What factors were influencing the early church’s decision to meet on the Lord’s Day? What do the early church fathers have to say about Saturday or Sunday corporate gatherings for worship? Within this series of posts I hope to investigate some of the contextual factors that influenced the early church’s decision for Sunday gathering. I also plan to look at several of the earliest church documents that speak to the sabbath/Lord’s Day issue.
Looking to enhance your Greek reading skills? Want an opportunity to dive into some post-NT literature? Interested in knowing more about the life and theology of Ignatius of Antioch?
Join us this summer for a Greek reading course in the Letters of Ignatius. The James P. Boyce Centennial Library exists to serve the research and training needs of Southern Seminary students. It is our joy to offer a free Greek reading group in concert with the Center of Ancient Christian Studies this coming summer.
Led by Shawn Wilhite, a New Testament and Early Christianity researcher at Boyce Library, the group will introduce students to 2nd century primary texts, early Christian modern scholarship, and opportunities to read ancient literature. Each session will have a guest lecturer (30 min.), a time of response by students (10–15 min.), and engage discourse and grammatical features of the Greek text (45–50 min.).
The topics and text of choice will focus on the Letters of Ignatius. These seven letters detail Ignatius final instructions and exhortations to different churches and persons in the mid 2nd century.
We hope you will join us this summer. If interested, please contact Shawn Wilhite (swilhite@sbts.edu) or stop by the library to talk with any Research Expert.
Lecture Schedule:
May 26 — Shawn J. Wilhite: Ignatius of Antioch: An Historical and Thematic Introduction
June 2 — Coleman M. Ford: “Attuned to the Bishop as Strings to a Lyre”: Imitation and Virtue Formation in the Letters of Ignatius
June 9 — Dr. Michael Haykin: An Introduction to Ignatius and the Letters of Ignatius
June 16 — Dr. Danny McDonald: Ignatius and Ομονοια: Unity As a Means to Attain God
When: 10:00 – 11:30 am; May 26, June 2, 9, 16 (Tuesday)
Where: Lower-Level Floor in the James P. Boyce Centennial Library, 2825 Lexington Rd, Louisville, KY 40280
See here for syllabus.
There is a clear connection between the simplicity of Ambrose’s hymns and his people’s ability to communicate theological truth. “They all have become teachers,” says Ambrose. He composed hymns as a means of instructing his people in a way that they would appreciate and understand; he wrote hymns which they could sing, as heretics had already done before him. This last observation is important as the reader must first understand that Ambrose did not invent the Christian hymn itself, just a particular form of hymnody.
Because historical scholarship has held sway in Hebrews studies, Wirkungsgeschichte or Rezeptionsgeschichte may contribute to fresh readings of Hebrews and “uncover a forgotten interpretive insight that would survive the acids of critical methods”. This volume, although selective, devotes multiple chapters to the history of interpretation and how Hebrews affected interpreters in pre-critical and critical eras.
Join us on April 17, 2015 in Louisville, KY for "A Study in Ancient Christianity." This event features two plenary presentations from scholars in the field as well as opportunities for student presentations. Students currently enrolled in M.A., Th.M., and Ph.D. programs are encouraged to submit papers to the following study groups: Second Temple Judaism, New Testament, and Patristics. Student presentations are limited to 10 minutes in the style of TED talks with a short time of Q&A following.
Click here to register and submit paper proposals.
Dr. Gregory Hillis
Bellarmine University, Associate Professor; Director, Master of Arts in Spirituality Program
Paper Title: “Deification and Divine Filiation in Cyril of Alexandria’s Soteriology”
Dr. Clayton Jefford
St. Meinrad Seminary & School of Theology, Professor of Scripture
Paper Title: “Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Evolving Didache”
Register and call for student presentations by April 1 – http://bit.ly/1xH9Jtm
Questions and additional information: ancientchristianstudies@gmail.com
The past thirty years of Patristic scholarship has surely seen a revival among broader critical scholarship and among prominent Evangelical thinkers. In 1990, Charles Kannengiesser delivered the North American Patristics Society presidential address entitled “Bye, Bye Patristics” in which he stirred waters for a potential name change for the academic society.
