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Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity
The Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity (CPEC) at McMaster Divinity College provides opportunities to study the contexts and careers of the mothers and fathers of the early church: their literature, theology, history, worship, and spirituality. Through MDC’s degree programs and publication opportunities, along with Centre-led conferences and mentorship, students will be equipped to positively contribute to the field of early Christian studies and to inspire the contemporary Church.
Patristic Theology Journal Upcoming EventsStudying Patristics
Programs in Patristics & Early Christianity
McMaster Divinity College offers a range of degree programs for students interested in studying patristics and early Christianity. Each program provides opportunities for collaboration with the Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity, access to MDC faculty expertise, and the flexibility to tailor studies through directed research and mentorship. These programs include:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Christian Theology
Patristics Concentration
Master of Arts (Christian Studies)
Patristics Concentration
Master of Arts (Theology & Ministry)
Christian History & Worldview Specialization
Master of Divinity
Christian History & Worldview Specialization
Contact the Centre Directors or our Admissions Team to discover which program fits your educational background and vocational goals.

Dr. Lewis Ayres
Professor of Catholic & Historical Theology, Durham University
One of the world’s leading experts in patristic and early Christian studies, Professor Ayres has served at Durham University since 2009. His research initially focused on Trinitarian theology in Augustine and in the Greek writers of the fourth century; this led to the publication of a number of articles, as well as the highly influential monographs, Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth Century Trinitarian Theology (Oxford, 2004/6), and Augustine and the Trinity (Cambridge, 2010). Dr. Ayres’ current research concerns the development of early Christian cultures of interpretation between 100 and 250.
Rev. Dr. John Behr
Regius Chair in Humanity, University of Aberdeen
A leading expert in the field of patristic studies, the Reverend Professor John Behr is currently at the University of Aberdeen, following twenty-five years at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Dr. Behr’s list of publications is both vast and incredibly varied. These include several works on Irenaeus of Lyons and, more recently, new critical editions and translations of Gregory of Nyssa’s On the Human Image of God (Oxford, 2023), and Origen’s On First Principles (Oxford, 2017). Published in between them was the monograph John the Theologian and His Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology (Oxford, 2019). Father Behr is also working on a new critical edition and translation of Irenaeus’s works.
Dr. Han-luen Kantzer Komline
Marvin and Jerene DeWitt Professor of Theology and Church History, Western Theological Seminary
Dr. Kantzer Komline (PhD, University of Notre Dame) has served at Western Theological Seminary since 2014 and has emerged as a noted scholar in the field of early Christianity. Her first monograph was well-received (Augustine on the Will: A Theological Account [Oxford University Press, 2020]), and her current book project looks equally important. The Idea of the New in Early Christian Thought analyzes how Christians of late antiquity conceptualized and defended the innovative character of the Christian faith. Dr. Kantzer Komline comes to the Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity to lend her expertise on early Christian theology in general and on the study of Augustine in particular.
Dr. Stefana Dan Laing
Associate Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School
Stefana Dan Laing joined the faculty of Beeson Divinity School in 2018, where her primary area of research is in patristics and spiritual formation. Laing is actively involved in the North American Patristics Society and the Evangelical Theological Society, for whom she chairs the Patristics and Medieval History Steering Committee. She is the author of Retrieving History: Memory and Identity Formation in the Early Church (Baker, 2017).
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Senior Fellows
Dr. Lewis Ayres
Professor of Catholic & Historical Theology, Durham University
One of the world’s leading experts in patristic and early Christian studies, Professor Ayres has served at Durham University since 2009. His research initially focused on Trinitarian theology in Augustine and in the Greek writers of the fourth century; this led to the publication of a number of articles, as well as the highly influential monographs, Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth Century Trinitarian Theology (Oxford, 2004/6), and Augustine and the Trinity (Cambridge, 2010). Dr. Ayres’ current research concerns the development of early Christian cultures of interpretation between 100 and 250.
Rev. Dr. John Behr
Regius Chair in Humanity, University of Aberdeen
A leading expert in the field of patristic studies, the Reverend Professor John Behr is currently at the University of Aberdeen, following twenty-five years at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Dr. Behr’s list of publications is both vast and incredibly varied. These include several works on Irenaeus of Lyons and, more recently, new critical editions and translations of Gregory of Nyssa’s On the Human Image of God (Oxford, 2023), and Origen’s On First Principles (Oxford, 2017). Published in between them was the monograph John the Theologian and His Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology (Oxford, 2019). Father Behr is also working on a new critical edition and translation of Irenaeus’s works.
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Centre Fellows
Dr. Han-luen Kantzer Komline
Marvin and Jerene DeWitt Professor of Theology and Church History, Western Theological Seminary
Dr. Kantzer Komline (PhD, University of Notre Dame) has served at Western Theological Seminary since 2014 and has emerged as a noted scholar in the field of early Christianity. Her first monograph was well-received (Augustine on the Will: A Theological Account [Oxford University Press, 2020]), and her current book project looks equally important. The Idea of the New in Early Christian Thought analyzes how Christians of late antiquity conceptualized and defended the innovative character of the Christian faith. Dr. Kantzer Komline comes to the Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity to lend her expertise on early Christian theology in general and on the study of Augustine in particular.
Dr. Stefana Dan Laing
Associate Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School
Stefana Dan Laing joined the faculty of Beeson Divinity School in 2018, where her primary area of research is in patristics and spiritual formation. Laing is actively involved in the North American Patristics Society and the Evangelical Theological Society, for whom she chairs the Patristics and Medieval History Steering Committee. She is the author of Retrieving History: Memory and Identity Formation in the Early Church (Baker, 2017).
Centre Faculty

Stanley E. Porter
President and Dean, Professor of New Testament, Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview, Editor-in-Chief of MDC Press

Haitham Issak
Lecturer in Patristics and Syriac

Gordon L. Heath
Professor of Christian History, Centenary Chair in World Christianity, Director of Canadian Baptist Archives

Wendy J. Porter
Professor of Music and Worship
Relevant Courses
CH 3P1071/TH 3P1101/OT 3P1111/NT 3P1151
Syriac 1
Haitham Issak
Winter
2025
In-Person/Livestream (Synchronous)
CH 3P1072/Th 3P1102/ OT 3P1112/NT 3P1152
Syriac 2
Haitham Issak
Winter
2025
In-Person/Livestream (Synchronous)
CHTH 6R1050
St. Ephrem: A Theologian of Hymns
Haitham Issak
Winter
2025
In-Person Class

Publications
Patristic Theology Journal
Patristic Theology (PT) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research that rigorously engages early Christian texts and the theological wisdom that inspired them. The journal is published through the McMaster Divinity College Press and the Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity (CPEC) at McMaster Divinity College.