The Biblical and Early Christian Studies program hosts a monthly research seminar series which showcases outstanding work in the field and nurtures scholarly conversation with participants from Australia and around the world.

Speakers pre-circulate papers on a wide range of topics ranging from the social scientific study of the New Testament to Late Antique philosophy, which is then discussed during the hour-long online meeting.

Lecture Series by Professor Christoph Markschies

On 22-26 August 2022, the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at ACU will host Professor Christoph Markschies who will deliver the English version of a lecture series originally given for the Joseph Ratzinger Papst Benedikt XVI.-Stiftung at the University of Regensburg in 2017 on the topic ‘How theological is church history? Excursions into the history and present of a discipline’. All lectures will be delivered in-person at ACU’s Melbourne campus. All are invited but registration is required (see below). Registration closes on 14 August.

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Call for papers: New Trajectories in Australian Research on Late Antiquity and Early Christian Studies

The Program in Biblical and Early Christian Studies in ACU’s Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry is hosting a symposium in Melbourne to showcase the cutting-edge research currently being done in Australia in the fields of late antique studies and early Christian studies.

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2022 Global Seminar Series

Registration for Seminars will be via Zoom.  If you would like to join our mailing list to receive announcements of upcoming seminars, or with any other questions, please email becs.seminar@acu.edu.au. In 2022 we will have monthly seminars:

Gabrielle Thomas (Emory University)
Thursday 3 February 2022

Title: 'Re-thinking Gregory of Nyssa's Mystical Theology: The Role of Hostile Powers in Homilies on the Song of Songs'

Respondent: Michael Champion (Australian Catholic University)

Time: 9:00am (Melbourne) / Wed 2nd 10pm (London) / Wed 2nd 5pm (New York)

Contact: BECS.seminar@acu.edu.au

 

Chris Keith (St Mary's University and University of Notre Dame,  Australia)
Thursday 3 March 2022

Title: 'The Paraclete Problem and Johannine Historiography'

Respondent: Stephen Carlson (Australian Catholic University)

Time: 9:00am (Melbourne) / Wed 2nd 10pm (London) / Wed 2nd 5pm (New York)

Contact: BECS.seminar@acu.edu.au

 

Erin Walsh (University of Chicago) 
Thursday 7 April 2022

Title: 'Bold Mothers, Model Believers in Late Antique Syriac and Greek Poetry'

Respondent: Jeff Wickes (University of Notre Dame, USA)

Time: 11:00am (Melbourne) / 2am (London) / Wed 6th 9pm (New York)

Contact: BECS.seminar@acu.edu.au

 

Hybrid (in-person and online)
Robyn Whitaker (Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity)
Thursday 5 May 2022

Title: 'Dürer's Apocalypse Woodcuts as a New Form of Commentary: A Visual Reception History of Revelation'

Time: 11:00am (Melbourne) / 2am (London) / Wed 4th 9pm (New York)

Contact: BECS.seminar@acu.edu.au

 

Susan Holman (Valparaiso University)
Thursday 2 June 2022

Title: 'Hand on the Altar: Grief, Repetition, and Narrative Healing in Gregory's Epigrams for Nonna'

Respondent: Jonathan Zecher (Australia Catholic University) 

Time: 9:00am (Melbourne) / 12am (London) / Wed 1st Jun 7pm (New York)

Contact: BECS.seminar@acu.edu.au 

Past BECS Research Seminar Series

Download BECS online seminar series 2021 semester 2 (PDF, 372KB)

Download BECS online seminar series 2021 semester 1 (PDF, 364 KB)

Download BECS online seminar series 2020 semester 2 (PDF, 637 KB)

Download BECS online seminar series 2020 semester 1 (PDF, 399 KB)

Download BECS seminar series 2019 semester 2 (PDF, 93 KB)

Download BECS seminar series 2019 semester 1 (PDF, 83 KB)

Download BECS seminar series 2018 semester 2 (PDF, 151 KB)

Download CBECS seminar series 2018 semester 1 (PDF, 203 KB)

Download CBECS seminar series 2017 semester 2 (PDF, 194 KB)

Download CBECS seminar series 2017 semester 1 (PDF, 203 KB)

Download CBECS seminar series 2016 semester 2 (PDF, 140 KB)

Download CBECS seminar series 2016 semester 1 (PDF, 210 KB)

 

11 February, Mark Vessey, 'Latin Crafting the Unfinished Christian: The Baptistery as Workshop in Greek Catecheticlal Instructions'

25 February, Kim Harkins, 'Seeing through the Eyes of Hermas'

11 March, Georgia Frank, Crafting the Unfinished Christian: The Baptistery as Workshop in Greek Catecheticlal Instructions'

25 March, Jennifer Knust, 'From Bethany to and Back Again'

8 April, Robyn Faith Walsh, 'Redescribing Early Christian Literature: The Gospels, the Satyrica, and Anonymous Sources'

22 April, Christine Gerber, 'What Would Paul Have Written? On the Interpretation of Pseudepigraphic Letters'

6 May, Volker Henning Drecoll, 'Simply More Promising: Christianity and Platonism as Concepts' 

20 May, Ben Edsall, 'Reading Gospels and the Space of the Present'

3 June, Emiliano Fiori, 'A Geological Approach to Syriac Miaphysite Christology (6th—9th Centuries): Detours of a Patristic Florilegium from Antioch to Tagrit'

26 August, Gerhard Van den Heever, 'Do Religions, in Fact, Die? and How Do The Die?  On the Christianisation of the Late Antique Mediterranean World" Reflections from where We Are'

9 September, Stephen C. Carlson, 'Presbyters in Papias'

23 September, Jens Schroter, 'Why did Christians Write Apoclypses: Reflections on the Developments of a Genre'

7 October: Majella Franzmann, Manichean Communities and Their Liturgy'

21 October: Michael Champion, Emotions and Education in Late Antique Asceticism'

18 November: Janet Spittler, 'The Acts of John by Prochorus: The most Popular Late Antique Text that You've Never Heard of'

2 December: Professor Han Baltussen, 'Θεῖος in Eunapius‘ Lives of Philosophers and Sophists. Notes from a Translator

30 April: Francis Watson, 'The Eusebian New Testament and its Readers'

14 May: David Brakke, 'The Gospel of Judas: Fragments of an Anchor Yale Bible Volume'

28 May: Teresa Morgan, 'What Does it Mean to Live in a Relationship of Trust with God and Christ?'

11 June: Robin Darling Young, 'Constitution for a New Politeia: Evagrius'Letters and Instructions'

25 June: Gareth Wearne, 'The Sectarian Hypothesis of Qumran Origins at (Nearly) 75 Years: A Review and New Reconstruction'

9 July: John Barclay, 'The Lord's Supper or the Lion's Share: The Negotiation of Transactional Orders in 1 Cor 11.17-34'

23 July: Andrew Radde-Gallwitz, Gregory of Nyssa and the Metaphysics of Bodies'

6 August: Candida Moss, 'Fashioning Mark: Early Christian Discussions about the Scribe and the Status of the Second Gospel'

20 August: David Lincicum, 'The Wisdom of Solomon: A Christian Text?'

3 September: Margaret M. Mitchell, 'Mark, the Long-form Pauline Eὐαγγέλιον'

17 September: Samuel Fernandez, 'Who Accused Whom? The Outbreak of the Arian Crisis in the Light of the Contemporary Documents'

1 October: Mark G. Brett, 'What is Political Theology?'

15 October: Musa Dube, 'Boundaries and Bridges: Journeys of a Postcolonial Feminist in Biblical Studies'

29 October: Niki Clements, 'Cassian's Therapy of Desire'

12 November: Dawn LaValle Norman, 'The Role of Women in Late Imperial Dialogues: The Body, Desire, and the Intellectual Life'

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