Students will explore the history and theology of Eastern Orthodox Christianity with particular attention to cultural and political issues. Students will study the common patristic foundation of the Christian Tradition, the historical and theological basis for the Iconoclastic Controversies that establishes the road to "the Great Schism," and analyze the theology and liturgy of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and its missionary expansion. The course will provide clarification of the contemporary theological and political situations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, especially in Russia and the Eastern Bloc. Undergraduates who have completed less than 51 credits must have the permission of the assistant dean for BALS to register.