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Early Christianity · Online

Preview an Early Christianity course

Sit in on a course for one week, free, before you apply. You join the students taking the course and see its readings, primary sources, and workload. No credit card is needed.

See the CoursesAsk about course availabilityGet One Email When Preview Weeks Open

Already in a Preview Week? Sign in to return to your course.

How it works

How the Preview Week works

Preview an eligible course for seven days during an available cohort. No payment card is required. Preview participation earns no credit or grade. Access ends after seven days. Available dates and places are shown when a cohort is confirmed.

  1. Choose a course

    Pick an eligible course below. Preview Week dates appear in the Academic Calendar once a cohort is confirmed.

  2. Enter your first name and email

    That is all we ask. We never ask for a card or a phone number.

  3. Join the current cohort

    For seven days you study with the students taking the course now, in the week they are working on.

  4. Decide on day seven

    Your access ends on its own, and nothing is charged. To continue, apply to the Early Christianity program.

Eleven required courses · 33 credits

Every Early Christianity course

Each course opens a Preview Week once its first cohort is running. Every student takes all eleven courses in this order.

Early Christianity courses and Preview Week availability
CoursePreview Week
EC 500 Historical Method, Historiography, and Source CriticismPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 510 Jewish Worlds and the Origins of the Jesus MovementPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 520 Jesus and the Jewish Origins of the Christian MovementPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 530 Paul, the Gentile Mission, and the Reconfiguration of Jewish IdentityPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 540 Apostolic Christianity: Beliefs, Communities, and PracticePreview dates have not been announced.
EC 550 The Parting of the Ways? Jews, Christians, and Contested IdentitiesPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 560 Israel's Scriptures, Christian Texts, and the Formation of Christian IdentityPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 570 Christianity among the Gentiles: Conversion, Religious Practice, and TransformationPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 580 From Diverse Christianities to Orthodoxy: Identity, Authority, and Institutional TransformationPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 590 Empire and the Ecumenical Councils: The Transformation of Christian Doctrine and AuthorityPreview dates have not been announced.
EC 600 Jews and Christians in the Post-Nicene World: Separation, Power, and PersistencePreview dates have not been announced.
See how the courses build on each other
Ask about course availability

Get one email when Preview Weeks open

We email you once, when Preview Weeks open for Early Christianity courses. We never ask for a phone number.

What to expect

What the Preview Week includes

Included

  • That week's readings, primary sources, and assignments, with nothing locked.
  • A place in the live cohort's discussion.
  • The same course platform enrolled students use.
  • Answers to your questions, under the course leaders' direction.

Not included

  • Grades. Work you do during the Preview Week is not graded.
  • Credit. The Preview Week does not count toward the program.
  • Access after day seven.

Teaching

Who leads the courses

Every Berean course has two instructors: the Program Chair, a PhD on Berean’s Academic Board who designs the course and is accountable for it, and a course instructor who runs it day to day.

Program Chair · Early Christianity

Program Chair

Designs each course in the program, sets its standards, and sits on the Academic Board.

Program leadership details will be published when appointments are confirmed. For questions about this program, contact Berean.

Contact Berean

Course instructor

Runs each course day to day

Grades work, answers questions, and keeps the cohort moving, including your questions during the Preview Week.

Meet the Academic Board & Faculty →

Cost

What it costs if you continue

The Preview Week is free. If you continue, every charge appears before you commit.

Tuition
Program tuition is set by your path, not by credit hour, and includes required books and all other required course materials. See tuition and fees
Financial assistance
Subject to available funds, Berean offers tuition waivers, grants, and scholarships. You are considered through the program application. See financial assistance

Questions

Questions people ask

Is this the real course?
Yes. For seven days you get what an enrolled student in the current cohort gets that week. We would rather you find out now whether the program suits you than after you have applied.
Why join a cohort that’s already under way?
Because that’s where the real class is: real students, real discussion, a real week of work. If you enroll in the program, you start each course at its first week with your own cohort, so nothing you see is skipped.
What happens on day eight?
Your access ends. There is no card on file, so there is nothing to cancel and nothing to charge. If you want to continue, apply to the program.
Does the Preview Week count toward the program?
No. Work you do during the Preview Week is not graded and does not earn credit.
Do I need Greek, Hebrew, Latin, or Syriac first?
No. Full reading fluency in ancient languages is not presumed. You receive guided attention to Greek, Hebrew/Aramaic, Latin, and Syriac terminology and translation-sensitive passages when language materially affects historical interpretation.
Will someone call me?
No. We ask only for a first name and an email, and we never ask for a phone number or a card.

Next step

Ready to apply?

Full reading fluency in ancient languages is not presumed. Questions first? Ask for information and we will answer.

Apply NowRequest Information