The Foundations of Western Civilization – a video presentation at The Attic, 36, Regal Building, CP > 6:30pm on 8th January 2013

Time : 6:30 pm

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)

Place : The Attic, 36, Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001 
Landmark : On Parliament Street close to 'The Shop' showroom & next to the 'Kwality' restaurant
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Metro : Nearest Metro Station - 'Rajiv Chowk' (Yellow Line and Blue Line)

Event Details : The Foundations of Western Civilization – a video presentation. The next two lectures of the series are as follows :

Lecture 27- The Emergence of the Catholic Church
The key question is how did the primitive Christian communities grow into the Roman Catholic Church? Nero had made Christians into scapegoats, Domitian outlawed Christianity, Emperor Decius undertook the 1st systemic persecution of Christians, Diocletian attacked clergy, burnt books and encouraged denunciations. 
These efforts failed and Constantine began the close association between the Emperors and the Church. He not only granted Christianity legal toleration in the empire but also saw to the building of St. Peters and St. Paul’s basilicas in Rome.
By the end of the 5th century Christianity had an empire wide organization, a well defined legal status and a definitive body of authoritative writings.

Lecture 28 - Christian Culture in Late Antiquity
After about 350 AD after struggling for intellectual respectability the Christian church had accepted classical culture and the Roman world and the Church fathers were becoming intellectually dominant.
The important questions addressed were how is the Bible to be understood? How does Christianity relate to classical culture?  This was also the time when Christian art and architecture began to emerge along with the 3rd   great age of Latin literature.
Jerome played a key role in opening up Christian doctrine for small groups of high born Roman women. His writings were much prized in the Renaissance for their elegance. Augustine, born in North Africa was one of the greatest of the Latin fathers. His Confessions chronicled his conversion and stands as the 1st work of true introspection in Western literature.
The last of the Latin fathers was Pope Gregory 1 who wrote biblical commentaries, letters and the lives of saints.

Background : The Foundations of Western Civilization – an education in 24 evenings.  An Attic video presentation from The Great Courses taught by Prof. Thomas Noble, University of Notre Dame.
You can discover the essential nature, evolution, and perceptions of Western civilization from its humble beginnings in the great river valleys of Iraq and Egypt to the dawn of the modern world.
This series of 48 half hour lectures - 2 per evening will be introduced by an eminent professor/personality who will also answer questions. 

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