THEOLOGY IN VERSE
POETRY IN PATRISTIC AND BYZANTINE CHRISTIANITY
2025 GRADUATE SEMINAR
The Pappas Patristic Institute at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, invites you to a four-part graduate seminar led by Professor Christos Simelidis (Aristotle University, Thessaloniki) on the poetry of the Church Fathers and later Byzantine theology.
The Poetry of St Gregory Nazianzen
Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
The Psalms in Verse: Patristic Exegesis in a Newly Discovered Iambic Psalter
Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
St Romanos the Melodist and the Anti-Manichaean Kontakion to St Demetrios
Thursday, April 24, 2025, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Epigrams on Byzantine Icons
Thursday, April 24, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
About the Instructor
Christos Simelidis studied Classics and Byzantine Studies at Thessaloniki and Oxford, where he was a Senior Scholar at Merton and Somerville College. He did his doctoral work under the supervision of Nigel G. Wilson. He has been a Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC (2006-7, 2018-9) and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Lincoln College, University of Oxford (2007-10).
He is currently preparing a critical edition of the Poems of St. Gregory of Nazianzus for the Corpus Christianorum series. His research interests include the literature of Late Antiquity and Byzantium, the reception of classical and biblical texts in the early Christian and Byzantine literature, Greek palaeography and textual criticism, and various aspects of Byzantine scholarship (what was read, by whom and with what degree of understanding).
He has been a member of the Administrative Board of the Pappas Patristic Institute since 2021.
All four sessions will take place on the campus of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology:
50 Goddard Ave.
Brookline, Massachusetts 02445
Brookline forms part of the Boston metropolitan area, just minutes from all that Boston has to offer.
The seminar will take place during Bright Week, part of the Paschal season in the Orthodox Church. Participants are welcome to attend festal services in the Holy Cross Chapel.
Lunch on Wednesday and Thursday, and dinner on Wednesday evening, will be provided for registered participants.
Qualified graduate students with legitimate need are encouraged to apply below for a travel stipend to offset the cost of airfare to Boston.
We are also delighted to offer accommodation on campus for visiting graduate students. Spaces are limited, so please indicate in your application letter whether you would like to be considered for on-site lodging. (Note these are dormitory rooms with shared public bathrooms.)
All four workshops are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register here.
If you have additional questions, please reach out to us at pappaspatristic@hchc.edu.
Apply for a travel stipend and accommodation
Graduate students from outside the Boston area are encouraged to apply for a travel stipend. Qualified students with legitimate need will receive $350 to offset travel to and from Logan International Airport. Dormitory rooms are also available at no charge to participants. In order to apply, please send the following materials to pappaspatristic@hchc.edu:
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a statement of interest, no more than one page in length, indicating how this seminar fits with your program of study and professional interests
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a brief letter of recommendation from your graduate supervisor affirming your enrollment and potential to benefit from this seminar