There are still two weeks to go to submit proposals to the workshops on Flourishing in Early Christianity we are organising for the 2027 Oxford conference. We'd love to have you join us! bsky.app/profile/irci...

IRCI_ACU@irci.bsky.social · 3mo ago

CALL FOR PAPERS on flourishing in early Christianity at Oxford Patristics 2027.

Tomorrow night Jodi Magness will be giving a public lecture for us here at ACU Melbourne. It's not too late to sign up to attend! Details below. bsky.app/profile/irci...

IRCI_ACU@irci.bsky.social · 3mo ago

To find out more, see: events.humanitix.com/jerusalem-in...

IRCI-sponsored "Night Vision" Discovery Project reading group, with Dr Tamara Lewit. Friday 12 June (Melbourne), Thurs 11 June (New York/LA). Registration: events.humanitix.com/night-light-...

To find out more, see: events.humanitix.com/jerusalem-in...

'Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus' - Public Lecture by Jodi Magness

Jodi Magness, a preeminent biblical archaeologist from UNC Chapel Hill, will give a lecture on the history of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus.

events.humanitix.com

JODI MAGNESS coming to Melbourne for an IRCI public lecture, "Jerusalem in the time of Jesus" on 10 June 2026, at 6:00 pm.

CALL FOR PAPERS on flourishing in early Christianity at Oxford Patristics 2027.

For more on the Philokalia, listen to Jonathan on ABC radio: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

The Philokalia — the book at the heart of the Orthodox world - ABC listen

As the Russia-Ukraine rages, there's a book cherished by both sides — the Philokalia holds what many consider the true spiritual essence of Orthodoxy: Stillness and ceaseless prayer.

abc.net.au

IRCI_ACU@irci.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Celebrating the launch of IRCI’s A/Prof. Jonathan Zecher’s translation of the Philokalia for Penguin Classics. With IRCI’s Prof. Matthew Crawford and special guest Fr. Doru Costache, Principal of Nisibis Assyrian Theological College.

Open Access Publication! My essay. "Canonizing Paul's Epistle to the Laodiceans," won this year's DeGruyter-Brill Prize and, as of today, is available open access. I'm really proud of this one. You can download here: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Celebrating the launch of IRCI’s A/Prof. Jonathan Zecher’s translation of the Philokalia for Penguin Classics. With IRCI’s Prof. Matthew Crawford and special guest Fr. Doru Costache, Principal of Nisibis Assyrian Theological College.

BECS Seminar, 12 March, 11am Melbourne / 12am London ; 11 March, 7pm New York with: Douglas Campbell, "'The Deepest Secret': Paul's Radical Missional Theology" This is a hybrid seminar, send email to BECS.seminar@acu.edu.au for a Zoom link.

So today, I am thrilled to announce that my family and I are moving to Melbourne in a few months, where I will be taking up a position at Australian Catholic University. If there’s a message in all this: trust your guts, work hard, and hold on tight to the people who really have your back.

As some of you know, a few years ago, after quite a long pause in my professional life, the desire to return to research started to tickle me so badly that I decided to give it a try.

Excited to share that I've accepted a continuing position as a Research Fellow at Australian Catholic University's Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry. We're moving to Melbourne!

ACU Statement on the Bondi Beach tragedy

JOB OPENING: Associate Dean (Research), Theology and Philosophy Seeking an academic for high-level academic leadership across the faculty, operating within a University-wide research strategy focused on high quality, high impact and innovative research. candidate.aurion.cloud/acu/producti...

TWO NEW POSITIONS IN HISTORICAL & SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY Two new positions in historical and systematic theology are now advertised for the Religion and Theology research program within the IRCI and FTP: PD attached. The application deadline is 23:59 AEST on 5 November. www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/ca...

Religion and Theology

ACU’s IRCI researches biblical and early Christian studies, medieval and early modern studies, philosophy, religion and theology.

acu.edu.au

ICRI's Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Zecher on Charlie Kirk and martyrdom from a historical perspective. theconversation.com/can-charlie-...

Can Charlie Kirk really be considered a ‘martyr’? A Christianity historian explains

Some have even called Kirk a patron saint of MAGA. Stories of his status as a ‘martyr’ are uniting America’s Christian right.

theconversation.com

ACU is a spectacular place to study, and I was able to move to Australia and do my research there debt-free thanks to generous funding! If you're interested in doing a PhD, especially in biblical studies or church history, you should apply!

IRCI_ACU@irci.bsky.social · 11mo ago

If you’re thinking about applying to a PhD, DMin, or MPhil at ACU, September is the time! The Faculty of Theology and Philosophy is an exciting research community with a broad range of expertise, and funding is available for research students.

Please join us for the next meeting in our 2025 BECS Global online seminar series here at ACU/IRCI, with Dr Amelia Brown (MQ/American Academy at Athens) on “When Early Christianity met Imperial Power: New Attributes of Roman Emperors from Constantine I to Theodosius.”

If you’re thinking about applying to a PhD, DMin, or MPhil at ACU, September is the time! The Faculty of Theology and Philosophy is an exciting research community with a broad range of expertise, and funding is available for research students.

The 2025 Semester 2 schedule for the BECS Global Seminar is set, with presentations by Bernadette Brooten (Brandeis), Amelia Brown (MQ and AAA), Paul Trebilco (Otago), Ben Edsall (ACU), and Paul Roche (Sydney).

I am delighted to announce the IRCI has 2 job openings in early Christianity (specialisation open, research-focus, early career). Closing date 15 Aug. Contact me with any questions. We hope you'll consider joining our excellent group of scholars! candidate.aurion.cloud/acu/producti...

Registration is still open for our Makarios conference on Love of Neighbor and Human Flourishing (deadline 15 May) which will take place at ACU’s Rome campus in partnership with Baylor, Harvard, and Boston College! >

Join for a hybrid BECS Seminar with Prof. Bronwen Neil on “Sarcophagi on the Street: Burial in the Necropoleis at Roman Ostia” to be held at 11:00 am AEDT on Thursday, 3 April 2025.

Come do a PhD with me (and other excellent colleagues) as part of an ARC-funded project—Night Vision in the Late Ancient Mediterranean! Funded places (fees and stipend) available! More info here, and reach out with any questions. Applications due Monday 21 April. www.acu.edu.au/research-and...

Night Vision in the Late Ancient Mediterranean

acu.edu.au

Come study with us. ACU has just been rated #22 in the world in Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies in the QS World University Rankings for 2025. #1 in Australia.

Coming this July. www.cambridge.org/au/universit...

IRCI's Jonathan L. Zecher has published an article in HTR: The Fate of the Dead between Origen(ism) and Orthodoxy in Gaza | Harvard Theological Review | Cambridge Core - www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The 2025 Seminar 1 schedule for the BECS Global Seminar Series is now available with contributions from Sarah Corrigan, Stephen Carlson, Bronwen Neil, Sabrina Inowlocki, and David Woods.

So excited to be working on this Discovery Project grant exploring translation and transformation in Late Antiquity!

IRCI_ACU@irci.bsky.social · 2y ago

Congratulations to two teams led by IRCI scholars for Discovery Project grant success from the Australian Research Council totalling almost a half a million dollars!