AFRICA CENTRE FOR THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

Syllabus for Church History II

February 17 – 25, 2025.

Lecturer: Ifiok Ukobo

 

I.                Course Description

 This course is a Survey of the historical and doctrinal development of the church from the Reformation age to the Modern Era. Focus is on key moments in the development and growth of Christianity with a global significance.  

 

II.            Course Objectives

 

A.    To have the student know the major events of church history from Reformation to the modern era.

B.     To have the students know and appreciate the major doctrinal issues that developed during this period and learn to differentiate between form and content.

C.     To view the present in the light of the prior beliefs and actions of the Christian community.

D.    To invest in developing capable and effective Christian leadership for the contemporary church to sustain its faithfulness to the faith.  

III.        Specific learning goals

a.       To identify the key socio-cultural, political and theological milieu of the Reformation and post-Reformation period.

b.        To understand the major Reformation traditions and their theologians, especially in terms of the nature of the church, the sacraments, and soteriology.

c.        To understand the Roman Catholic counter reformation, particularly the Council of Trent.

d.       To explore the eighteenth-century Enlightenment’s impact on the church.

e.       To articulate the Puritan, Pietist, and Methodist traditions.

f.        To demonstrate an understanding of the First and Second Great Awakenings.

g.       To trace the rise of modern missions and its relationship to the church in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular.

h.       To explore the interaction between church and Modernism, and its impact on theology today.