Join the adventure through Church History as told by sometimes-ordinary (yet always-amazing) objects — like St. Therese’s curls, the cradle of St. Junipero, the Holy Grail, and more.
This is a fast-paced course that summarizes Church history, as told by 100 historical objects, from the time of the Apostles all of the way through today. Our textbook, A History of the Church in 100 Objects, is a fun and engaging book filled with colorful pictures that brings life to history. Together, we will discover items such as a Jerusalem paving stone, catacomb niches, St. Boniface’s axe, Pope Benedict XV’s fountain pen, and more. And we will discover how they tell the story of the Church.
Week 1: The Birth of Christianity (AD 30-200)
Week 2: Apologists, Persecution, and Heresies (AD 200 – 300)
Week 3: The Church and the Empire (AD 300-400)
Week 4: The Dark Ages (400- 600)
Week 5: The Rise of Islam (600-700)
Week 7: The True Age of Reason to the Great Western Schism (1100 – 1400)
Week 8: Renaissance and Reformations (1400-1500)
Week 9: The Age of Revolutions (1600-1800)
Week 10: The Global Village (1800 – 2000)
Course Materials: The required textbook for the course is A Church History in 100 Objects by Mike and Grace Aquilina (Ave Maria Press), ISBN-10: 1594717508 or ISBN-13: 978-1594717505 (https://amzn.to/2LPg21C).
Recommended but not required: For students who wish to go above and beyond the material covered in the course, Timeless: A History of the Catholic Church by Steven Weidenkopf (Our Sunday Visitor), ISBN-10: 1681921480 or ISBN-13: 978-1681921488 (https://amzn.to/2NaivUZ).
Homework: Reading and weekly quizzes to reinforce learning. Quizzes are graded by the computer for immediate feedback. Students should expect to spend 30 to 60 minutes per week reading and taking the quizzes outside of the classroom.