00555 - Ancient Christian Literature

Learning outcomes

The course leads the student to know ancient Christian Literature in its historical development, and in its connection with jewish and graeco-roman tradition and with literary genres. The student will learn how to read and analyze ancient Christian texts.

Course contents

Learning to Pray in Early Christianity

From its very beginnings, prayer has been an essential part of Christian life, both in communal and liturgical practice and as a personal experience of relationship and dialogue with the divine realm. In early Christianity, numerous authors explored its philosophical issues and practical implications; above all, they commented on the prayer par excellence – that taught by Jesus himself, the Lord’s Prayer – which remains an indispensable model for any reflection on the subject. In particular, between the 3rd and 4th centuries, adopting different tones and approaches, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian and Gregory of Nyssa – as well as other authors who will be mentioned during the course – devoted writings of various literary genres to this subject, with the aim of emphasising the importance of prayer and teaching their readers how to pray. The course aims to highlight the different literary perspectives of these writings, their contribution to the emergence not only of a theology but also of a practice of prayer, and the various exegetical interpretations offered of the Lord’s Prayer.

The first module (30 hours) will be devoted to an introduction to the theme of prayer in early Christianity and the New Testament, followed by a reading and commentary on Tertullian’s and Origen’s De oratione

The second module (30 hours) will be devoted to the reading and commentary on Cyprian’s De Dominica oratione and Gregory of Nyssa’s five homilies De oratione Dominica

Readings/Bibliography

a) Literary Outline of Ancient Christian Literature

M. Simonetti – E. Prinzivalli, Storia della Letteratura Cristiana Antica, Bologna 2010 (only chapters II; IV-VII; VIII/3; XII; XIII/7-10; XVI/; XVIII/3-5; XIX); alternatively:

F. Young – L. Ayres – A. Louth, The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature, Cambridge 2004 (only chapters 3; 5-6; 11-12; 23; 26-30)

b) Texts

Tertullian: Tertulliano, Opere catechetiche, a c. di S. Isetta, S. Matteoli, T. Piscitelli, V. Sturli (Scrittori Cristiani dell’Africa Romana 2), Roma 2008, 109-149 (testo latino di Evans, tr. it. di V. Sturli)

Origen: ed. cr. Origène, Traité sur la prière, Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes par D. Vigne (SC 650-651), Paris 2025; oppure Origenes, Buch V – VIII Gegen Celsus. Die Schrift vom Gebet, hg. v. P. Koetschau (GCS 3; OW 2), Leipzig 1899, 297-403; tr. it. Origene, La preghiera, a c. di N. Antoniono (CTP 138), Roma 1997 or an English translation available

Cyprian: Cipriano vescovo di Cartagine, Opuscoli, a c. di A. Cerretini, S. Matteoli, C. Moreschini, C. Dell’Osso, M. Veronese (Scrittori Cristiani dell’Africa Romana 6/2) Roma 2009, 63-109 (testo latino e note di Moreschini, tr. it. di M. Veronese) or an English translation available

Gregory of Nyssa: ed. critica, Gregorii Nysseni Opera VII,2, Opera exegetica: De oratione dominica, De beatitudinis, ed. J.F. Callahan, Leiden 1992, 5-74; tr. it. Gregorio di Nissa, La preghiera del Signore, a c. di L. Coco (CTP 244), Roma 2016, or an English translation available

The texts to be read [translated, for Classical Humanities students] and commented on, in the original and in Italian [or English] translation, will be uploaded to Virtuale.it from time to time

c) Essays

1.General Studies

Preghiera nei Padri dei primi secoli. Dizionario di Spiritualità Biblico-Patristica 52, Roma 2009 (su Tertulliano e Cipriano: 133-198; su Origene: 229-261)

Preghiera nei Padri dei secoli IV e V. Dizionario di Spiritualità Biblico-Patristica 53, Roma 2009 (su Gregorio di Nissa: 24-32)

L. Perrone, La preghiera in Origene. L’impossibilità donata, Brescia 2011, 511-644

2. Specific Studies

Ch. Boudignon, “La prière: de Sénèque à Tertullien”, in Ph. Hoffmann – A. Timotin (eds.), Théories et pratiques de la prière à la fin de l’antiquité, Turnhout 2020, 269-287

C. Burini de Lorenzi, “«Panis quotidianus» / ὁ ἄρτος ἐπιούσιος (Mt 6,11; Lc 11,3): Tertulliano e Origene: le due direttrici esegetiche e la loro recezione”, Adamantius 18 (2012) 178-199

A. Penati Bernardini, “La preghiera nel De oratione Dominica di Gregorio di Nissa”, in F. Cocchini (ed.), Il dono e la sua ombra. Ricerche sul ΠΕΡΙ ΕΥΧΗΣ di Origene, Roma 1997, 173-181

L. Perrone, “Il discorso protrettico di Origene sulla preghiera. Introduzione al ΠΕΡΙ ΕΥΧΗΣ”, in F. Cocchini (ed.), Il dono e la sua ombra. Ricerche sul ΠΕΡΙ ΕΥΧΗΣ di Origene, Roma 1997, 7-32

L. Perrone, “Discorso sulla preghiera e costruzione dell’identità nel cristianesimo antico (I-III sec.)”, Annali di Storia dell’esegesi 21 (2004) 257-287

Many Essays on Gregory of Nyssa can be found in: M. Cassin - H. Grelier-Deneux - F. Vinel, Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on the Our Father. An English Translation with Commentary and Supporting Studies, Leiden 2021

Additional literature suggestions will be offered during class.

Teaching methods

Lectures; use of bibliographic and electronic databases

Assessment methods

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible ( https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

In the current academic year, exam sessions are scheduled one and a half months apart.

Oral exam. Students will have to prove

• to be able to discuss the main problems arising from a critical reading of the works of early Christian literature, with the help of the critical introduction quoted supra in Bibliography, point a);
• (classics students only) to be able to read the Greek or Latin text, translate and comment the texts analysed during the lessons [one passage of their choice for each of the authors covered];
  
• to have read and be able to interpret early Christian literary production, supplementing and integrating class notes with one general study or two essays quoted supra in Bibliography, point b);

Additionally, students who cannot attend the lessons will substitute class notes with one other volume or two other essays of their choice from the books listed supra in Bibliography, point c).

More to the point, skills will be assessed according to the following guidelines:
- failing grade (< 18): lack of knowledge of ancient Christian literature; inability to provide a correct interpretation of texts; lacking notions of literary history and the exegetical approaches relevant for the understanding and contextualization of the works under scrutiny.
- passing grade (between 18 and 24): elementary knowledge of ancient Christian literature; interpretation of texts is partially correct, but lacks accuracy and autonomy; schematic knowledge of the notions of literary history and the exegetical approaches relevant for the understanding and contextualization of the works under scrutiny.
- positive grade (between 24 and 30): good knowledge of ancient Christian literature; interpretation of texts is correct, but mostly superficial and not entirely autonomous; good knowledge of the notions of literary history and the exegetical approaches relevant for the understanding and contextualization of the works under scrutiny.
- excellent grade (30L): in-depth knowledge of ancient Christian literature; ability to interpret, contextualize and critically compare texts in detail and in full autonomy; full acquaintance with the notions of literary history and the exegetical approaches relevant for the understanding and contextualization of the works under scrutiny.

With regard to assessment, limited, declared and non-substantial use of AI is permitted for support activities (summarising, rephrasing). Substantial use of AI to complete parts of the examination is not permitted.

Teaching tools

Computer and projector; bibliographic and electronic databases; fotocopies; texts and segments of texts in PDF format uploaded by the teacher as teaching materials (downloadable from https://virtuale.unibo.it).

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Villani