2004. Born and raised in the beautiful state of Oregon, Jared
graduated from Corban University in Salem, Oregon in 2003. Initially intending to pursue
a career in medicine, during his final semesters as an undergraduate, Jared became
fascinated with and immersed himself in philosophy and theology. He subsequently
obtained M.A. degrees in philosophy and theology and completed a Ph.D. in historical
theology in the spring of 2013 at Saint Louis University.

In addition to teaching in the distance learning program at Cyril and Methodius

Seminary, Dr. Goff teaches at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon.

Dr. Goff’s research interests include the theology and philosophy developed and
articulated by the great patristic fathers and medieval masters, especially St. John
Damascene, St. Bonaventure, Bl. John Duns Scotus as well as the spirituality of St.
Gregory Palamas; Roman Catholic-Eastern Orthodox ecumenical dialogue as well as
John Henry Newman.

Jared is author of Caritas in Primo: A Study of Bonaventure’s Disputed Questions on the

Mystery of the Trinity (Academy of the Immaculate, 2015), co-editor, with J.A. Wayne
Hellmann O.F.M. Conv. and Jay M. Hammond, of Companion to Bonaventure (Brill,
2013).

Jared, his wife Kellene, and their six children live in Oregon and attend St. Irene’s
Byzantine Catholic Church.