Tolkien: Gods, Monsters & Myth
This course will take place every Tuesday from November 12-December 10, 2024 at 7PM Eastern. Each session consists of a live lecture by Fr. Andrew followed by a Q&A. The course is hosted on the OSI Mighty Networks platform. During registration you will be prompted to create a Mighty Networks account (free with purchase of course).
Each session will be recorded and posted on the platform within 24 hours of the live class.
Frequently asked questions can be found here. For any other questions, technical help, or more information, please contact Maggie Wissink at mwissink@saintconstantine.org
Author and Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien was steeped in the legends and lore of the Bible, Christian history, and pagan mythology. Millions have enjoyed his fantastic fictional world, with scholars and fans pointing out its Christian themes, yet some say that the professor was secretly or at least sympathetically pagan. What light can insights from Orthodox Christianity shed on this question? Just where does Tolkien’s mythology come from?
Join Orthodox Christian archpriest and Tolkien and Mythology scholar Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick for 5 nights in November and December 2024 to find out.
SESSION 1: The True Myth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Introduced Me to Orthodox Christianity
SESSION 2: Tolkien’s Gods: The Divine Council of Arda – Pagan or Christian?
SESSION 3: The Giants of Númenor and Isengard: Genesis, Atlantis and Beowulf in Tolkien’s Tales of Giants and Gigantomachy
SESSION 4: The Enchanting Orc: Incarnating the demonic in The Story of Kullervo and “Of Túrin Turambar” and Why the Hero Kills Dragons Alone
SESSION 5: Harrowing the Barrow: The descensus ad inferos in “Fog on the Barrow-downs,” as seen through Ancient and Classical Religious Sources