8 /26 TO BHMA The Greek Australian VEMA
Conference on the Mother of God
at the University of Notre Dame
Once in a while, in Christian circles, a conference
takes place in which the atmosphere is at once both
scholarly and prayerful; where the environment is con-
ducive towards the mutual exchange of ideas and the
strengthening of faith. ‘My Soul Magnifies the Lord
(Luke 1:46): Mary at the beginning of the third millenni-
um’ was one such conference. It took place on 4-5
March at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, with
the purpose of celebrating the tenth anniversary of the
University’s Sydney campus. The call for papers, which
went out last year, specifically mentioned that the con-
venors welcomed contributions from their Orthodox
brothers and sisters; an invitation that was taken up by
Protopresbyter Dr Doru Costache (Senior Lecturer in
Patristic Studies, St Andrew’s) and myself. Fr Doru gave
a paper entitled ‘The Mystery of Mary in the Byzantine
Theotokia of Dominical Vespers,’ and I presented on
‘Theotokoupoleis: the Mother of God as Protectress of
the Two Romes.’ We were also motivated to contribute
because of the friendship of the soon-to-be doctored
Kevin Wagner, who is in the final stages of receiving his
PhD from the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne. Mr
Wagner, who lectures in theology at the University of
Notre Dame, co-convened the conference, together
with Sr Dr Isabell Naumann (Catholic Institute of Syd-
ney), Sr Moira Debono (UND), Dr Paul Morissey (Campi-
on College), and Dr Peter McGregor (Catholic Adult Ed-
ucation Centre).
Mr Wagner has presented papers at our 2013 and
2014 Patristic Symposia, and has published an article in
our College journal, Phronema, volume 29:2 (2014) on
‘Theophilus of Alexandria and the Episcopal Ordination
of Synesius of Cyrene.’ His next article for Phronema, to
be published shortly in the upcoming volume 31:1, is
entitled ‘The Second Person of the Trinity in the Hymns
Greece and Turkey build on plan for return of refugees
Greece and Turkey signed a readmission agreement
for migrants who cross the Aegean to be returned,
building on the basis for a potential deal between the
European Union and Ankara brokered in the early
hours of the day regarding the direct resettlement of
refugees.
Only a few hours after they completed 16-hour ne-
gotiations in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu
met in Izmir on Tuesday as part of the latest High-Lev-
el Cooperation Council between the two sides.
The two leaders signed six agreements. Perhaps the
most significant was a bilateral deal for the migrants
who are not eligible for international protection to be
readmitted to Turkey after crossing into Greece. The
two countries already had such an agreement but
Tuesday’s pact changes the process used so Greece
can return the migrants immediately.
“[It] sends a clear message to migrants coming
from third countries, rather than countries at war...
that there is neither the political will [to allow their
passage] nor the ability to cross to Europe,” said
Davutoglu.
“This is the reality we ought to sincerely convey to
them in order to stop, to reduce, this unbearable flow
for our countries.”
The deal rubber-stamped in Izmir came in the wake
of a Turkish proposal in Brussels to accept the return
of all migrants and refugees who cross the Aegean to
reach Greece in return for EU countries resettling a-
sylum seekers directly from Turkey. Tsipras said that
he found the proposal “interesting.” EU leaders are
of Synesius of Cyrene and Gregory of Nazianzus’ Poe-
mata Arcana and Orations.’ In 2015 he also participat-
ed, together with Associate Professor Bronwen Neil FA-
HA, in a Round Table organised by Father Doru on
‘Dreaming in the Ascetic and Philosophical Traditions of
Late Antiquity.’ Naturally, it was a pleasure to represent
St Andrew’s and to reciprocate Kevin’s friendship at this
conference. He presented on ‘Virginity and Infertility:
Barren Fruitfulness in “de virginitate” Literature of the
Fourth and Fifth Centuries.’
At the beginning of the conference we were moved
by the heartfelt personal welcome given to us by Pro-
fessor Hayden Ramsay, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor,
Chair of College and Dean of UND, which he expressed
both privately and as part of his opening announce-
ment. Professor Ramsay also welcomed another good
friend of the College, Dr Bernard (Patrikios) Doherty,
Lecturer in New Religious Movements, Cults and Sects
at St Mark’s National Theological Centre, Canberra. Dr
Doherty has presented papers at our 2013 and 2014 Pa-
tristic Symposia, and has published an article in Phrone-
ma 30:1 (2015) on ‘Cyril and Hypatia: Tracing the Con-
tours of an Anti-Christian Myth,’ which was based on
his 2014 Symposium paper. He has published book re-
views in Phronema and has given guest lectures for Fr
Doru in Patristic Studies and for me in Church History.
Bernard presented a paper entitled ‘Marian Arks Cut
Adrift: The Post-Roman Catholic Careers of Two Aus-
tralian Marian Visionaries.’ It was a pleasure to listen to
the keynote paper of Sr Dr Isabell Naumann from CIS on
‘Mariology at the beginning of the third millennium’ be-
fore Fr Doru and I gave our papers, in sequence, in the
morning of the first day of the conference. Fr Doru then
had to depart due to commitments at another confer-
ence, the 2016 Planning Meeting of the Centre for Early
due to meet with the Turkish premier again to finalize
the plan.
“The aim here is to discourage irregular migration
and... to recognize those Syrians in our camps who
the EU will accept – though we will not force anyone
to go against their will – on legal routes,” Davutoglu
said.
The Greek delegation appeared encouraged by de-
velopments in Brussels and Izmir. Athens is adamant
that without Turkey’s cooperation there is no hope of
the number of refugee arrivals in Greece decreasing
significantly.
However, the plan for the EU to take one refugee
from Turkey for each one that is returned from
Greece was not applauded by the UN Refugee Agency
(UNHCR).
MARCH 2016
Christian Studies in Brisbane. We had lunch and I re-
turned for Dr Doherty’s talk, which was followed by a
presentation by another friend of the College, Associate
Professor Fr Joseph Azize (UND), who presented at our
2014 Patristic Symposium and published an article enti-
tled ‘Ignatius of Antioch on the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy:
Logic and Methodology’ in Phronema 30:2 (2015). Fr
Azize presented on ‘Historical Methodology and Mary
the Mother of Jesus.’
Of course, in a conference with two parallel sessions
on the first day – and three on the second – it is impos-
sible to attend every paper. The papers I attended, in-
cluding two additional keynotes, one by Professor John
Haldane on ‘Marian Transformations: Art, Philosophy
and Mystical Theology,’ and another by Revd Dr Robin
Koning on ‘Revisiting the Marian Dimension of Ignatian
Spirituality,’ were both fascinating. It was a pleasure to
hear the presentation of Dr Matthew Tan on ‘Marian
Epistemology,’ as well as the talks of Lawrence Qum-
mou on ‘Divine Wisdom and the Blessed Mother: Bul-
gakov and Bouyer,’ Veronica Fitzpatrick on ‘The Madon-
na della Miserocordia– an Image for the 14th, 15th and
21st Centuries,’ and Dr Peter John McGregor on ‘Mary
as Priest, Prophet and King.’ I was sad to miss Dr Robert
Tilley’s (CIS) presentation on ‘Mary the Temple of Scrip-
ture: Tracing the Art of Sacred Circumlocution,’ but was
encouraged by several fruitful discussions with him
throughout the conference. Congratulations are due to
the conveners of this very special conference, and grat-
itude for their profound hospitality.
Dr Mario Baghos
Lecturer in Church History
St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College
“As a first reaction I’m deeply concerned about any
arrangement that would involve the blanket return of
anyone from one country to another without spelling
out the refugee protection safeguards under interna-
tional law,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi told the Euro-
pean Parliament in Strasbourg.
He said the plan did not offer sufficient guarantees
under international law, adding that refugees should
only be returned to a country if it could be proved
that their asylum application would be properly
processed.
Grandi called for refugees to be screened before
being sent away from Greece “to identify highly at-
risk categories that may not be appropriate for re-
turn.”
His concerns were shared by Human Rights Watch.
“A fundamental contradiction lies at the heart of the
EU-Turkey deal taking shape,” said Bill Frelick,
refugee rights director at the rights group. “The par-
ties failed to say how individual needs for interna-
tional protection would be fairly assessed during the
rapid-fire mass expulsions they agreed would take
place.”
“Refugees should not be used as bargaining chips,”
Frelick said. “The integrity of the EU’s asylum system,
indeed the integrity of European values, is at stake.”
Rights group Amnesty International said the pro-
posal was full of “moral and legal flaws.”
“The idea of bartering refugees for refugees is not
only dangerously dehumanizing, but also offers no
sustainable long-term solution to the ongoing hu-
manitarian crisis,” Amnesty’s Iverna McGowan said.