ST 631 Sacraments: Theology and Initiation

Course Description: An introduction to general sacramental theory by tracing various sacramental teachings from their biblical, patristic, medieval, and contemporary perspectives. The course will also address the scriptural, historical, and dogmatic developments of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation and the implications for contemporary ecumenical discussion.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand Aquinas’s theology of the sacraments in general, baptism, and confirmation, particularly as exposited in the Summa theologiae

2.  Understand major historical controversies related to general sacramental theology

3. Articulate the principal scientific terms employed in classical sacramentaltheology (e.g., sacramentum tantum, res et sacramentum)

4. Think through the contemporary rites of baptism and confirmation in the light of the history of those sacraments

5. Achieve insight on living, teaching, and understanding the sacraments in pastoral settings, such as experienced in contemporary America by a typical priest or layperson engaged in active ministry