Current Courses
Following the standard academic calendar, the Accademia Balthasar offers a selection of weekly seminars available to university students and researchers upon request. The subject material of these courses can vary greatly, ranging from philosophy to theology to literature, and typically has roots in the works of our authors of reference or in the vast cultural milieu of Hans Urs von Balthasar.
For those interested, comprehensive catalogues of past course themes and
session details are available in the archives below.
Virgil
MONDAY
8:30 - 12:20
Through the reading of excerpts from Virgil’s major works [the Bucolics, the Georgics, the Aeneid], the seminar seeks to introduce the poet whom the German writer Theodor Haecker called as “the father of the West”. Under the guidance of this author and Balthasar’s study, we focus on two main points: the glory of the world that is revealed in nature and in the work of man, and the glory of the mission that, as outlined in the figure of Aeneas, is manifested in obedience and poverty.
Reinhold Schneider
TUESDAY and THURSDAY
8:30 - 12:20
Based on the book Tragedy Under Grace. Reinhold Schneider on the Experience of the West we take a look at the confrontation between two characters: the saint, and the Christian who administers worldly power. In his book on the life and mission of the German author, Hans Urs von Balthasar shows that only in the Cross of Christ one can live out the rift between the world and the Kingdom of God. Our question is: How can obedience to God and the Church be compatible with obedient responsibility to a worldly profession?
Art
FRIDAY
8:30 - 12:20
The seminar consists of the presentation of some works of art in various media: from paintings, such as the Annunciation by Beato Angelico, the Crucifixion by Donatello, to sculptures, such as the Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila by Bernini, the Moses by Michelangelo; and finally, architecture, such as the Escorial, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, the Mausoleum of Caesar Augustus, the Ara Pacis. The objective is to teach how to grasp the beauty in the whole of the parts of a work of art, and to bring to the knowledge of the artists and styles of various ages.