Primary Authors & Sources
From Cappadocian dogma and spiritual metaphysics to Augustine’s confessional theology and the great papal pastors, students read the foundations of Western and Eastern orthodoxy after the councils. Basil of Caesarea’s On the Holy Spirit secures the Spirit’s full deity in the grammar of worship and dogma. Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses and On the Soul and the Resurrection join mystical ascent to philosophical theology—Cappadocian depth beyond formula alone. Augustine’s Confessions and Letters (NPNF) remain the Western fountain of grace, memory, and episcopal care. Leo the Great’s sermons and letters (NPNF) state Chalcedonian Christology for the Latin church under pressure. Gregory the Great’s writings in the same papal volumes show pastoral rule and mission as the fruit of that orthodoxy. Together they serve ministry rooted in both dogma and the cure of souls.
What You Will Study
Students read the Cappadocian fathers and early Augustine on metaphysics, Trinity, creation, and the soul, examining how Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa refined Nicene theology with profound philosophical and exegetical sophistication. Augustine's early works on the Trinity, creation, and the problem of evil receive sustained attention as bridges between Eastern and Western patristic development. The course analyzes how patristic metaphysics serves biblical doctrine rather than replacing it with speculative philosophy. Readings include primary texts on divine simplicity, perichoresis, and the imago Dei with Reformed assessments of strengths and excesses. Students trace lines from Cappadocian thought to later Reformed theology of God, creation, and anthropology.
Course Objectives
Objectives include summarizing Cappadocian contributions to Trinitarian doctrine, explaining Augustine's influence on Western theology of grace and God, evaluating patristic metaphysical concepts against Reformed confessional standards, and writing comparative essays on Eastern and Western patristic methods. Students will identify continuities between patristic exegesis and Reformed scholastic doctrine of God. The course cultivates reverence for patristic depth while maintaining Protestant sola scriptura. Students will articulate which patristic insights enrich Reformed theology and which require critical revision. Assessments require close reading of primary sources with technical vocabulary defined in student prose.
Ministry & Life Application
Cappadocian and Augustinian foundations deepen worship that addresses the triune God with awe befitting his majesty and mystery. Ministers trained in these sources preach the Trinity without modalism or tritheism, common errors in popular evangelicalism. House church teachers in the Florida Keys gain resources for catechizing members on divine attributes, creation, and human dignity rooted in patristic wisdom filtered through Reformed conviction. Pastoral ministry is enriched when leaders can draw on the church's greatest minds without becoming slavish traditionalists. Congregations benefit from shepherds who know God as patristic orthodoxy confesses him and as Scripture reveals him.