A History of Christian Education: Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Perspectives.

A History of Christian Education: Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Perspectives. A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: PROTESTANT, CATHOLIC, ANDORTHODOX PERSPECTIVES J. L. ELIAS. KRIEGER PUBLISHING, 2002. John Elias John Elias was a Christian preacher in Wales in the first half of the 19th Century, as part of the Welsh Methodist revival. His preaching was noted as being exceptionally powerful, "as if talking fire down from heaven". of Fordham University Fordham University(fôr`dəm), in New York City; Jesuit; coeducational; founded as St. John's College 1841, chartered as a university 1846; renamed 1907. Fordham College for men and Thomas More College for women merged in 1974. in New York City New York City:see New York, city. New York CityCity (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. is most likelyfamiliar with the Grey Line Tours of New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . You board a tour bus andfor the next few hours you are carried around the city. The tour guidepoints out the sites, giving you a taste of what there is andencouraging you to revisit various points of interest. Occasionally thebus stops and you can get off for a more in-depth look at something.However, there just never seems enough time to investigate everything. I felt like that as I read A History of Christian Education by JohnElias. In the space of 260 pages of text, he reviews more than 2,500years of education. Instead of being a traditional history of education,stressing names, places, and events, the book is more a history ofeducational philosophy. In a typical perennialist fashion, he wants toexpose us to the great ideas that have guided educational development.As he makes clear, so many of these great ideas are rooted in theclassics. He tempts us with Plato and Aristotle, with Isocrates andQuintillian, with Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius(Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus) (mär`kəs ôrē`lēəs), 121–180, Roman emperor, named originally Marcus Annius Verus. He was a nephew of Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pius, who adopted him. and Origen. We gain a taste and moveon. In the first chapter alone, classical Greek, Roman, Jewish,Apostolic, and early Church influences on Christian education arereviewed. For this reviewer, this was done much too briefly. The topicsexplored in chapter one are themselves worthy of a book. Forbrevity's sake, I am sympathetic to a brief treatment, but here Icame away hungry for more. During the Medieval Period, education was synonymous with synonymous withadjective equivalent to, the same as, identical to, similar to, identified with, equal to, tantamount to, interchangeable with, one and the same as religiouseducation. In a chapter that may be difficult to read for someone notversed in Latin and theology, Elias makes clear the interrelationship in��ter��re��late?tr. & intr.v. in��ter��re��lat��ed, in��ter��re��lat��ing, in��ter��re��latesTo place in or come into mutual relationship.in ofreligion and education--the major concern of educators was theologicaleducation. Secular education Secular education is a term that refers to the system of public education in countries with a secular government or separation between religion and state.While it is considered an important part of a democratic and free society, some may oppose secular education on the , when it was a concern, was secondary.Intellectual life was faith seeking understanding. The bedrock was faithin God and this faith led to the pursuit of knowledge. Whether throughthe ancient classics of Platonic philosophy during the early medievalperiod, or the study of Aristotle during the late Medieval andRenaissance period, the pursuit of philosophy and classic literaturesought to articulate an understanding of God (theology). During the Scholastic period, Elias demonstrates that there was ashift in the recipients of education and, thus, the purpose ofeducation. Education was expanded beyond the confines of theologicaleducation for the clergy and religious. Besides these groups, the upperclasses of society were interested in obtaining an education. The focusof education became living a moral life. Petrarch was especiallyinfluential in promoting Latin classical literature as a way of teachingcitizenship and moral life. This focus continued into the Renaissance, when a split developedbetween Protestants and Catholics. Education was no longer restricted tothe elite. Elias opines that Martin Luther among the Protestants and theJesuits among the Catholics were the leaders in the effort to open thedoors to education to all as a way of promoting a life of learning andpiety. With this split, education, which had served as a uniting forcein Europe, now became "one of the most powerful instruments forfostering division" (p. 94). In chapter 4, Elias shows how this division grew. Catholiceducation, especially under the influence of the Jesuits and theteaching orders of religious, developed differently than Protestanteducation. He also demonstrates how Protestant education emergeddifferently in Germany, France, England, and other countries. InEngland, the history of education was further divided between Anglicansand the nonconformists. It would not be until the 1960s that, as aresult of Vatican II and the ecumenical movement, these traditions wouldagain converge. It is within the context of English education that Elias begins thediscussion of Christian education in the United States Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the elementary and high school levels (often known outside the United States as the . He devoteschapter six to a discussion of Protestant education in this country andchapter seven to Catholic education. Those familiar with Christianeducation in the United States may find these chapters to be a goodrefresher. Chapter six contains a discussion of the role of Horace Mannand the rise of the public school system. Elias believes that thenondenominational school was, in its origins, a distinctly Christianschool, which reflected the Unitarian faith of Mann. He also includes inthe chapter on Protestant education a summary of the role of liberationtheology in the civil rights movement and an all-too-brief analysis ofthe role of feminism. In the chapter on Catholic education, the authorshows how in the United States the Catholic school system developed as areaction to the nondenominational schools of Mann. He also includes aseparate section on the profound effect Vatican II had on the purpose ofCatholic parochial and catechetical cat��e��che��sis?n. pl. cat��e��che��sesOral instruction given to catechumens.[Late Latin cat education. A final Christian tradition of education that Elias coversseparately is that of the Orthodox faith. This tradition is the subjectof the final chapter of the book and is a welcome addition. In Christianeducation, we can often be very parochial and not be conscious of othertraditions. This reviewer has rarely read any book or article on thisgreat religious tradition, and found the discussion of the role of iconsin the religious education tradition of the Orthodox Church to beespecially rewarding. This chapter alone is reason enough for anyserious scholar of religious education to purchase the book. In conclusion, this book takes a glance at the two-thousand-yearhistory of Christian education. Elias has taken this glance from aphilosophical vantage point by showing how this tradition is rooted inclassic Greek and Roman philosophy. He demonstrates how this traditioncontinued to develop through the Medieval and Renaissance periods, untilit emerged in the West as separate Protestant and Catholic traditions,which are now slowly converging. He also demonstrates the separatedevelopment of the Orthodox tradition. If this book has one fault, it isthat it attempts to cover too much rich tradition in too few pages. Stephen J. Denig is the supervisor of administrative interns atNiagara University in Lewiston, NY. Reviewed by Stephen J. Denig