Southern Wesleyan University offers Russian church history course
Topics included 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.