The student will acquire: in-depth and detailed knowledge of the characteristics of Christian literary production of the first five centuries; ability to apply the methodology of philological and literary research to unfamiliar sources; ability to collect and interpret the data acquired, as well as to integrate them with an autonomous use of scientific research instruments, arriving at complex evaluations; ability to express and communicate the conclusions of the study and research activity in a clear and scientifically correct way.
Curriculum
teacher profile teaching materials
Schedule: 6 hours/week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 11 - 13 h.
Classroom: Sala riunioni di Mondo Antico.
Beginning: Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Also available online, in synchronous and recorded mode.
Course title 2026-2027: The Letter to the Hebrews: The Earliest Christian Homily.
The course aims to examine in depth the so-called “Letter to the Hebrews.” Transmitted together with the letters of Paul, it forms part of the canon of the Christian New Testament. However, as a letter it is unusual, since it has the typical rhetorical structure of a discourse; in 13:22 the writing defines itself as a “word of exhortation,” and indeed it should be regarded as such. It systematically develops a central theme, namely the priesthood of Christ; connected to this theme is the paraenesis, or exhortation, which recurs at several points throughout the text, thus revealing the pragmatic function of the work. Composed in highly elegant Greek, it owes its canonization to its ancient attribution to Paul, an attribution no longer upheld by modern scholarship. The title of the work, too, is a later creation.
The course is seminar-based and requires the active participation of students.
General section.
For students who have never taken an exam in Ancient Christian Literature: M. SIMONETTI - E. PRINZIVALLI, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica, Bologna: EDB, 2022.
For students who have already taken exams in Ancient Christian Literature: H.Y. GAMBLE, Libri e lettori nella chiesa antica, Brescia: Paideia, 2006.
Mutuazione: 20710600 LETTERATURA CRISTIANA ANTICA L.M. in Religioni, Culture, Storia LM-64 D'ANNA ALBERTO
Programme
First semester.Schedule: 6 hours/week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 11 - 13 h.
Classroom: Sala riunioni di Mondo Antico.
Beginning: Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Also available online, in synchronous and recorded mode.
Course title 2026-2027: The Letter to the Hebrews: The Earliest Christian Homily.
The course aims to examine in depth the so-called “Letter to the Hebrews.” Transmitted together with the letters of Paul, it forms part of the canon of the Christian New Testament. However, as a letter it is unusual, since it has the typical rhetorical structure of a discourse; in 13:22 the writing defines itself as a “word of exhortation,” and indeed it should be regarded as such. It systematically develops a central theme, namely the priesthood of Christ; connected to this theme is the paraenesis, or exhortation, which recurs at several points throughout the text, thus revealing the pragmatic function of the work. Composed in highly elegant Greek, it owes its canonization to its ancient attribution to Paul, an attribution no longer upheld by modern scholarship. The title of the work, too, is a later creation.
The course is seminar-based and requires the active participation of students.
Core Documentation
Lettera agli Ebrei. Introduzione, traduzione e commento, a cura di F. URSO, Cinisello Balsamo: Edizioni San Paolo, 2014.General section.
For students who have never taken an exam in Ancient Christian Literature: M. SIMONETTI - E. PRINZIVALLI, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica, Bologna: EDB, 2022.
For students who have already taken exams in Ancient Christian Literature: H.Y. GAMBLE, Libri e lettori nella chiesa antica, Brescia: Paideia, 2006.
Attendance
Students may attend in person, remotely in synchronous mode (live streaming), or remotely in asynchronous mode (recorded lectures). In-person attendance is preferred, but not mandatory.Type of evaluation
Presentation of a topic during the course. Final oral examination covering the course syllabus and the general section. Students who have not delivered their presentation in class will be required to do so at the examination. teacher profile teaching materials
Schedule: 6 hours/week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 11 - 13 h.
Classroom: Sala riunioni di Mondo Antico.
Beginning: Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Also available online, in synchronous and recorded mode.
Course title 2026-2027: The Letter to the Hebrews: The Earliest Christian Homily.
The course aims to examine in depth the so-called “Letter to the Hebrews.” Transmitted together with the letters of Paul, it forms part of the canon of the Christian New Testament. However, as a letter it is unusual, since it has the typical rhetorical structure of a discourse; in 13:22 the writing defines itself as a “word of exhortation,” and indeed it should be regarded as such. It systematically develops a central theme, namely the priesthood of Christ; connected to this theme is the paraenesis, or exhortation, which recurs at several points throughout the text, thus revealing the pragmatic function of the work. Composed in highly elegant Greek, it owes its canonization to its ancient attribution to Paul, an attribution no longer upheld by modern scholarship. The title of the work, too, is a later creation.
The course is seminar-based and requires the active participation of students.
General section.
For students who have never taken an exam in Ancient Christian Literature: M. SIMONETTI - E. PRINZIVALLI, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica, Bologna: EDB, 2022.
For students who have already taken exams in Ancient Christian Literature: H.Y. GAMBLE, Libri e lettori nella chiesa antica, Brescia: Paideia, 2006.
Mutuazione: 20710600 LETTERATURA CRISTIANA ANTICA L.M. in Religioni, Culture, Storia LM-64 D'ANNA ALBERTO
Programme
First semester.Schedule: 6 hours/week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 11 - 13 h.
Classroom: Sala riunioni di Mondo Antico.
Beginning: Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Also available online, in synchronous and recorded mode.
Course title 2026-2027: The Letter to the Hebrews: The Earliest Christian Homily.
The course aims to examine in depth the so-called “Letter to the Hebrews.” Transmitted together with the letters of Paul, it forms part of the canon of the Christian New Testament. However, as a letter it is unusual, since it has the typical rhetorical structure of a discourse; in 13:22 the writing defines itself as a “word of exhortation,” and indeed it should be regarded as such. It systematically develops a central theme, namely the priesthood of Christ; connected to this theme is the paraenesis, or exhortation, which recurs at several points throughout the text, thus revealing the pragmatic function of the work. Composed in highly elegant Greek, it owes its canonization to its ancient attribution to Paul, an attribution no longer upheld by modern scholarship. The title of the work, too, is a later creation.
The course is seminar-based and requires the active participation of students.
Core Documentation
Lettera agli Ebrei. Introduzione, traduzione e commento, a cura di F. URSO, Cinisello Balsamo: Edizioni San Paolo, 2014.General section.
For students who have never taken an exam in Ancient Christian Literature: M. SIMONETTI - E. PRINZIVALLI, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica, Bologna: EDB, 2022.
For students who have already taken exams in Ancient Christian Literature: H.Y. GAMBLE, Libri e lettori nella chiesa antica, Brescia: Paideia, 2006.
Attendance
Students may attend in person, remotely in synchronous mode (live streaming), or remotely in asynchronous mode (recorded lectures). In-person attendance is preferred, but not mandatory.Type of evaluation
Presentation of a topic during the course. Final oral examination covering the course syllabus and the general section. Students who have not delivered their presentation in class will be required to do so at the examination.