Instructor: Cyprian E.

Fernandez

Participants: Sr. Gini, Sr. Margarett, Sr. Sona, Mr. George Thomas,

Fr. Dany, Fr. Francis , Fr. Merton, Fr. Raju, Fr. Shibu, Fr. Severios, & Fr.
Subin
 Our theme is Domestic Church and its role in the life of Early
Christianity.
 The course aims to facilitate the participants familiarizing with the
Scriptural texts and secondary literature regarding the theme.
 To understand the physical, ecclesiological and socio-economic
importance of the house and family in the growth and expansion of
early Christianity and faith life.
 To know the elements of household and significance of them in the
Christian mission.
 To be informed of the new interpretive trends and social scientific
approaches of the NT scholarship to the origin of Christianity.
 To read the institutionalized modern church and its challenges in the
light of the House Churches of the Primitive Christianity.
 Class is primarily participatory in nature.
 Each session begins with introductory words on
the topic of the day by the Instructor for about
10 mints.
 The class proceeds with student’s presentation
on the assigned theme for about 45 mints.
 Critical and open discussion on the presentation
 Class ends with a preview note given by the
Instructor on the next theme.
 Date Topic Presenter (Name)
1 22-07-2015 Introduction - History of Investigation Instructor
2 29-07-2015 Orientation to the theme & plan Fr. Raju
3 05-08-2015 House in the Mission of Historical Jesus and His Fr. Francis
Disciples
4 19-08-2015 Role of House/Family in the Expansion of Mr. George Thomas
Christianity in Post-paschal period
5 26-08-2015 House in the Pauline Mission and Ecclesial Sr. Gini
formation
6 02-09-2015 Household code in Pauline Letters – Colossians Fr. Subin
and Ephesians
7 09-09-2015 House and Hospitality in the Early Christian Fr. Severios
Mission
8 16-09-2015 Role of Women in the Household and Mission of Sr. Margarett
the Church
9 23-09-2015 Children, Slaves, Marriage, Sexuality and Celibacy Sr. Sona
in the Early Household
10 29-09-2015 Kinship Metaphor and House Reality in Fr. Merton & Dany
understanding House Church as Ekklesia
 The theme presentation, what we intend in
our course, is not simply reading the books
and articles prescribed, and reproducing
them as they are. It is more than that.
 Our class presentation aims at not only to
present a theme, but also to acquire and
practice the skill of paper /theme
presentation.
 You are given 45 mints, a theme and materials.
 How long the time and how much the material
used, are depended on the discretion of the
presenter.
 The presentation depends on your creativity to
use the allotted time and materials, with your
skill.
 There are no fixed and rigid norms for a creative
presentation.
 It all depends on how you use the time and
material to achieve the goal.
 Need not that you present everything you
read.
 You may have a wider reading, but be
selective and focused on the relevant points.
 The areas to be focused are given in the plan
of our course.
 Read the materials broadly, understand critically, assimilate
analytically, generate ideas and decide main relevant points, from
them. It should be done in the light of the relevant scriptural / NT
passages. If you don’t understand certain points, leave them for
open discussion.
 Focus on the arguments and propositions authors make in their
writings. See the links and disagreements between various
propositions of various authors. Highlight them, if possible.
 Make a synthesis of ideas you have chosen.
 Plan your own paper with those important ideas in your own
creative sequence.
 You can use any mediums and tools like LCD projection / power
points, etc.
 Balch, David L., “Rich Pompeiian Houses, Shops for Rent, and the Huge
Apartment Building in Herculaneum as Typical Spaces for Pauline House
Churches”, Journal for the Study of New Testament 27(1, 2004)27-46.
 Coloe, Mary L., “Welcoming into the Household of God: The Foot
Washing in John 13”, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 66 (2004) 400ff.
 Crossan, John Dominic, The Birth of Christianity, HarperSanFrancisco, NY
1998, pp.293-352; 355-417; 419ff.
 Destro, Adriana – Pesce, Mauro, “Fathers and Householders in the Jesus
Movement: The Perspective of the Gospel of Luke”, Biblical Interpretation
2(2003)211-246.
 Elliot, John H., “The Jesus Movement was not Egalitarian but Family
Oriented”, Biblical Interpretation 2(2003)166-210.
 Esler, Philip F. (ed.), The Early Christian World, Routdlege, London-
NY 2000, pp. 386-451.
 Ferguson, Everett, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, William B.
Eerdmans, GrandRapids – Michigan 1987, pp. 52-60.
 Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler, In Memory of Her: A Feminist
Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, Crossroads, New
York 1992, pp. 285-335.
 Gehring, Roger W., House Church and Mission: The Importance of
Household Structures in Early Christianity, Hendrickson,
Massachusetts 2004, pp. 28-60; 62-117; 119-225; 229-281.
 Hellerman, Joseph H., The Ancient Church as Family, Fortress Press,
Minneapolis 2001, pp.1-25; 59-80; 92-126; 127-165.
 Hobbs, T. R., “Hospitality in the First Testament and the
‘Teleological Fallacy’”, JSOT 95(2001) 3-30.
 Howard-Brook, Wes, The Church before Christianity, Orbis Books,
Maryknoll – NY 2004, pp.72-102.
 Lillie, William, “The Pauline House-table”, Expository Times
86(1975) 179ff.
 Lincoln, Andrew T., “The Household code and Wisdom Mode of
Colossians”, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 21 (1999)
93ff.
 Macdonald, Margaret Y., “Salvery, Sexuality and House Churches:
A Reassessment of Colossians 3:18 – 4:1 in light of New Research
on the Roman Family”, New Testament Studies 53(2007) 94-113.
 Matthews, Victor H., “Hospitality and Hostility in Genesis 19 and Judges
19”, Biblical Theology Bulletin 22(1992) 3ff.
 Meeks, Wayne A., The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the
Apostolic Paul, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 1983, pp. 74-
110.
 Morschauser, Scott, “‘Hospitality’, Hostiles and Hostages: On the Legal
Background to Genesis 19:1-9”, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
27(2003) 461ff.
 Neyrey, Jerome H., “‘Teaching You in Public and from House to House’
(Acts 20:20): Unpacking a Cultural Stereotype”, Journal for the Study of
the New Testament 26 (1, 2003)69-102.
 Osiek, Carolyn – Balch, David L., Families in the New Testament World:
Household and House Churches, Westminister John Knox Press, Louisville –
Kentucky 1977, pp. 103 -155; 174-222.
 Painter, John, “When is a Home Not Home? Disciples and Family in Mark
3.13-35”, New Testament Studies 45(1999) 498-513.
 Richardson, Peter, “Towards a Typology of Levantine/Palestinian
Houses”, Journal for the Study of New Testament 27(2004)47ff.
 Rogers, T.J., “Shaking the dust off the Markan Mission Discourse”,
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27(2004) 169ff.
 Stegemann, Ekkehard W. – Stegemann, Wolfgang, The Jesus Movement:
A Social History of its First Century (trans. O.C.Dean jr.), Fortress Press,
Minneapolis 1999, pp.262-287; 361-393.
 Strange, W. A., Children in the Early Church, Wipf & Stock, Oregon 2004,
pp. 66-83; 97-103.
 Weiss, Johannes, Earliest Christianity (Vol. I), Harper Torch Books, NY 1959,
pp. 45-78.
 Materials correspond to the underlined page
numbers in bibliography will be provided by the
Instructor.
 Articles will be uploaded to your inbox.
 Other Library books given in the bibliography
are held by the Instructor during the course, in
order to ensure their availability whenever
needed. Those who need to have their Xerox
copy, may get them from him, take photo copy
and then return back intact without much delay.
You are not alone, we do it together!
Relax and enjoy our ‘journey’!