History of the Early Eastern Church
This course explores the origins and development of the early Middle-Eastern Church from Jerusalem to Antioch, Edessa, and Mesopotamia. Students will discover the biblical foundations, Aramaic-Syriac heritage, theology, worship, and enduring witness of the Eastern Church Fathers.
THE LESSONS
Meet Your Instructor
Andre Moubarak
Andre Moubarak is the owner and founder of Twins Tours & Travel Ltd. in Israel. Born into a Christian family along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter, Andre is a licensed tour guide and an ordained minister, leading numerous groups through the Holy Land each year and teaching them about the Aramaic/Jewish roots of Jesus.
The first video of this course is free, you can buy this course to see all the videos.
Cost
The History of the Early Eastern Church: From Jerusalem to Mesopotamia introduces students to the history, theology, worship, and spiritual life of Christianity in its original Eastern setting. Beginning in Jerusalem, the course follows the spread of the Gospel through Antioch, Edessa, Nisibis, Syria, and Mesopotamia.
Students will explore the Aramaic-Syriac language and culture of the Eastern Christian communities and study influential Fathers such as Ignatius of Antioch, Tatian the Syrian, Aphrahat the Persian Sage, Ephrem the Syrian, Narsai, Jacob of Serugh, and Isaac of Nineveh. Special attention will be given to Scripture, poetry, symbolism, worship, asceticism, and the Syriac understanding of the Church as ܥܕܬܐ — ʿedtā, the gathered community of God.
Rather than treating Eastern Christianity as an extension of Western Christianity, this course presents it within its own biblical, geographical, linguistic, and cultural world. Students will discover how the early Eastern Church understood Christ, salvation, the Holy Spirit, the sacraments, Christian discipleship, and the hope of resurrection.