Section outline

  • Workload: Approximately 40 hours | Section: Scripture and Doctrine

    This module moves beyond introductory catechesis and forms you to confess and teach the Creeds and the Lord's Prayer as living formation texts, not historical curiosities — and traces the historical arc of the Church from the Early Church through the ecumenical councils, the Great Schism, and the Reformation, to the Old Catholic movement and the wider independent sacramental movement. Moral theology, ecumenism, and the pastoral teaching of doctrine now form their own module (Module 05), so that each area has room to breathe.

    By the end of this module, you will be able to:
    • Explain the Apostles’ Creed as baptismal faith.
    • Explain the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as conciliar faith.
    • Explain the Lord’s Prayer as doctrine and prayer.
    • Trace the Church’s historical arc from the Early Church through the Great Schism and the Reformation to the Old Catholic movement and the independent sacramental movement.
    • Distinguish this universal Church history from the Mission’s own particular historical roots (covered separately in Module 01, Unit 1.3, and in A Guide to Formation and Ministry).
    What this module covers

    Unit 4.4 traces the Church’s history as a single continuous thread: the apostolic era and the age of persecution; the ecumenical councils that defined the Creed; the Great Schism of 1054; the Reformation; the Old Catholic movement and the Union of Utrecht; and the wider independent sacramental movement in which the Mission stands. This is universal Church history, distinct from the jurisdiction-specific material in Unit 1.3 and complementary to — not a repeat of — A Guide to Formation and Ministry’s account of the Mission’s own particular historical roots.

    Required and supporting resources
    • AOCM course notes on Church history — the Early Church, the ecumenical councils, the Great Schism, the Reformation, the Old Catholic movement, and the independent sacramental movement.
    • AOCM Catechism and doctrinal notes — §§1–6 as doctrinal background.
    • A Guide to Formation and Ministry — Chapter 1 (the Mission’s own particular historical roots, distinct from the universal history covered here).
    • Public-domain spiritual classics where appropriate: The Confessions, The Imitation of Christ, The Rule of St Benedict.
    Scripture and StepBible work
    • Compare the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.
    • Study key terms: faith, forgive, kingdom, one, holy, catholic, apostolic.
    • Prepare a Scripture-grounded explanation of one line of the Creed.
    Assessment and evidence

    All timed quizzes and knowledge checks in the LDM, including this module’s, draw 20 questions from a bank of 60, run on a 25-minute timer, and allow one retake (a maximum of two attempts).

    • Creed, Lord’s Prayer, and Church history knowledge check.
    • StepBible exercise on the Lord’s Prayer.
    • A 1,000-word teaching piece: Explaining the Creed and its historical origin to an adult Christian preparing for ministry.
    Monthly cohort discussion

    “What does the Church’s long history teach a deacon about faithfulness across change?”

    To complete this module, you will need to:
    • Knowledge check completed.
    • StepBible exercise submitted.
    • Teaching piece submitted.
    • Discussion participation recorded.