Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Unity and Division in the Church

Unit Code: 
CH/CT399
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

This unit examines causes of division in the Christian Church and movements towards reconciliation. It begins with the concept of koinonia in the New Testament, and the diversities in the life of early churches. Students will investigate a range of historical moments of major division in the churches, as well as initiatives for church unity. Topics will include unity and diversity, the nature and practice of authority, the interpretation of the scriptures, Tradition and traditions, and ecumenical approaches to liturgy and hospitality. The aim is to equip students to participate strategically in ecumenical reconciliation utilising the techniques of New Testament exegesis, historical and theological analysis, and mutual listening.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. demonstrate a nuanced understanding of New Testament concepts of unity and division
  2. understand the impulses towards both division and reconciliation in the history of the Christian churches
  3. reflect theologically on what unites and what divides the Church today
  4. discuss how different models of authority contribute to unity and division within and between Christian traditions
  5. apply these understandings to a project in ecumenical reconciliation.
Lecturer/s: 
Charles Sherlock
Timetabling
Semester: 
Intensive
Location: 
Trinity College Theological School
Unit Frequency: 
Biennial
Years Offered: 
2010
Years Offered: 
2012
Years Offered: 
2014
Notes: 

In 2012 this unit will be taught from 9.30am-4.30pm on 28 July, 11 and 18 August, 8 September, and 27 October.

Unit Fields
Courses: 
Graduate Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Master of Divinity
Courses: 
Master of Theological Studies
Field: 
Field C Christian Thought and History
Disciplines: 
Church History
Disciplines: 
Ecumenical Studies
Disciplines: 
Systematic Theology
MDiv Field: 
Christian Life and Ministry
MDiv Field: 
Christian Thought and History
MDiv Field: 
Worship and Mission of the Church
Department Name: 
Department of Christian Thought and History
Unit Level
GradDip Field: 
Elective
MDiv Type of Study: 
Integrative
Prerequisites: 

30 points of Foundational units in Christian Thought and History and 30 points of Foundational units in Biblical Studies, or their equivalent.

Mode of Teaching: 
Intensive
Teaching Methods: 

4 x 6 hour day seminars, plus four fortnightly online tutorial sessions (equivalent to 12 hours class time)

Workload
Workload: 

36 hours

Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

1 x 2500 word essay on the use of the New Testament in a moment of division or reconciliation in the history of the Christian churches

Weighting: 
40%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
1, 2, 4
Assessment Type: 

1 x group project in which students collaboratively analyse a contemporary instance of church division to identify ways by which ecumenical reconciliation may be furthered, and produce a report that is 2,500 words per student, the report to receive a single mark

Weighting: 
50%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
3, 4, 5
Assessment Type: 

1 x 1000 word reflective essay on the group project, including self-assessment of the student’s own contribution

Weighting: 
10%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
5
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

  • Dunn, J. D. G. Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: An Inquiry into the Character of Earliest Christianity. 3rd ed. London: SCM, 2006.
  • Faith and Order (Victorian Council of Churches). Sharing Communion? Eucharistic Hospitality. Melbourne: VCC, 1993
  • Gassman, G. Documentary History of Faith and Order, 1963-1993. Geneva: WCC,1993.
  • Goosen, G., Bringing Churches Together. Geneva: WCC, 2001    
  • Gros, J., T. F. Best and L. Fuchs. Growth in Agreement III: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Co-operation on a World Level 1998-2005. Geneva/Grand Rapids: WCC/Eerdmans, 2007.
  • Gros, J., T. F. Best and W. G. Rusch. Growth in Agreement II: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Co-operation on a World Level 1982-1998. Geneva/Grand Rapids: WCC/Eerdmans, 2007.
  • John Paul II. Ut Unum Sint. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995. 
  • Kinnamon, M. Truth in Communion. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997
  • Meyer, H. and L. Vischer. Growth in Agreement: Reports and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Co-operation on a World Level. Geneva: Paulist/WCC, 1984.
  • Neill, S. and R. Rouse (eds). A History of the Ecumenical Movement 1517 – 1948. 3 vols. 3rd ed. London: SPCK, 1986-2004.  
  • Sagovsky, N. Ecumenism, Christian Origins and the Practice of Communion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Williamson, R. Stages on the Way, Documents from Bi-lateral Conversations in Australia. 2 vols. Melbourne: JBCE, 1994 & Paulist, 2007

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.