Southern Wesleyan Universityoffers Russian church history course
A survey of Russian church history will be offered at Southern Wesleyan University’s campus in Central on Tuesdays, 6-8:45 p.m., Jan. 13 - April 28, 2009.
Topics will include the Byzantine roots of Russian Orthodoxy, Orthodox church-state relations, Roman and Eastern-Rite Catholicism, the origins of Protestantism, Marxism as religion, Christianity in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras, Orthodox-Evangelical relations and Protestant missions in the former Soviet Union. The focus will be on the Soviet and post-Soviet periods.
The instructor, Dr. Mark Elliott, professor of history and coordinator of studies in history at Southern Wesleyan University, holds a bachelor’s degree from Asbury College and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Kentucky. He is the author of “Pawns of Yalta; Soviet Refugees and America’s Role in Their Repatriation,” founding editor of the East-West Church and Ministry Report and a founding trustee of the Russian-American Christian University in Moscow. He also is the author of numerous articles dealing with Soviet history and church and ministry issues in former Soviet bloc countries.
Dr. Elliott has led many study courses and short-term missions to the former Soviet Union, including summer camps for Russian orphans and an exchange program with Moscow State University.
Charges are: $90 to audit (no university course credit); $275 for high school seniors and juniors for credit. Seniors citizens (ages 60 and above) may audit the course at no charge, or take the course for credit for $15. For those taking the class for credit who already hold a four-year college degree, the charge is $1,212.50.
To enroll in the course, call Southern Wesleyan University’s admissions department at (864) 644-5550. For details about the course, contact Dr. Elliott at (864) 644-5297 or e-mail .