| CODE | MRT5803 | ||||||
| TITLE | Saint Augustine’s Ecclesial Spirituality - A Community of Believers | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Moral Theology | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will deal with Saint Augustine’s idea of church which will lead eventually to his spiritual reflections on the church. In the first section we will focus on those who lead the community of believers, the priests and the bishops. Reflecting on his personal experience and on his writings we will be able to extrapolate a spirituality that animates priests as well as bishops. In the second section the attention will shift on the community of believers. After a short review of the ecclesiology of some of the main representatives of early Christian tradition, we will study the ecclesiological affirmations of Saint Augustine, concentrating primarily on three aspects: 1) autobiographical, 2) polemical (especially against Donatism), and 3) the Church as mystery and a human institution. Study-unit Aims: The aim of these lectures is to show: 1) how Saint Augustine lived his spirituality with the community of believers. 2) how for Saint Augustine leadership in the Church is nothing other than service. 3) that behind the apologist, polemicist there is a true pastor, who is both a mystic and a fervent leader of the community of believers. 4) the relevance of Augustine’s thinking for contemporary ecclesiology, pastoral ministry and spirituality. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a) describe fundamental aspects of Augustine’s total dedication for the Church; b) examine and interpret Augustine’s apologetic defence of the faith; c) outline Augustine’s mystical and spiritual formation. d) interpret the ecclesiological polemics in the light of Augustine’s particular theological view, which eventually is the result of his spirituality. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a) evaluate Augustine’s life as a pastor; b) formulate an often sidelined rich spiritual theology from the different texts of Augustine which will be cited throughout the course; c) reflect on how Augustine’s ecclesial spirituality can enlighten today’s Church. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - FAHEY, M.A., Augustine’s Ecclesiology Revisited: Augustine from Rhetor to Theololgian, Waterloo, Ontario, 1992. - TRAPÈ, AGOSTINO, S. Agostino. L’uomo, il pastore, il mistico, Esperienze, Fossano, 1976. Supplementary Readings: - BONNER, GERALD, St. Augustine of Hippo. Life and Controversies, Philadelphia, 1963. - DONI, R., Agostino, l’infaticabile ricercatore della verità, Paoline, Milano, 2000. - GIACOBBI, A., La chiesa in S. Agostino. Mistero e comunione, PUL citta’ nuova editrice, Roma, 1978. - POSSIDIUS, Vita Sancti Augustini, in Patrologia Latina XXXII; edizione critica e trad. Ital. a cura di M. Pellegrino, Alba, 1955. - RATZINGER, JOSEPH, People and House of God in St. Augustine, Jaca Book, Milan, 1971. - VAN DER MEER, F., Augustine the bishop: the life and work of a Father of the Church, Sheed and Ward, London, 1961. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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